In this monthly series, we check in with one of our adventurous locals to find out how they would spend a perfect 24hrs in Sun Valley during the month of May. Happy May, friends! Chris Leman, the Wood River Valley Trail Coordinator for the Blaine County Recreation District (BCRD), knows a thing or two about how to enjoy a spring day in Sun Valley. In addition to maintaining a site that every local trail-lover visits daily—the BCRD Summer TraiLink—Chris does trail maintenance and public outreach, works closely with the BLM on trail design, and writes the BCRD Summer Trails blog. If there is something to know about the dirt trails in and around Sun Valley, Chris knows it. So, what does that ideal May day look like for Chris? It’s full of great food, epic trails, and maintaining that sense of community that we all love about Sun Valley. What’s first on your perfect May day? I’d let the cat in, make coffee, and water the vegetable garden. I love hanging out in our backyard, so an ideal breakfast would find me there, eating homemade pancakes made with fresh, stone-ground Hillside Grain flour. How would you spend your morning? Since it’s May, and …
Best Early Season Mountain Bike Rides in Sun Valley
Five months of snow-induced activities tend to leave one yearning for change. When the temperatures jump in to the 60’s here in Sun Valley, an eagerness to mix up the daily routine sweeps the town. This is a biking community after all and the first chance to hop on those beautiful two-wheeled mechanical devices is met with open arms. Nevermind the ghostly white legs, extra winter weight, creaking bike parts and dismal Strava times, it’s all about embracing the first glimpse of spring. We’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of the best early season mountain bike rides. Get out there and enjoy!
#SunValleyProud: Tutorials & Inspiration For The Days Ahead
We may not be able to welcome visitors back to Sun Valley just yet, so we thought we’d bring a little of Sun Valley to you. On this page, we’ve asked a few of our local friends and partners to share some knowledge, to help you re-create some of the singular experiences of Sun Valley right in your own home. Want to ride a wheelie? Mix that one unforgettable cocktail? Throw that perfect fly fishing cast? Read on, friends. Enjoy these tutorials and share what you’ve learned. And then, when the time is right, we’ll gather back in Sun Valley and show off our skills. Enjoy, stay healthy, and we hope to see you soon. #SunValleyProud Sporty The Manual Trainer | Club Ride Apparel Yearning to manual or wheelie your bike but too afraid of falling backwards? The Sun Valley based mountain bike apparel company, Club Ride has come to the rescue with instructions for building a manual trainer that minimizes the risk of falling. You can use it in the comforts of your garage! Be ready to show off your sick moves just in time for the summer trails to open up. #SunValleyProud View this post on Instagram Want …
Sun Valley Daydreaming: Waiting for COVID-19 to Subside
This too shall pass Do you have the wanderlust bug but you’re stuck in self-isolation? Well, just as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, eventually the COVID-19 pandemic will come to an end and life will return to its daily rhythms. In the meantime there are plenty of ways to stay busy like we listed here or you can start envisioning your next visit! To help you get your Sun Valley daydreaming on, we’ve put together a few things to help you map out your trip here when this is all over. Road Trip With oil prices plunging and gas prices expected to drop, the summer of 2020 may shape up to be the year people take to the road. With every highway leading to Sun Valley being designated a scenic byway what better way to enjoy getting here. Or use Sun Valley as your basecamp for the many great day trips just a short cruise away. America’s longest road, U.S. Highway 20, stretches from Newport, Oregon all the way to Boston, Massachusetts and passes only a half hour south of Sun Valley. As the ultimate cross country road-trip, be sure to plan a stop and …
Sun Valley COVID Resilience
We are undoubtedly dealing with some incredibly tough times these days. Amidst all of the negative doom and gloom news out there, there are plenty of uplifting moments. We’ve compiled a few shining moments of Sun Valley COVID Resilience to give you a little pick me up. We hope you too can start to look for those little wins as we get through this ordeal together. Howling for Front Line Workers Every evening at 8pm at you can hear the oowoooos and yips echoing off the valley walls from Bellevue to Ketchum. These howls are a beacon of appreciation for those COVID-19 frontline workers. It’ll put goosebumps on your arms and make you smile from ear to ear. If you’re in the Valley, we encourage you to join in. Even the Blaine County Sheriff’s dogs are showing their support. A Perk for Healthcare Workers The Argyros Performing Arts Center has raised funds to purchase 250 gift cards and are donating them to St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation. These cards will be given to health care workers. Recipients of the cards can be used for any of the Argyros’ future performances. “As the Argyros remains dark until we all feel comfortable …
24hrs with a Local: Hunger Coalition’s Kristin McMahon, April
In this monthly series, we check in with one of our adventurous locals to find out how they would spend a perfect 24 hours in Sun Valley – April edition. This April isn’t quite what we expected. Far from skiing the corn on the Baldy Bowls and drinking Bloody Mary’s at River Run, here in Sun Valley, we are sheltered-in-place and trying to make the most of our new reality. For this special edition of 24hrs in Sun Valley – April, I caught up with Kristin McMahon, the Communications and Development Supervisor at The Hunger Coalition. The Hunger Coalition “builds a healthy community through access to good food and addresses the root causes of food insecurity in collaboration with key partners.” Over the past few weeks, The Hunger Coalition has served twice as many people as usual at their curbside Food Pantry, which is open three times a week. Kristin and I chatted about what her typical day sheltered-in-place looks like, and how The Hunger Coalition is supporting the community during this uncertain time. With the shelter-in-place order in effect, what do you do first thing in the morning? I made sure to stock up on coffee, so I start out …