Join us for Wagon Days‘ 60th Anniversary, August 31-September 4, 2017

Welcome to yesteryear. Please join us Labor Day weekend as Ketchum celebrates the days before railroads or automobiles reached the town with its 60th year celebration of Wagon Days.

Come to Main Street and watch the largest parade in the country without motorized vehicles (on Saturday). Basque dancers, marching bands and western cowboys travel by horse, mule or foot – anything goes as long as there is no motor. Children’s activities take place all day on Saturday and a free, family-friendly concert (Lukas Nelson!) follows the parade.

Enjoy a pancake breakfast in Town Square, a bareback riding demonstration, an arts and crafts festival and antique fair, and listen to cowboy poets and meandering musicians wandering our streets. Go for a walk or a bike ride in the Idaho fall.

Whatever you do, you’ll have a chance to experience Idaho history and a wonderful weekend. Please join us.

• See the full schedule here!
• Reserve seats here!
• Wagon Days posters available at Ketchum City Hall
• The Ore Wagon Museum will be open starting August 18th
• Click herefor the Parade Entry Form

On August 21, 2017, Ketchum and Sun Valley, Idaho residents and visitors will experience a Total Solar Eclipse as the moon moves fully in front of the sun. This extraordinary moment marks the first total eclipse of the sun visible from all 48 contiguous United States since 1979 and the first visible from coast to coast in the US since 1918.

Sun Valley, Idaho is the place to be for the 2017 Solar Eclipse!
The most beautiful place on the line of totality!

The Cities of Ketchum and Sun Valley are working together to have the ultimate viewing party on Festival Meadows.
There will be vendors, activities for the kids, a astronomer/speaker and more! Details here!

The Sun Valley Resort also has a lot of eclipse-related activity, including a viewing party on the Pavilion lawn–details here!

Scope our blog for the full low-down on the Solar Eclipse: 

Everything You Need to Know for the Eclipse in Sun Valley & Ketchum, Idaho

More useful links:

• eclipse2017.org
• 2017 Total Eclipse in Idaho: What You Should Know
• Be Prepared! Here’s a great resource for being prepared for the eclipse: http://www.blaineemergency.org/eclipse/
• Seven Things You Must Anticipate For The 2017 Solar Eclipse

By Sunseeker

Every summer adventure conquerers are drawn out of the wood work to Sun Valley, Idaho in search of something special. For some, the lure is the 400+ miles of singletrack mountain biking trails, the endless hiking opportunities or even the rod-torquing trout lurking in the various waters are the sacred quests. For others, Sun Valley’s hybridization of adventure and culture are what truly satiate their cravings. The myriad of events that go down each summer are plentiful enough to please audiences far and wide. This year is no different. Have a look and see what the 2017 summer line-up has in-store.

Summer Events & Festivals

• Sun Valley Brewfest | June 17
• Ride Sun Valley | June 29 – July 2
• Writers’ Conference | June 30 – July 3
• Hailey Days of the Old West Celebration | July 1 – 4
• Ketchum Arts Festival | July 7 – 9
• Sun Valley Center – Wine Auction | July 20 – 23
• Sun Valley Summer Symphony | July 23 – August 17
• Sun Valley Center – Arts & Crafts Festival | August 11 – 13
• Wood River Valley Studio Tour | August 15 – 20
• Total Solar Eclipse | August 19 – 22
• Wagon Days | August 31 – September 4
• Rebecca’s Private Idaho | September 2 – 3
• Ernest Hemingway Festival | September 7 – 9
• Oktoberfest | September 15 – 16
• Wood River Valley Harvestfest | September 16
• Trailing of the Sheep Festival | October 4 – 8
• Sun Valley Jazz & Music Festival | October 18 – 22

Mountain Biking

• Ride Sun Valley | June 29 – July 2
• Galena Grinder | July 29
• Ride Idaho | August 5 – 12
• Rebecca’s Private Idaho | September 2 – 3
• Baldy Hill Climb | September 23

Running

• Backcountry Run | July 29
• Standhope Ultra Challenge | August 5
• Baldy Hill Climb | September 23

Arts

• Company of Fool Theatre | June – October
• Sun Valley Gallery Association – Gallery Walks | July – September
• Ketchum Arts Festival | July 7 – 9
• Sun Valley Writers’ Conference | June 30 – July 3
• Ballet Sun Valley | August 22
• Sun Valley Summer on Ice | July – September
• Sun Valley Center Center – Arts & Crafts Festival | August 11 – 13
• Wood River Valley Studio Tour | August 15 – 20
• Ernest Hemingway Festival | September 7 – 9

Music

• Ketch’em Alive | June – August
• Sun Valley Resort Concert Series
  • Galactic | July 8
  • Eddie Money | August 31
  • Jamestown Revival and Lukas Nelson & the Promise of the Real | September 3
• Sun Valley Opera – Summer Festival | July 5 – 8
• Sun Valley Center – Summer Concert Series
  • Lord Huron | July 17
  • Pink Martini | August 1
• Sun Valley Summer Symphony | July 23 – August 17
• Killebrew-Thompson Benefit Concert – Huey Lewis & the News | August 19
• Sun Valley Jazz & Music Festival | October 18 – 22

Whether you’re celebrity chasing or couch crashing, here’s the run down on where to stay, eat, and ski.

April 13, 2017 By Julie Brown

There are two ways to experience Sun Valley. The Hollywood way, with diamond-crusted facials and celebrity hobnobbing. Or the couch-surfing way, with a DIY flair that capitalizes on the local secrets of your hosts. Both are excellent approaches to the original American ski destination.

Where to stay

For a bit of Old Hollywood Nostalgia: Pull up to the Sun Valley Lodge, where furs and dark sunglasses are the norm. In the same realm of historic grand hotels as Yosemite’s Ahwahnee and Mount Hood’s Timberline Lodge, the Sun Valley Lodge has had a regular rotation of celebrities stroll through its hallways since it opened in 1936. Today those faces are preserved in the archival black-and-white photos adorning the walls. A renovation in 2015 kept that heritage and grandeur while updating the Lodge with amenities like larger guest rooms and windows, a limestone deck and heated pool. A visit here is not complete until you’ve bowled in one of the six regulation-length lanes on the ground floor.

The Sun Valley Inn, just across the courtyard, is a bit more of a throwback (as in, it hasn’t been renovated like it’s sister hotel). But with royal red printed carpet and a black grand piano in the lobby, it has a certain charm. Or go modern in downtown Ketchum at the Limelight Hotel.

If you’re on a tighter budget: Do what I did and crash at a friend’s. Hopefully they have a guest bedroom, or at least a couch. Or check out the new locally-owned hostel, the Hot Water Inn. A “boutique mountain lodge” in the price range of a single dollar sign, the Hot Water Inn offers 10 bedrooms—shared and private—at the base of the Warm Springs lift. Jam sessions encouraged.

Where to Ski

For courduroy cruising with the blue-hairs: Sun-starved Northwesterners flock to the sun-soaked and aptly named Seattle Ridge where blue-square groomers are a plenty. Of course, a few rounds of Warm Springs laps is a must. For more beta on where to ski, read it from a local.

If you don’t own a Mountain Collective pass and/or don’t want to throw down on a lift ticket: Sun Valley’s secret is its backcountry access. There are five mountain ranges within an easy drive of Ketchum. Mountains as far as the eye can see. Drive to Galena Pass and skin from the road. Or hike into a yurt in the Sawtooths for a weekend of couloir hunting.

Full Article Here

USATODAY-Larry Olmsted

The scene: Ketchum, Idaho was the last place Ernest Hemingway called home, and while Warfield Distillery & Brewery is new, there’s a good chance “Papa” would have liked it — the place not only serves great food, but makes its own beer and liquor as a rare combination brewery and distillery.

Ketchum is also home to the nation’s very first destination ski resort, Sun Valley, the place that invented the chairlift, but it’s one of the few ski towns that is busier in summer than winter, thanks to world class mountain biking, several golf courses, white water rafting, and a huge slate of festivals and symphony performances, so Warfield has a hungry (and thirsty) audience all year round.

It occupies a prime corner location in the heart of the town’s condensed Main Street, with one long, deep, big room. Despite the distilling and brewing operations, it’s more restaurant than bar, with three rows of tables and booths running front to back, an open kitchen across most of the back wall, a small sit down bar in the right back corner, and a glass encased pot still in the back left. The interior has a very Western feel, with worn wooden floors, dark wood tables, leather booths decorated with equestrian harness belting, and exposed brick walls. Overall, it’s got a cozy but refined “upscale tavern” aesthetic, and the antique safe built into the wall behind the bar is a nice touch.

Reason to visit: Duck drumettes, octopus, pork coppa steak, mussels, beer

Click Here to See Full Article

The insider’s tour of one of the most historic ski areas in North America

February 24, 2017 By Gabe Schroder

PHOTO: Courtesy of Sun Valley

Fun fact: Sun Valley is a town, a region, and a ski area. The town of Sun Valley is home to the Sun Valley Resort, which includes the lodge, golf course, Nordic skiing tracks, and Dollar Mountain (a small ski hill for beginners, with a big terrain park for the hardpack huckers). A mile or so away is the town of Ketchum that is full of charm, history, nightlife, and local flavor. Towering above the town of Ketchum is Bald Mountain (aka Baldy), the crown jewel of Idaho ski resorts. Together, the resort, the town, and the ski area can all be referred to as Sun Valley.

Taking its rightful place amongst North America’s most legendary ski areas, Sun Valley’s Bald Mountain serves up a unique and world-class ski experience. Some skiers, however, are quick to dismiss Baldy due to its fancy day lodges, low annual snowfall (220 inches, on average) and absence of cliffs, chutes, and other natural features.

All of which is true, to some extent. Sun Valley’s tree-cut runs and wide, open bowls don’t have the same alpine gnarl factor that other more jagged ski areas feature. But don’t be so quick to dismiss Sun Valley. The ski resort, which opened in 1936, has a cemented place in skiing lore, and skiers who have spent time here know this place is legit.

Easy access from town with 3,100 feet of sustained fall-line skiing and a cool ski patrol overseeing an open boundary policy combine to create a no-nonsense ski experience not easily found these days. This is a mountain where skiers come to ski—not to be seen or be a part of something cool. Skiing here is all about feeling the raw and continuous tug of gravity. For once a skier commits to Baldy’s uninterrupted fall line and surrenders to her relentless pull, her true beauty is revealed. Here’s all you need to know to make the most of skiing at Sun Valley.

Read more at http://www.powder.com/latitudes/us/idaho/sun-valley/tour-de-sun-valley/#UuAZFLmiJq5WACTE.99

Last year, savvy travelers flocked to Rio for the Olympics; Cuba, because they could; and America’s national parks, to celebrate the 100th birthday of the natural wonders in their own backyards. In 2017, we’ll see hot spots like Sri Lanka, Colombia, and Oman remain popular, but travelers will venture off the beaten path, beyond each country’s tried-and-true holiday escapes.

7. Idaho
   Idaho is having a moment. The capital, Boise, may not have an Ace Hotel yet, but it’s quietly setting itself up to be one of America’s most desirable second-tier cities with hip lodging like theModern Hotel + Bar, indie coffee shops,creative hubs, distilleries, and a serious craft beer scene. And then of course, there’s the incredible access to the outdoors, including more than 190 miles of trails to hike, run, and bike in the Boise Foothills. Hemingway’s beloved Sun Valley, while often overlooked for glitzier mountain towns like Telluride, Park City, and Jackson Hole, is having a renaissance. America’s first destination ski resort area offers some of the best slopes in the U.S. and still maintains a laid-back mountain-town feel (think Aspen in the ’60s). The December 30 opening of the Limelight Ketchum, the first new hotel in more than two decades, will bring some youthful energy to the mountains. Farther afield, Selkirk Powder Company recently announced it will be offering heli-skiing trips to the Idaho panhandle beyond the Schweitzer Mountain backcountry, giving adventurers access to the rugged and untapped American Selkirk Range of northern Idaho.

See Full Article Here