4 Best Sights in Sun Valley, Idaho

Towering over the small town of Ketchum, the world-famous Bald Mountain ski resort (or “Baldy”) is known for its 3,400 vertical feet of consistent pitch, sunny skies, and celebrity sightings. With one of the more advanced snowmaking systems in North America, five extravagant lodges, and relatively short lines even in peak season (December and January), day passes don’t come cheap. There aren’t many runs that could be considered “green” or “easy,” but novice skiers and snowboarders can head over to the smaller Dollar Mountain, next to the Sun Valley Village, which also has a new terrain park and 22-foot half pipe.

Nestled 23 miles north of Ketchum in the Boulder Mountains, at the base of Galena Summit, this historic day lodge offers a range of summer and winter activities in the Sawtooth Wilderness—backcountry skiing, snowshoe day passes, 50 km of groomed Nordic trails, cross-country rental gear, mountain-bike and hiking trails, and horse-drawn wagon rides. Lunch is served on the patio picnic tables in the summer and four-course “full-moon dinners” are available in the winter. You can stay in one of the overnight “semi”-backcountry yurts where staff will deliver dinner by snowshoe. Drive to the top of Galena Summit on a nice day for spectacular northern valley views.

Surrounded by trees and a white picket fence, this historic landmark is located in Ketchum’s quaint Forest Service Park. Best visited in the winter, when the town’s ski fever is running high, the museum includes a Sun Valley Ski Hall of Fame with pros like Picabo Street and Bobbie Burns, Olympic gold-medalist Gretchen Fraser, and vintage gear, including a pair of skis from the 1800s. Seasonal exhibits at the next-door Heritage Museum highlight the influences of Ernest Hemingway, the Native Americans, and the sheep-herding history of the valley.

Built in 1971, “The Center” is a museum and gallery space rich with local and international flavor. It has featured important guest lecturers like Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, and hosts year-round classes, workshops, performance theater, and rotating group exhibitions. In the summer, be sure to check out the concert series, with performers like Bonnie Raitt, or the August Arts & Crafts Festival. The Hailey location, a historic home 11 miles south of Ketchum, was the birthplace of poet Ezra Pound.