Sun Valley is located perfectly in the center of Idaho allowing for endless drives of exploration. Summer 2020 is looking to be the summer of road-trips. So break out your atlas and roll down the windows because here are some of our favorite drives that are easily tackled within a day. Craters of the Moon National Monument The desolate landscape of never ending black lava flows across the Southern Idaho plain. What might seem like an empty expanse actually holds some of the best exploring around. You can choose to check into the visitors center and learn about the geologic and human history in the area. Take a hike up the fine silt mounds that were once lively volcanos and peer deep into their craters. Unique plant and animal life somehow hold on in such a harsh landscape so be sure to keep and eye out. For those looking for a little more adventure the Craters of the Moon is a spelunkers paradise. Spelunking is the exploration of caves and Craters has miles of lava tubes that are super fun to explore and are a great escape from the desert heat. Be sure to pack a flashlight. Stanley and the …
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The Great Central Idaho Road-trip
Idaho has over 30 scenic byways criss-crossing all over and providing access to the Gem State’s grandeur. With gas prices already low and predicted to drop even more heading into this summer we’ve put together the Great Central Idaho Road-trip for you to get out and see some of the best parts of the state. The driving tour loops start in Boise but can be joined at any point and links into cross country routes Interstate 84 and US Highway 20 for fun little detours. Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway – Highway 21 Driving north out of Boise almost immediately is Lucky Peak State Park and Arrow Rock Reservoir with plenty of water sports and relaxing beaches. Be sure to stop in the historic mining town of Idaho City and transport back to the days of the ole west. Stops can be made at many historical markers along the highway and interpretive trails and signs. If you’re looking for a bigger adventure, whitewater rafting on the South Fork of the Payette is some of the funnest and most accessible whitewater in the state. As you pass over into the Sawtooth valley be sure to stop at Stanley Lake for great evening …
24hrs with a Local: Chris Leman, May
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 …
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 …
24hrs with a Local: Sun Valley Film Festival’s Candice Pate, March
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. March is one of our favorite times in Sun Valley — the corn skiing is on point, spring breakers are in town, and most importantly, the Sun Valley Film Festival turns Ketchum into a raucous mix of films, celebrities, and iconic mountain town parties. With the Festival right on the horizon, we checked in with local resident Candice Pate, the Director of the Sun Valley Film Festival, to see how she would spend her perfect March day in Sun Valley. Here’s what she said. (Psst! There’s still time to grab your Festival pass!) What would you do first thing? I’d get up, get the kids to school, and head to IdaYOGA for a flow class with Beth Stuart. After that, I’d get a cup of Gorongosa Coffee (which supports the restoration of Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique) at a Sun Valley Film Festival’s Coffee Talk and settle in. Coffee Talks are always great and give an intimate insight into the ins and outs of the entertainment industry. What is next on your perfect day? I’d do some spring skiing on …
Sun Valley Music Festival Winter Series
The Sun Valley Music Festival Winter Series has become a must-see winter event in the Wood River Valley. You’ll find a reinvented classical music experience through the use of eclectic musical selections, unconventional seating, unique staging, atmospheric lighting, and an ever-shifting soundscape. Sun Valley Music Festival The Sun Valley Music Festival and its previous identity as the Sun Valley Symphony, has been around for 36 years and is the largest privately supported, free-admission orchestra in the United States. Led by Music Director Alasdaire Neale, over 100 world-class musicians from North America’s most distinguished orchestras help comprise the Festival Orchestra which performs both in the summer season concerts in July and August and for the February Winter Season. Beyond these concerts, the Sun Valley Music Festival also offers education programs and an annual gala. Winter Concerts This is the second year for the annual Winter Season concert series, held in February. This year’s series will take place over three nights of concerts from February 27-29 at The Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum. Each free concert begins at 6:30pm and features three acts of around 30 minutes each as well as two 20-minute intermissions. The Sun Valley Music Festival relies on …
What We’re Made Of: The Sawtooth Avalanche Center
The Sawtooth Avalanche Center is an incredible community resource, serving all who live and recreate in the Wood River Valley. Offering forecasts, weather, snow observations, accident reports, education and events, Sawtooth Avalanche is so much more than simply an avalanche organization. Serving those working, recreating and traveling in the Sawtooth National Forest, the Sawtooth Avalanche Center begins daily avalanche forecasts in the fall after enough snow has accumulated and continues until about mid-April. These forecasts encompass a wide area of wilderness—2 million acres—and are broken into zones as well as a list of common backcountry locations. Those zones are Galena Summit and eastern mountains, Soldier and Wood River Valley mountains, Sawtooth and western Smoky Mountains, and Banner Summit. Sawtooth Avalanche’s forecast area doubled in late 2019 after receiving a grant from Idaho’s Off-Road Motor Vehicle Fund Covering an area this big for a relatively small organization is no easy task which is why Sawtooth Avalanche depends so much on help from the community. The public is encouraged to submit avalanche, snowpack, or weather observations through the sight (though they are not screened, edited or checked for accuracy by Sawtooth Avalanche). Nevertheless, these observations are crucial to ensuring safety in such …
24hrs with a Local: Paddy McIlvoy, February
In this monthly series, we check in with some of our favorite locals to find out how they would spend a perfect 24 hours in Sun Valley. February is the time of year when a Sun Valley winter really hits its stride. Not only are snowstorms filling the mountains and turning the streets of Ketchum into a snow globe, but the longer days mean there are more hours to explore the outdoors. No one knows how to better pack a day full of winter adventures in Sun Valley than Paddy McIlovy, Managing Partner of Backwoods Mountain Sports in Ketchum. Backwoods is “an outdoor shop run by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts,” and it’s a great spot to check in on daily conditions, buy or rent gear, and get stoked for a day in the backcountry. We caught up with Paddy to see how he would spend a perfect February day in Sun Valley. Here’s what he said. What would you eat for breakfast? A muffin, straight out of the oven, from the kitchen at Galena Lodge. They are just so good. Ok, so a muffin first thing, then what? Oh no, the muffin isn’t the first thing. It’s a reward! Before breakfast, I’d …