Cassie Abel is the CEO and co-founder of Wild Rye, a company dedicated to creating mountain apparel for women of all sizes, ages, and skill levels—an area she saw was decidedly lacking after spending years working in the outdoor apparel industry. Though Abel didn’t found the Ketchum-based company until 2015, she has been living here fulltime for about 10 years and spent much of her life in and out of the Valley; she’s held down jobs at local favorites like Java, the Cellar Pub, and Smith. As the kind of woman her brand targets—mountain biker, skier, busy mom—Cassie is the perfect mountain lady to tell us how to spend an ideal day in Ketchum, Idaho. How do you start your ideal day? Can I give you two ideal days? Cause one’s going to involve my toddler, and one will not! So if I don’t have my toddler, I wake up and drink some coffee on my porch. If I’m heading out for coffee, go to Lizzie’s or Maude’s and get a really delicious latte. Then I’d go for a big bike ride like Osberg’s, Alden, or Greenhorn/Imperial. How do you refuel after a long bike ride like that? Probably grab …
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Late Night Eats in Sun Valley
While the Sun Valley area is synonymous with restaurant options that close early, there are a surprising number of spot do stay open until 10pm or later (especially in the summer) and are happy to take in the late-night foodies. We’ve has compiled a list of places to go for a late night eats for those not accustomed to the early
24hrs with a Local: Sawtooth Brewery’s Kevin Jones, September
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. Back-to-school vibes are in the air, and just last week, the peaks around Sun Valley had their first dusting of early snow. Fall comes a bit early here in the mountains, but you won’t find us complaining—it’s a magical season. With perfectly warm days and deliciously cool nights, fall is the perfect time to experience Sun Valley’s natural beauty and cultural events, including Wagon Days, the Gallery Walk, the Ernest Hemingway Seminar, the Baldy Hill Climb, and Oktoberfest. To hear more about this year’s Oktoberfest, we reached out to Kevin Jones, co-founder and Business Director of Sawtooth Brewery. Sawtooth Brewery, which celebrates its tenth anniversary in November, began as a small taproom in a hotel in Ketchum. “We started the brewery when we were young and single,” says Kevin. “We had a vision of a place where people could drink local beer after a day of skiing or biking.” Now, Kevin and his business partner, head brewer and CEO Paul Holle, have two restaurants, the Public House in Ketchum and the Tap Room …
24hrs with a Local:Sun Valley Culinary Institute’s Karl Uri, July
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 for July. (photo above: Idaho Mt. Express) Hold onto your horses—summer is here! This is the season for hiking, riding, strolling, listening, gathering, and soaking in all the beauty and fun of a mountain town in its warmest months. After a summer of few events in 2020, organizers and organizations are pulling out all the stops to create an action-packed schedule of music, exhibits, speakers, and activities. So clear your calendar, slather on the sunscreen, and let’s do this. For this month’s edition of 24Hrs in Sun Valley, we caught up with Karl Uri, Director of the Sun Valley Culinary Institute. The Sun Valley Culinary Institute, or SVCI as its known, is a culinary hub for the Wood River Valley, providing culinary education and experiences for residents and visitors. Their popular cooking classes present seasonal and relevant culinary experiences in the form of chef demonstrations, skills development, wine tasting, and hands-on time in their professional kitchen. SVCI’s other offerings include a one-year professional program for culinary arts and beautiful event space in their iconic brick building on Main Street in Ketchum, built …
24hrs with a Local: BCRD’s Mark Davidson, June
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. The days are getting longer, the temperatures are warming up, and if summer hasn’t officially arrived, it will soon. June is a special month in Sun Valley—warm enough to break out the summer clothing, but early enough in the season to have the trails and rivers all to yourself. For our 24hrs Sun Valley – June edition, we reached out to Mark Davidson, Executive Director of the Blaine County Recreation District. Known locally as the BCRD, the Blaine County Recreation District’s mission is to enhance Blaine County’s quality of life by creating healthy, active recreational opportunities for all. They do this through a mix of programming, including youth sports leagues, adult fitness classes, and HUB after-school care, and facilities such as the outdoor Aquatic Center, FitWorks fitness center, Galena Lodge, and a network of summer and winter trails. Though perhaps best known for their extensive groomed Nordic trail network, it’s a different trail system that has captured the attention of trail lovers this spring—BCRD’s new Quigley Trails Park in Hailey. Quigley Trails Park …
Locals Guide to Art Galleries in Sun Valley
Ketchum local Rudi Broschofsky grew up with art—after all, his parents opened Broschofsky Galleries in 1987 when he was just 5 years old. Spending days in the gallery after school and helping with Gallery Walks enmeshed him in Ketchum’s art scene and gave him an appreciation for art that would last a lifetime. After becoming partnered into the gallery in 2005, Rudi moved to Portland for several years where he started his own street art gallery, Flat Blak, before moving back to Ketchum almost two years ago to take over the majority of day-to-day operations at Broshofsky Galleries. An artist himself, Rudi’s street art approach to western art can be seen in various spots around town like his “Roper” sculpture on Main and Fourth in Ketchum. As a lifelong local, artist, and gallery owner, Rudi is the best man in town to give you the 411 on Ketchum’s art gallery scene. How would you describe the gallery scene in this town generally? Rudi: I’d say the gallery scene here is better than most cities actually. A lot of people don’t realize the magnitude of the art scene here in Ketchum, it’s world-class and conveniently stuffed within a few short blocks. …
5 Ways to Immerse Yourself in Sun Valley’s Wellness
With fresh mountain air invigorating your soul and the sun shining deep into your subconsciousness, you will come to know why Sun Valley revels in a level of wellness and health not found many places. From healing hot springs to meditative botanic gardens to day spas and health food stores, it’s place where the words “clean living” take on real meaning. We have gathered the five best ways to dive into all of Sun Valley’s wellness offerings so that you can make the most of your visit and return refreshed and recharged. Yoga Spas If you simply need to chill, pamper yourself with a hot-stone massage, facial or acupuncture treatment to relax your mind and revive your senses, you can do that, too. Fitness and Exercise Sure, Sun Valley has trails that go on for miles, and hiking up or skiing down Bald Mountain is a sure-fire way to torch some calories. But, if you’re more in the mood for a good stretch, a core/muscle building workout or a trainer pushing you to try even harder, there are several world class gyms and studios for you to choose from that offer everything from yoga mats to salt water swim lanes. …
Sun Valley’s Diverse Arts & Culture Scene
You might not expect a small mountain town in the middle of Idaho to be an oasis of arts and culture, but then again Sun Valley is known for differing from expectations. Sun Valley is one of America’s top small towns for art. With more than a dozen galleries, several live theater companies, the lauded Writers’ Conference, the Sun Valley Film Festival, free summer symphony concerts in the Sun Valley Pavilion, and one of the West’s premier nonprofit arts organizations, the Sun Valley Museum of Art Sun Valley packs an enormous cultural punch for its size. Blogs and Videos Art Galleries and Museums Sun Valley has more art galleries and museums than you could see if you spent a whole year here! So we’ve added a direct link to the directory of them all below. Performing Arts From ballet to abstract improv, Sun Valley has a live performance to keep you entertained. Live Music Ketchum and Sun Valley have a variety of venues and get some great musicians as they stop in on their cross country tours. From big name concerts at the resort to the local favorite Ketch’em Alive free music every Tuesday in Forest Service Park there will …
4 Ways to Best Experience Fly Fishing in Sun Valley
Sun Valley still supports the kind of fishery you might have imagined existed back when Lewis & Clark first made their trip through Idaho. Fly fishing on four extraordinarily diverse waterways sit anywhere from a stones throw to an hour drive away hold a diverse species of fish. Find monstrous brown trout in Silver Creek, healthy rainbows in the Big Wood River, vibrant cutthroats in the Lost River, and apex bull trout & salmonoids in the Salmon River. Combined, these famed Idaho rivers/creeks make the area a true nexus of freshwater fly fishing. The Sun Valley area offers an incredible diversity of fly fishing opportunities for everyone from the casual novice to the ambitious expert. Time to buy a stack of postcards for Mom, because you’ll have plenty of fish stories to tell after wading our local waters. Guides There are a ton of great fishing holes spread all across the Wood River Valley and even more on the neighboring drainages. With hundreds of miles of waterways and ever-changing meanders the best way to maximize your fly fishing experience is to hire a guide. Beyond just knowing all the honey holes, guides will set you up with the tastiest fly’s to get …
5 Best Ways to Mountain Bike Sun Valley
Known for flowy, laomy buff singletrack complemented with more rowdy, advanced terrain in the sub-alpine and alpine, riders can turn it up for weeks on end without ever repeating the same ride. In a place where every ride takes you somewhere magical, it’s as though you’ve arrived in mountain bike nirvana. It can be overwhelming at first so we have put together the 5 things that will help you best maximize your experience in Sun Valley. Bike Shops and Guide Services With so many trails of varying levels of difficulty it can be overwhelming on where to start. Whether your just getting into the sport or a seasoned professional looking for that brutal expedition there is a bike shop or guide that can get you headed in the right direction. Beyond decades of local knowledge and having all the best spots to go Guides are crucial in local stewardship and personifying etiquette. Whether your looking to dodge the crowds or expand your skills there is a guide in town that will make your short time here unforgettable. Blogs Lift Access Whether you’re enjoying lunch at the Roundhouse Lodge or the of hiking and biking trails, you can’t beat the incredible …