Bear Island
A Permit-Ready Olson Kundig Riverfront Residence on 18.8 Acres
A permit-ready Olson Kundig river residence on Bear Island, designed as a timeless mountain modern retreat and a true place to gather.
This Bear Island offering presents a rare opportunity to acquire an architect-led, shovel-ready residential project on one of Jackson Hole’s most private and irreplaceable riverfront settings. Spanning 18.8 acres along the Snake River corridor, the property extends into the river basin itself, surrounded by large neighboring parcels and positioned along quiet Prince Lane. Designed by Tom Kundig of Olson Kundig and advanced through a comprehensive planning and permitting process, the approved residence encompasses 5,962 square feet of habitable space with four bedrooms and four baths. The design is intentionally modern, restrained, and grounded in organic materials including steel, wood, concrete, and stone. Importantly, there remains additional building allowance for a future guest house, offering flexibility for extended family or staff. The most complex and time-consuming work has already been completed, allowing a future owner to focus on refinement, personalization, and execution.
The Land Leads
When Tom Kundig first walked the site, he was struck by its contrast. Dense evergreen and deciduous trees create privacy and refuge, while the land opens west toward the Snake River and the mountains beyond. He describes the condition as an ecotone, the threshold between forest and open landscape, and notes that “the land was asking for restraint.”
The approved residence responds with discipline. Organized into two parallel wings over two levels, the structure sits quietly within the trees and opens deliberately toward light and view. Arrival begins in a protected courtyard so the architecture never competes with the landscape. Distant views are revealed gradually. Natural wood siding and a muted material palette allow the home to blend into its surroundings rather than dominate them.
Elevated Living, Framed Views
The primary living spaces are positioned on the upper level, lifted above the riverbank to control sightlines while capturing long western views once selective tree clearing is completed. From the great room and primary suite, sunsets over the mountains become part of daily ritual.
Kundig designed the movement through the house as a sequence of compression and release. A glass connector separates the wings and opens into a double-height entry, creating a moment of volume before guiding residents toward the social heart of the home. Clerestory windows bring balanced daylight deep into the interiors. The architecture shapes light rather than fighting it, moderating intense mountain sun while preserving transparency.
Within its 7,325 square feet, the program is deliberate rather than excessive. Four bedrooms and four baths provide privacy and comfort, while the majority of the volume is dedicated to shared living spaces. The design emphasizes how the home lives, not how large it is.
Architecture and Interior in Dialogue
The interiors, conceived by Windsor Smith, were developed not as decoration but as continuation of the architectural intent. “The architecture leads,” she explains. “The interiors are there to enhance the experience of living in that landscape, never to interrupt it.”
Material selections were drawn directly from the environment. Deep gray-greens, soft stone tones, rough woods, leathers, darker bronzes, and blackened steel echo the colors of the Snake River and surrounding forest. “Nothing in the home is meant to compete with the view,” Smith notes. “It’s about swaths of texture, not decoration.”
Tall doors preserve light flow. Finishes are tactile and porous rather than glossy or ornate. Lighting is architectural and utilitarian, integrated into the structure rather than treated as statement pieces. The result is an interior language that feels grounded and quiet, allowing the landscape to remain the focal point.
Designed for Gathering and Retreat
At its core, Bear Island is conceived as a place to gather. The west wing centers on a generous great room where kitchen, dining, and living spaces flow together in one open environment. Structural steel enables wide spans and expansive glass, reinforcing openness without excess. The kitchen remains fully integrated into the social space, designed as the functional and emotional center of the home.
Bedrooms are intentionally more intimate, offering refuge without unnecessary scale. Smaller sitting areas and transitions create quiet corners for reflection. As Kundig describes it, the house balances prospect and refuge, supporting both communal life and stillness.
“This was about crafting how a family would live in that environment,” Windsor Smith says, “not simply furnishing a structure.”
Materials Chosen to Endure
Durability was central to the design from the outset. Natural wood siding, unfinished and blackened steel, stone floors, and concrete were selected to age gracefully in Jackson Hole’s four-season climate. Kundig’s philosophy relies on scale, proportion, and timeless materials rather than trend.
The interiors follow the same discipline. Darker metals replace polished finishes. Texture replaces ornament. The goal was not excess but longevity, creating a home that will look more grounded over time rather than dated.
Riverfront Recreation and Daily Immersion
Bear Island is not simply river-adjacent. The property extends into the Snake River corridor itself, creating direct access to one of the most ecologically rich environments in the valley.
Time here is measured outdoors. Morning walks along the riparian edge. Snowshoeing and Nordic skiing across open river flats in winter. Sunset picnics beneath the nearly 6,000-foot vertical rise of the Tetons as alpenglow settles across the range.
From the riverbank, casting a fly to native Snake River cutthroat trout becomes part of the rhythm of the seasons. Elk, moose, fox, and deer regularly traverse the property, using the corridor as intended. It is prime habitat that remains active and undisturbed.
The house frames this experience, but the land defines it.
A Fully Resolved Vision
Beyond its architectural pedigree and land value, Bear Island offers something increasingly rare in a river and wildlife corridor setting: certainty. Construction documents are complete. HOA approvals are secured. The building permit has been issued by Teton County. Pre-construction coordination has been integrated with the builder. Interior materials, lighting, and hardware selections have already been specified.
“An extraordinary team was assembled,” Windsor Smith reflects. “For the right buyer, the real luxury is that this work has already been done.”
In an environment where entitlements are complex and timelines unpredictable, the ability to begin construction immediately represents meaningful value. The architectural form is resolved. The interiors remain adaptable within the approved envelope. A future guest house can still be realized under remaining building allowances.
Bear Island offers land, design pedigree, and momentum. What remains is execution.
