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Escapes: Sun Or Snow, You'll Have A Great Time In Sun Valley
Idaho resort town offers scenery, outdoor activities and great family time.
by Sam Hollis
October 23, 2007
Of course, there is never enough time on a vacation, it always moves too quickly. If you are
concerned with time - then vacationing in Sun Valley may not be right for you.
There are so many things to do and see in this secluded valley in the Rocky Mountains of
south central Idaho that you will never get it all done. Our family attempted to fit it all in this
summer and had a great time trying.
The former mining town of Ketchum is actually your destination and it takes time - the better
part of a day from Atlanta to get there. "Sun Valley" is actually the hotel and ski resort built in
the 1920s by Avrell Harriman to generate vacation traffi c on his Union Pacific Railroad. The name
Sun Valley was a marketing ploy, and the "village" that Harriman developed in the fi elds near
Ketchum included the original lodge, an inn, retail shops and every convenience, recreation, and
service necessary to attract wealthy Easterners to the West.
To visit the village is to step into another place where the architecture was modeled on an
alpine village. Be sure and walk through the historical lodge, constructed of concrete formed and
stained to look like wood, where you can view hundreds of photographs of the movie stars who have
visited over the years to enjoy the "western lifestyle."
Nowadays, when people say they are going to "Sun Valley" they really mean the entire Wood
River Valley. Harriman was attracted to the area not only for its skiing potential but also because
of the possibilities for year-round activity.
Unlike so many ski resorts, Ketchum is not contrived. The town's rustic architecture,
walkable streets and laid-back character define the area as a place to relax. Bring your blue jeans
and shorts because this is not Aspen, and people don't wear fur in the winter.
Although you will often see entertainers and other famous people, you will not fi nd the
paparazzi. It is an unwritten rule of Sun Valley to let the famous enjoy their time here as much as
other visitors. The casual nature of the town means that drivers stop to let pedestrians cross the
street, even if they are jaywalking. "Everyone is so nice, even the buses stop for you," my young
son observed as we biked through town.
Biking was the fi rst of many activities that we undertook during our week in Sun Valley.
When you arrive, stop in at the Elephant's Perch to rent bikes. They are the best way to get around
and the paved bike trails that leave town in several directions are a great way to see the area.
You can ride out Trail Creek past the golf course and skeet range to the cabin where, in the
winter, you can take a sleigh from the lodge for dinner. Along the way you can see on Proctor
Mountain the site of the fi rst ski lift in the United States. Or, ride north along the Wood River
(you might want to drive like we did) to Galena Lodge Idaho resort town offers scenery, outdoor
activities and great family time some 20 miles away. If you are a mountain bike enthusiast, the
lodge offers miles of trails through the forest that double as snow shoe and cross country skiing
trails in the winter.
After a couple of days around town we were feeling adventurous and decided to go whitewater
rafting on the Salmon River one hour north in tanley. The drive over Galena Summit and into the
Salmon River Basin is spectacular and well worth it. It is hard to imagine that salmon once swam
from the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles up the Columbia and Salmon rivers to spawn by the
thousands in the lake that became known as Red Fish Lake.
The River Co., one of a number of outfitters in the area, will expertly guide you in rafts
through the Class III and IV rapids and feed you a terrific shore lunch. The trip is exciting for
all ages and our 8- and 9-year old children even took their turn off the "jumping rock."
Finally it was time for the adults to have an activity on our own. While fishing on the Wood
River that runs through town is terrific, we lined up a guide from Silver Creek Outfitters and left
early the next morning for the drive down valley to Silver Creek, a spring-fed river owned and
protected by the Nature Conservancy. The creek is on a strip of clear, glasslike water as it
meanders through alfalfa and barley fields in the parched farmland south of Bellvue. Rainbow and
brown trout rise to hatches of Trico Spinners and Pale Morning Duns as the day warms up. Our guide,
Oz, encourages us as we cast minuscule size 20 flies to trout steadily "gulping" their breakfast.
If you fl y fi sh, a trip to the area would be incomplete without a pilgrimage to Silver Creek,
which attracts purists from the world over.
To finish our day together, my wife and I headed to The Pioneer Saloon for drinks and dinner.
I can't get enough of this place with its flavorful baked Idaho potatoes (they don't taste the same
back East) and slabs of prime rib washed down with top shelf margaritas. The décor is eclectic
Western with animal heads, cowboy paraphernalia, weaponry and hunting prints crowding the walls. A
decorator with an unlimited budget set loose in ADAC to outfi t a Lake Burton cottage could never
re-create this authentic look.
We wrapped up our week back at the Sun Valley Lodge, where every Saturday there is an ice
skating show at its outdoor rink. The children rented skates and glided, stumbled and laughed their
way around the ice before the show started. Ice skating is a popular sport among the locals, and
the rink is usually full of little girls practicing their twirls. At dark the professionals take to
the ice, and you will not be disappointed. It is hard not to enjoy the show with a buffet and bar
nearby and the mountains as a backdrop.
Somewhere along the way we found time to relax on the deck and gaze up at the ski mountain
known as "Baldy." You never know what you will see....a fox, a mule deer, a parasail drifting in
the bright blue sky ...or simply time slipping away. So sit back, relax and think about taking some
time off in the winter to come back and ski....snowshoe.... snowmobile.
I know I am.
