About Buckrail

Buckrail

Buckrail is a web and mobile-based news and entertainment media outlet serving Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the surrounding communities. Operating at buckrail.com, Buckrail delivers breaking local news and community updates with a focus on the stories that directly affect everyday life in the valley — from traffic and internet outages to fundraisers, lost dogs, wildlife encounters, and town government decisions. "Buckrail has always been, and will continue to be, Jackson's source for community news," the outlet says of itself. "We are not national news or long form editorial content." As a digital startup in a market long dominated by print — the Jackson Hole News&Guide and the Jackson Hole Daily — Buckrail has carved out a distinctive niche: fast, concise, community-first local news for one of America's most famous mountain towns, reaching over 200,000 monthly readers.

What Buckrail Covers

Buckrail covers the full texture of Jackson Hole life: breaking news, local politics, arts and entertainment, wildlife, events, jobs, and the outdoors. Its reporting reflects the valley's unique character — a world-class ski and tourism destination, a gateway to Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks, and a community grappling with growth, housing affordability, and the tensions between wealth and working-class life. Buckrail's coverage is practical and immediate: why you're stuck in traffic on WY-22, what's happening with the latest development proposal, which events are worth attending, how the elk herd is faring. This service-oriented approach — news you can use — is the outlet's editorial signature.

The Community Bulletin Board

Buckrail functions as Jackson Hole's community bulletin board as much as its news source. The site amplifies fundraisers, helps reunite lost dogs with their owners, promotes local organizations, and explains the small disruptions of daily life — internet outages, road closures, power failures. "We are a catalyst to strengthen community values and support local organizations," Buckrail says. "We help make that fundraiser a huge success and get those lost dogs back home to their worried owners." In a transient resort community where many residents are seasonal and social ties can be thin, this community-connector role gives Buckrail a civic importance beyond its news reporting.

Digital-First in a Print Town

Buckrail emerged as a digital startup in a market historically served by print newspapers — the Jackson Hole News&Guide and the Jackson Hole Daily. As one observer noted, with the closure of alternative weeklies like Planet Jackson Hole, the News&Guide and "digital start-up Buckrail" were left "to report the news you need to know." Buckrail's digital-first model — website plus mobile apps for iOS and Android, published by Buckrail LLC — lets it publish quickly and reach readers where they are: on phones, on chairlifts, in coffee shops. The outlet's quick, concise, objective style is designed for mobile consumption: scannable, timely, and free of the long-form editorializing that characterizes some competitors.

Ownership: Joining the News&Guide Family

In a significant consolidation of Jackson Hole media, buckrail.com joined the same ownership family as the Jackson Hole News&Guide and the Jackson Hole Daily — bringing the valley's digital startup under the same roof as its legacy print institutions. The new owners said Buckrail would continue to operate with its distinctive voice and mission. The combination reflects the economic realities of small-market journalism: shared ownership can provide the resources and stability that independent digital outlets struggle to achieve alone, while preserving the distinct products that serve different audience needs.

Audience: Residents and Visitors

Buckrail serves both Jackson Hole's year-round residents and its vast visitor population — the tourists, second-homeowners, and seasonal workers who swell the valley's population. For residents, it's the daily briefing on town life; for visitors, it's the insider's guide to what's happening. The outlet's social media presence, particularly on Facebook, extends its reach and fosters community conversation. With over 200,000 monthly readers in Jackson Hole and surrounding areas, Buckrail's audience far exceeds the valley's year-round population — a testament to its appeal to the broader Jackson Hole community, wherever its members happen to be.

A Decade Online

Buckrail's digital presence dates to January 2011, when the buckrail.com domain was registered — giving the Jackson Hole news operation more than a decade of continuous online publishing. In a mountain resort town long served by print weeklies, Buckrail's digital-first approach was a bet on the future: that residents and visitors would get their Teton County news from screens rather than newsstands. The bet paid off. With more than 200,000 monthly readers, Buckrail reaches far beyond Jackson Hole's year-round population, serving the tourists, second-homeowners, and seasonal workers who make the valley's economy turn.

Mobile Apps

Buckrail extends its reach through mobile apps for iOS and Android, published by Buckrail LLC — putting Jackson Hole news in readers' pockets. The apps reflect the operation's digital-first philosophy: breaking news, weather, and community updates delivered to the devices people actually use. In a resort community where many readers are visitors navigating an unfamiliar place, a well-designed local news app is a genuine public service — trail conditions, road closures, and event listings at a tap.

Community Impact

Buckrail's community bulletin board function — lost pets, local events, classifieds — makes it infrastructure for Jackson Hole daily life, not just a news source. Its breaking-news coverage of everything from wildlife encounters to wildfire evacuations serves a community where conditions change fast. The site's joining of the News&Guide family consolidated Jackson Hole's media, but Buckrail's distinct digital voice has endured. For a town of 10,000 that hosts millions of visitors, having a dedicated digital newsroom is the difference between a community and a postcard.

Why Buckrail Matters

Buckrail matters because it proves that hyperlocal digital news can thrive in small markets — and that mountain towns need journalism as much as cities do. Its more than 200,000 monthly readers, mobile apps, and community bulletin board demonstrate a model: digital-first, community-embedded, and sustainable. As part of the News&Guide family, Buckrail combines local roots with institutional backing. In the national local-news crisis, Jackson Hole's digital newsroom is a working answer.

A Day on Buckrail

A typical day on Buckrail captures Jackson Hole in full: breaking news on a highway closure over Teton Pass, a wildlife report on grizzly activity near town, the community bulletin board's lost-dog postings and yard-sale listings, and an events roundup for the weekend ahead. The mix — urgent and mundane, wild and civic — reflects the valley's dual nature as wilderness gateway and resort community. The mobile apps carry it all into readers' pockets; the 200,000-plus monthly readers include the tourists planning trips and the locals planning lives. Since the domain's January 2011 registration, Buckrail has documented Jackson Hole's transformation day by day — the record of a valley changing fast, kept by the newsroom that never left.

Buckrail Today

Today, Buckrail continues to publish at buckrail.com and through its mobile apps — breaking local news, community updates, and event coverage for Jackson Hole and the surrounding communities. From its digital-startup origins to its place within the valley's consolidated media family, Buckrail has remained true to its founding proposition: Jackson's source for community news, fast and free. Its official website is https://buckrail.com.

From its January 2011 domain registration to its place in the News&Guide family, Buckrail has grown with Jackson Hole — the digital newsroom that the valley's residents, workers, and visitors check every day.