Tamarack was the first new ski resort to be built in North America in 23 years; Beaver Creek in Colorado and Deer Valley in Utah opened within days of each other in 1981. (Deer Valley was not entirely new, as it was built at the former modest ski area of "Snow Park," which operated from 1946-69.)

The Tamarack Resort was first conceived as Valbois in the early 1980s, but unsuccessfully struggled to overcome federal regulatory hurdles and fierce local opposition, and finally folded in 1995. Despite local opposition, a new group of investors revived the project three years later with modifications and called it WestRock. After four years the name was changed to "Tamarack" in December 2002, after the tamarack larch, a deciduous coniferous tree, whose short, dark green fir-like needles turn yellow (and shed) every autumn.

Construction at the Tamarack Resort began in 2003, and skiing was available only by snowcat the first year. The alpine ski area officially opened with chairlift service the following year in December 2004. Tamarack has a lift-served summit elevation of 7,660 feet (2,330 m) above sea level on West Mountain (7672'), with a vertical drop of over 2,760 feet (840 m) . Five quad chairlifts served the east-facing slopes (3 hi-speed & 2 fixed-grip), along with two surface lifts, a Poma platter lift and a magic carpet, in the novice area at the base.

The summit of West Mountain receives an average of 300 inches (7,600 mm) of snowfall, but the accumulation is considerably less at the base. Snowmaking is available on the lower runs due to poor snow cover below 6,000 feet (1,800 m) . Steep at the summit but rapidly smoothing out, the terrain for the ski area is rated at 15% novice, 56% intermediate, and 29% advanced.

For the cross country skier, over 30 kilometres (19 mi) of Nordic trails are available.

Osprey Meadows, a Robert Trent Jones II signature 18-hole golf course, opened in May 2006 with the addition of the back nine holes. The first nine holes opened for play in September 2005. The course is just southeast of the village and ski area base, at an average elevation of 4,850 feet (1,480 m) . The back tees played at 7319 yards (6692 m), with 100 bunkers distributed on the challenging course. Instruction at the golf course is provided by the Jack Nicklaus Academy of Golf. After the resort's shuttering in March 2009, the golf course reopened for play less than five months later on July 25, operated by the Raven Golf Management Company of Boise.

President and Mrs. George W. Bush stayed at Tamarack in August 2005, giving the resort significant national exposure. They came to Idaho as guests of Dirk Kempthorne, the state's governor and former U.S. Senator who later became a member of Bush's cabinet as Secretary of the Interior.

In September 2006, recently retired tennis star Andre Agassi and wife Steffi Graf announced through their development company, after significant delays, that they had finalized an agreement to develop a luxury mountain project at Tamarack. Groundbreaking for the Fairmont Tamarack was scheduled for 2007 with completion expected in 2009, on their first lifestyle development project.. Following more delays, Agassi and Graf withdrew from the project in June 2008.

Since January 2004, the resort has sold 531 properties for $359.3 million. This includes an additional nine lots than were originally planned for these phases that netted $42.7 million, they were captured by re-engineering the original plot design to eliminate wetlands.

The majority owners of Tamarack Resort filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 20, 2008.