Ketchum & Sun Valley Idaho

From the arid volcanic lands of Arco, we traveled to Ketchum/Sun Valley, Idaho where it is greener and mountainous. We spent 15 days in this part of Idaho exploring the Saw Tooth Mountains and the surrounding area.

Ketchum is located in the Wood River Valley in central Idaho. It was originally the smelting center of the Warm Springs mining district. Smelters were built in the 1880s, with the Philadelphia Smelter processing large amounts of lead and silver for about a decade.

After the mining boom subsided in the 1890s, Basque sheepmen from the south drove their flocks north through Ketchum in the summer, to graze in the upper elevation areas of the Pioneer, Boulder, and Sawtooth mountains. By 1920, Ketchum had become the largest sheep-shipping center in the West.

Sheep are still moved throughout the valley like they did in the past. Shepherds and dogs move the sheep along the roadside to the higher grazing areas in the mountains. The sheep came before the local bike trail and have the right of way. Therefore after sheep past through, the bike trail may be a bit soiled.

Sun Valley was the first destination winter resort in the US developed by the chairman (W. Averell Harriman) of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1936. The resort was built in seven months for $1.5 million and the center piece was the Sun Valley Lodge, a 220-room x-shaped structure. The world’s first chairlifts were installed on the resort’s Proctor and Dollar mountains in the fall of 1936. There have been two other owners of the resort. Today the resort is owned by the Earl Holding family and is worth about $300 million.

Hiking in the Sawtooth Mountains is amazing. These mountains are jagged (how they were named) and go on forever. But we had to drive over an hour north of Ketchum to get to the beautiful parts. The Sawtooth Range has 57 peaks over 10,000 feet and another 77 peaks between 9,000 to 10,000 feet. There are 40 trails totaling nearly 350 miles and accessed from 23 trailheads. Your choices are unlimited on what to see and explore. We covered 25 miles throughout the Sawtooths.

Galena Summit was our first taste of these magnificent mountains. The elevation is 8700 feet and the overlook provides a sweeping view of the Sawtooth Range.

Pettit Lake is a pristine mountain lake surrounded by dense forests and small mountain meadows. If you have ever hiked any mountains, you know that the best views are always up!

Red Fish Lake is the largest alpine lake in the Sawtooth National Recreation area. We chose to do the hike to Williams Lake but ended up turning around after 2 miles and 1000 feet of elevation gain. It was a good choice as a thunderstorm blew in on the last mile back. We stayed dry and saw amazing views along this trail.

In and around Ketchum there are many trails that can be found at the ski resorts. We did the Bald Mountain Overlook and the Pioneer Cabin Trail. It was all up, up and up to see any of the sites! We were slow but we still enjoyed the hiking.

Cycling adventures included the Wood River Trail and wonderful low traffic side roads. The Wood River Trail is a “Rails to Trails” route that is 22 miles long and connects Ketchum, Sun Valley, Hailey (where the sheep have some right of ways) and Bellevue. It was part of the historic Union Pacific Railroad and the first mile opened in 1984 and the rest was completed in 1992. The trail has many spurs that take you throughout the valley. We rode 155 miles through the valley and got our climbing legs in shape!

When in the west one needs to go to a rodeo! We attended the rodeo that was part of the 4^th of July Days of the Old West celebration in Hailey. Enjoyed the preshow of Mutton Busting. The youngsters of the community compete riding sheep. They hang on for as long as they can. The average age was probably six to eight years for these boys and girls! This rodeo was definitely the big event for the local community and we enjoyed attending.