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.
The Fab 5: Winter Family Activities in Sun Valley
The best Fab 5 you’ll ever find is right here in America’s Original Destination Mountain town, Sun Valley. That’s especially so if you’ve got an active family and like to do really cool and memorable stuff together. Dig in to 5 fabulous Winter Activities for your family that are unique to Sun Valley, Idaho.
Off-Mountain Winter Family Fun
While Bald Mountain may be the hub of activity during the winter in Sun Valley, there are still lots of entertaining options to be found off the mountain, too. When your family needs a break from the slopes, it’s easy to keep the fun times rolling right along. Here a few ideas to keep the smiles and memories going strong. Go Climbing Mountains aren’t the only things you can climb around here. The climbing wall and bouldering cave at the Wood River Community YMCA in Ketchum are a blast. Just about any age climber can enjoy bouldering, while older kids and parents can find climbs of varying challenge using the Y’s Grigri belays. After climbing around, the Y also offers an expansive indoor Aquatic Center that includes water slides, a lap pool, a hot tub and a steam room. Hit the Wood River Trail on Ski or Wheels Sun Valley is known as “Nordic Town USA” for good reason. There are over 25 miles of groomed cross-country and skate-skiing trails locally, with another baker’s dozen worth of groomed snowshoe miles along the Trail Creek Golf Course at the Sun Valley Resort. Nordic skiing and snowshoeing are both pretty easy for …
Kids Will Fall for Autumn in Sun Valley, ID
The biggest challenges for kids isn’t deciding what to do, it’s deciding what they’d love to do first. Biking or bowling, hiking or fishing, skate boarding or swimming, ice skating, mini-golf or the playground, they’re all easy to do in and around Sun Valley. And the best part about playing around here in the fall is that it often feels like you’ve got the whole place to yourselves.
Finding Some Grown Up Time: Options for dropping off the kids in Sun Valley
Looking to make some time without the kids this summer? We’ve got a list of the best places to dropped the children off in Sun Valley, Idaho this summer.
Blaine County Recreation District (BCRD)
Founded in 1976, the Blaine County Recreation District, BCRD, is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing Blaine County’s quality of life by creating healthy, active recreational opportunities for all. For over 30 years, the BCRD has been the primary resource for recreational opportunities for kids, families and adults in the Wood River Valley. The BCRD has a strong tradition of improving the quality of recreation while working to meet the needs of our growing community. The BCRD manages the 22-mile multi-use Wood River Trail, the BCRD Aquatic Center, a pump track, sand volleyball courts, BCRD FitWorks (a fitness center and gymnasium), the HUB Youth Center, the historic Galena Lodge and it’s surrounding 47-mile looped summer trail system and a 160km of groomed Nordic trails in the winter. Additionally, the BCRD operates many youth and adult sports leagues, and after school and summer day camp programs. Summer Trail Information Winter Trail Information
24 hours with a Local: Wendy Jaquet
You may know the name Wendy Jaquet from her eighteen years in the state legislature (she’s a former Democratic representative, minority leader, and budget committee member), but Wendy has played many roles in the Wood River Valley, and beyond. She and her husband, Jim, moved to Ketchum from San Francisco in 1977, as Jim had been hired as city administrator for the City of Ketchum. Soon Wendy found herself dabbling in a variety of roles, from president of her two sons’ school PTA to managing an art gallery, to managing the Wagon Days parade (which she did for twenty-five years, and still announces for), to being executive director of the Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber of Commerce for thirteen years. In 1994 she decided to run for the state legislature, which she did full time until 2012, when she began teaching foundational studies and intro to public administration at Boise State University. Tired of the commute to Boise, she quit teaching but has remained busy ever since, serving on the board of Visit Sun Valley and the advisory council of the Trailing of the Sheep, giving historical tours of downtown Ketchum, coordinating the Resort Cities Coalition for the City of Ketchum, participating …
What We’re Made Of: Swiftsure Ranch Therapeutic Equestrian Center
South of Bellevue lies a beautiful, sprawling property, home to Swiftsure Ranch, a nonprofit organization founded in 1991 to help those with physical, mental, and emotional needs through equine-assisted activities. The ranch helps many individuals, including veterans, children, the elderly, and others, throughout the Wood River Valley through its many programs. Currently, the organization employees eight staff (six full time, two part time), is assisted by roughly 150 volunteers, and helps about 385 clients a year with its 21 horses. Using these unique therapeutic equine connections, Swiftsure helps empower individuals of all abilities to gain strength and freedom. The Ranch Swiftsure Ranch moved to its current location on 191 acres just south of Bellevue in 2011, allowing for more facilities and more expansive grounds. The ranch is joined on the west by BLM lands and mountain and water views; one mile of the Big Wood River passes through the property. The centerpiece of the equine programs is the 32,000-square-foot, indoor, heated arena, which allows the organization to operate year-round. A 20-stall barn accommodates up to 40 horses, and there’s also outdoor paddocks, pastures, and a smaller 12-stall barn. Inside the main arena is a tack room, complete with adaptive saddles, …
CONCERT: Lake Street Dive—Good Together Tour 2024
Sun Valley Museum of Art (SVMoA) is proud to announce a blockbuster concert for summer: Lake Street Dive’s “Good Together Tour” will come to Ketchum’s River Run Lodge on Tuesday, July 30, at 7 p.m. With tens of millions of streams, an acclaimed discography including seven celebrated studio LPs, two EPs, a slew of much-loved singles, and an enduring worldwide fanbase to their credit, Lake Street Dive has become a dynamic and exhilarating force in popular music. The band features vocalist Rachael Price, bassist/background vocalist Bridget Kearney, drummer/background vocalist Mike Calabrese, keyboardist/vocalist Akie Bermiss and guitarist/background vocalist James Cornelison. Sun Valley Museum of Art has been bringing together Wood River Valley music fans at summer concerts since the 1970s, with over 100,000 attendees. SVMoA’s concerts have been held at Trail Creek (Buddy Guy, Blues Traveler); the Sun Valley Pavilion (the Avett Brothers, Lord Huron and Bonnie Raitt); and River Run Lodge (Lyle Lovett, Chris Isaak, Jackson Browne, James Taylor & Carole King, Wilco and Michael Franti). Over the past 40 years, the Museum has been proud to share this country’s greatest performers with the community and will continue the tradition this summer.
TRLMX- Solo Showcase
Join local artist and illustrator , Alex Torquemada, for a solo exhibition showcase of her recent work during SVGA Gallery Walk on February 16th, 2024 at Floret Design Studio. 650 N Main Street Ketchum. Titled “TRLMX” , pronounced like “trail mix”, this a showcase featuring striking and color landscape illustrations, as well as some still life paintings of this artists guilty pleasure snacks. Inspired by pop-art styles, this exhibition features bold, bright, & colorful pieces of work, taking inspiration from local scenery around the Wood River Valley. Join us Friday, February 16th, for a light reception and a chance to talk with the maker.