In an effort to keep your relationships in tact and maximize your time the saddle, we’ve created a mountain biking resource guide for the Sun Valley, Idaho area filled with maps, apps, guides and shops all ready to ease the trail selection pain.
The Refinement of the Rad: Why Sun Valley is the Best Place to Learn
Like many other ski towns, Sun Valley boasts a high expert-per-capita ratio when it comes to all things outdoor recreation. Walk into any given bar to encounter three ski movie stars, one insta famous rock climber, and a handful of Olympic gold medalists. The defining factor of Sun Valley locals, however, is that most folks are not all that pretentious about their expertise. Take this example. One of my friends came to town without knowing how to ski. On his first day on the mountain, a new acquaintance offered to teach him some tricks and proceeded to spend the entire day helping him pizza and french fry down Baldy’s most mellow slopes. A week later, my friend attended a local showing of a ski movie only to discover footage of his humble instructor smashing graceful lines on the world’s tallest peaks. “I had no idea he was a professional skier,” my buddy told me. “I can’t believe I spent eight hours snow plowing with a professional skier.” Like I said, as ratios go, we have a high expert per capita, low ego per expert. But what about us non-experts? What about our egos? When I first came to Sun Valley, …
Tour de Suds: Sun Valley’s Bike-to-Brewery Tour
Bikes and beers go together like bacon and eggs, Batman and Robin, or hot summer days and ice cream cones. Like most ski town dwellers, Sun Valleyites have a penchant for cold brews, especially after a long, hot bike ride in one of the surrounding five mountain ranges. Sun Valley and the surrounding areas offer a plethora of places to quench a hard-earned thirst with local beers. So grab your bike and make your own Strava segment to and from these thirst-quenching locales. For the ultimate tour de suds, we suggest starting in Ketchum and making your way to Hailey.
Sun Valley: Home to Unassuming, Badass Lady Shredders
Sun Valley is full of badass women, who are ready and willing to introduce you to all sort forms of lady shred adventures from backcountry ski touring wine & cheese picnics to awe-inspiring mountain bike adventures.
Freehub Magazine Bikepacks Through the Sun Valley Backcountry
Freehub Magazine set out to find a bikepacking destination that they could easily fly to and roll out directly in to the path of adventure. Sun Valley was the answer in their quest for the bikepacking grail. Easy airport access, deepwoods exploration, expansive views, hot springs, yurts and tasty singletrack were all rolled up in to one unforgettable experience in the Sawtooth Wilderness. Sit back and re-live what they uncovered. For the full itinerary and story on this project, head over to Freehub.com Huge thanks to SV Trekking, Galena Lodge, Club Ride, Sturtevant’s and Sawtooth Brewery for support on this adventure!
Freehub Magazine Explores the Sun Valley Bike Scene
The crew from Freehub Magazine ventured out to Sun Valley, Idaho to sample some of the 400+ miles of mountain biking trails unravelling only mere pedal strokes from town. From lift access and bermed segments to epic shuttle rides and primite backwoods singletrack, there’s a little something for everyone.
The Mobile Cyclist Visits Sun Valley, Idaho
The Mobile Cyclist ventured to Sun Valley, Idaho to see what the downhill biking scene is all about. From riding the lift accessed terrain on Bald Mountain to bike rentals from Sturtevant's all topped off with a frosty pint from Sawtooth Brewery. Get the full scoop by watching the video above!
Riding the Lupine Flow Trail on Bald Mountain
The Sun Valley Resort spent some quality time sculpting out a delightful creation, the Lupine flow trail. This nearly pedal free traverse delivers momentum hungry banked turns, wheelie-friendly rollers and jaw-dropping views. Accessed via the upper Broadway trail, Lupine meanders effortlessly across the famed bowls where it eventually connects to the lower section of Saddle-Up. It'll be the best slump buster you could fathom.
Getting Out There and Grinding Gravel at Rebecca’s Private Idaho
Sun Valley has long been known around the Labor Day time of year as the home of one of the most remarkable non-motorized parades in the country, Wagon Days. But last year, local endurance athlete Rebecca Rusch, brought a new sort of twist on the non-motorized parade to town, Rebecca's Private Idaho. Heading into the great wide open a rider crosses into another world. Wildhorse Canyon meets the Copper Basin. Capitalizing on the lack of tarmac and abundance of top notch gravel roads which criss cross the county, this event run in the European Grand Fondo tradition, sends riders on an odyssey without the pressure of needing to compete, but inviting them to choose their own level of adventure. As many sports do, road cycling has evolved over the recent years with a new category whose machines make riding dirt roads, well, kind of cool and fun. Why is there a picture of an ass in this post? Read on, it will make sense. Wagon Days parade entrant #22. For the second year in a row, the four legged non-motorized set was joined by the two legged two wheeled contingent adding a new wrinkle to an old horse. …
Ride Sun Valley: The Best Time on Two Wheels Anywhere!
The Smith Optics Ride Sun Valley Bike Festival brought some of the best racers and good timers out there to Sun Valley. Headlining the festival was the Scott Sports Enduro Cup presented by GoPro And yes, all the way down there, way below, where the cars look like little ants, yep that’s the finish. It began four years ago with a dream we had to put together a chemistry experiment of sorts. Why wouldn’t the perfect organism of mountain biking, Sun Valley, thrive with a concoction of one part fun, one part silliness, and one part competition mixed with good food and great beer injected into its vein just around the time it ripens into the ideal host? Mountain biking’s unknown paradise needed a festival and so we cooked one up. This summer, the Smith Optics Ride Sun Valley Bike Festival elevated the health of the creature to an all time high, putting together the perfect elixir encompassing four nights and three days of riding, racing, live music, beer drinking and, most importantly, just generally goofing off. The weekend began with the Sheeptown Drag Races, a time honored underground event in the valley which was cooked up …