Sun Valley along with nearby Ketchum is the best place for first-class skiing in Idaho, and one of the first ski resorts in the United States. Serious skiers are attracted to Sun Valley - several generations of Olympians have trained here.
Bald Mountain, known as Baldy, topping out at 9150 feet, offers long runs, great skiing and the experience of Idaho's rugged wilderness. Lift lines are almost unheard of at Sun Valley. The River Run and Warm Spring Lodges on either side of the mountain and Seattle Ridge Lodge, near the top offers everything the skier (and apres-skier) needs. Dollar Mountain offers a tamer environment for the novice. A 400 foot long, 40 foot wide half-pipe with 12 foot walls is new and well maintained, but is not what Sun Valley is best known for.
The Nordic Center combines a year-round resort, including dining and exclusive shopping, with 40 km of well groomed cross country trails. Glide through 6000 feet elevation Rocky Mountain meadows and then hit the heated outdoor pool. Ski touring is available "next door", in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
Sun Valley was created in 1936 after an Austrian count hired by Union Pacific decided to make the area a premier ski resort. The resort was an instant success and boasted the world's first chair lift. Located in southern Idaho, about 150 miles east of Boise and west of Idaho Falls, the runs are generally open from November to April. During the cold winter nights, tourists usually head over to Ketchum for some lively entertainment and warm spirits. If you find yourself near Sun Valley in the summer months be sure to rent a bike or go rafting nearby. Ernest Hemingway finished "For Whom The Bell Tolls" while a guest at the resort in 1939, and spent the last two years of his life just down the road in Ketchum.
18 lifts including 1 surface lift and 17 chair lifts.
$$$ (Expensive)75 runs - 36% beginner, 42% intermediate, 22% expert. Longest run is 15,840 feet.
40 km of Cross Country trails.
Mountain Statistics: 3,400 feet vertical drop, 9,150 feet summit elevation, 2,054 acres, average annual accumulation 220 inches.