We’re not saying Sun Valley has special powers, but a lot of magical things do happen here. The slopes on Bald and Dollar mountains enjoy a nearly lift line–free existence all winter long, not to mention a nearly cloud-free one. Plus there’s a 26,000-square-foot family center with everything from lessons to rentals to lockers. Our restaurants have menus loaded with fresh gourmet options from inexpensive to luxury. In summer you can hike, bike, fly-fish or golf in the morning, bowl a few frames in the afternoon, and still catch the sunset from 8,000 feet at the Roundhouse before catching a jazz show. We don’t like to brag, but we do think there’s something out of the ordinary going on in these hills.
Around here, if the sun is out, there’s something you really need to be doing. And the sun is almost always out. So first things first: the mountains.
Baldy is our big-time mountain. Boasting perfect-pitch vertical from peak to base, Bald Mountain has no flats, no plateaus and nothing but downhill. And with the barely-there lift lines, there’s plenty of time to make as many turns as your legs will allow, usually under a sun that shines for 80 percent of the year. With runs ranging from expert to beginner, groomers to slalom challenges, Baldy is a mountain for people who like to go down, no matter how fast or what they strap to their feet.
Dollar Mountain is where skiing learned to ski. The home of the world’s very first chairlift, it now has 76 rails and a 22-foot super pipe, along with beginner-friendly slopes, five lifts and 628 feet of vertical on a treeless, sun-kissed face. Every snow lover, no matter their skill level, will find something on this mountain that will put a grin on their face and some fresh tracks behind them in the snow.
Mountain Lodges
River Run Day Lodge
River Run is where it all begins at the base of Baldy. A veritable mini village of everything ski and ride oriented, it’s a place you can pick up rental equipment, stash your belongings and get a last-minute tune and wax before heading up to the peak. Hungry? River Run offers wood-fired pizzas, grilled delights, deli sandwiches, salads and sushi by day, with après-ski entertainment on Friday and Saturday afternoons.
Warm Springs Day Lodge
Right at the base of Baldy, the Warm Springs Day Lodge serves up yummy eats for breakfast and lunch. Featuring one of the West’s most famous Idaho potato bars, Warm Springs also serves fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies that can be enjoyed on the sunny patio or while soaking up the live entertainment inside.
Seattle Ridge Day Lodge
The food at Seattle Ridge is a standout, and it has to be to compete with the views. Sitting high at 8,800 feet along the Seattle Ridge area of Baldy, this lodge opens up onto jaw-dropping views of the surrounding Wood River Valley. Open for lunch, Seattle Ridge’s menu includes wood-fired fare like grilled steaks and fish, burgers, and barbecue, along with a large variety of food to grab on the go.
Carol’s Dollar Mountain Lodge
Carol’s is Sun Valley’s family-friendly locale, complete with classic European décor. The menu at Carol’s Dollar Mountain Lodge has a little something for everyone, from kids to parents to anyone on the hunt for a great meal. Located within easy walking distance of the village, Carol’s is the spot to kick your feet up and enjoy breakfast and lunch, either inside or on the heated patio. Open for winter season.
He was almost ready to give up and go home. It was 1935, and for a few weeks Count Felix Schaffgotsch of Austria had been on a mission to find a hidden gem tucked into the western reaches of the United States. He wanted to find the perfect untapped area in which to build a ski resort the likes of which no one had ever seen.
So far it had been a series of hits and misses, and the good count figured his vision just might not exist. But it was then that he overheard some locals talking about a small mining town in Idaho called Ketchum. The count couldn’t exactly say why, but “Ketchum” had a ring to it, and he decided to take a look.
The veritable Shangri-La he found would change the skiing world forever. As he looked upon a beautiful sun-kissed valley outside Ketchum, the count knew this was the gem he had been hunting. He immediately wired his employer, Averell Harriman, ecstatically exclaiming, “This combines more delightful features than any place I have ever seen in Switzerland, Austria or the U.S. for a winter resort.” Harriman rushed to join the count, and within days purchased the 4,300 acres that would become Sun Valley.
They immediately got to work, and within eight months Sun Valley opened to the public in the winter of 1936. And it didn’t take long for the world to see what Harriman and the count had seen. Sun Valley was an instant success, and eventually became the lodge for celebrities, champion skiers from around the globe and everyone else who wanted a winter resort with almost year-round sun, endless vertical slopes and virtually no crowds. Sun Valley has grown since then, but it’s every bit as amazing as the day it opened.
The Grand America
Sun Valley isn’t the only place in the mountains to stay. Our friends over at the Grand America Hotel are located right near the Salt Lake City International Airport and offer Old World European style with modern convenience. Exquisite details abound, like Italian chandeliers, French cherry wood furniture, rich wool carpets and super-fast Internet with big-screen TVs in every room. Check out the website here.
Snowbasin
Need to get out of Sun Valley? The good folks over at Snowbasin will give you a great place to ski if you’re looking to leave Idaho for a little while. Home to the 2002 Winter Olympics downhill, Snowbasin has a run for every skill level. Just 40 minutes from Salt Lake City International Airport, they have 3,000 acres of skiable terrain with 2,959 total vertical feet. Check out the website here.
The Little America–Flagstaff
The Little America–Flagstaff Hotel sits on 500 beautiful acres of ponderosa pine forest, and is located right near the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Sunset Crater and the Arizona Snowbowl. And with 248 luxurious rooms, each with floor-to-ceiling windows, imported marble and spacious baths, the Little America–Flagstaff is an exquisite lodge with all Arizona has to offer on its doorstep. Check out its website.
The Westgate
If you’re planning on getting the Southern California brand of sun, consider the Westgate Hotel. Right in the heart of downtown San Diego near the Horton Plaza shopping mall, the Westgate has lavish European furnishings, 223 deluxe rooms, a fitness and spa center, and some of the finest French dining to be found. Check out its website.
The Little America Hotel and Towers
When you stay at the Little America Hotel and Towers, downtown Salt Lake City is right at your doorstep. Conveniently located across from the Grand America and mere minutes from the city’s lively districts, this exquisite hotel boasts exclusive tower rooms and lavishly furnished guest rooms complete with Italian-style baths, a desk and two phone lines. Visit the site here.
The Little America–Wyoming
If you’re planning on visiting big Wyoming, the Little America–Wyoming Hotel is right off Interstate 80 with 140 rooms and suites and the friendliest staff around. 300 miles west of Cheyenne, this little hotel is a welcome haven for any traveler. Visit the site here.
The Little America–Cheyenne
With 80 beautifully groomed acres that include a nine-hole executive golf course, the Little America–Cheyenne hotel is a luxurious place to put your feet up in Cheyenne. It has 188 guest rooms, each with a 31" TV, soft goose down pillows and built-in refrigerators. And if you feel like a swim, you can take a dip in the Olympic-size swimming pool. Check out the website here.
Sun Valley Resort Fact Sheet
Sun Valley Resort
1 Sun Valley Road
P.O. Box 10
Sun Valley, ID 83353
800-786-8259
www.sunvalley.com
Fax: 208-622-2030
Opening day: Dec. 21, 1936
Sun Valley Resort is America’s first destination resort, built in 1936 by the Union Pacific Railroad. It is located in the Northern Rockies region of south-central Idaho and is open year-round with four distinctly beautiful seasons. There are more outdoor recreational activities here than at any other destination resort in the U.S.
Accommodations
The Sun Valley Resort sleeps 1,200 with a total of 480 rooms.
Sun Valley Lodge: 108 rooms
Sun Valley Inn: 105 rooms
Apartments, cottages and condominiums: 227 rooms
Mountain Statistics
Bald & Dollar Mountains
Ski season: Thanksgiving Day–mid-April
Hours: 9 am–4 pm
Sun Valley Totals
Lifts: 18
Gondola: 1
Quads: 9
Triples: 3
Doubles: 2
Surface: 3
Total lift capacity: 29,717 skiers per hour
Average skiers per day: 2,900
Skiable area: 2,154 acres
Longest run: 3 miles
Total runs: 121
Super pipe: 22 feet high
Steepest run: Inhibition (70% or 35 degrees)
Slope rating:
36% Easiest
42% More Difficult
20% Most Difficult
2% Expert Only
Snowmaking area: 645 acres
Snow guns: 555
Groomable area: 810 acres
Groomable terrain with snowmaking: 78%
Sunshine: 120 days out of 150-day ski season or 80%
Bald Mountain
Summit elevation: 9,150'
Vertical drop: 3,400'
Rise: 19,714'
Lifts: 12
Runs: 100
Lift capacity: 23,680 skiers per hour
Day lodges:
River Run Day Lodge
Warm Springs Day Lodge
Seattle Ridge Day Lodge
Lookout Restaurant
Roundhouse
Sun Valley SnowSports School: 240 instructors
Dollar Mountain
Summit elevation: 6,638'
Vertical drop: 628'
Rise: 976'
Lifts: 6
Runs: 22
Lift capacity: 6,037 skiers per hour
Day lodge: Carol’s Dollar Mountain Lodge
New terrain park: Three parks, two cross courses, 76 rails
Super pipe: Old Bowl (620 feet long, 22 feet high)
Sun Valley Nordic & Snowshoe Center
40 km (25 miles) of meticulously groomed tracks for classical, skate skiing and ski touring
Snowshoe trails: 14 km
Ski and snowshoe rental, accessories, wax room
Clinics and private instruction
Winter Recreation
Swimming and soaking: Two glass-enclosed heated pools, one Jacuzzi
Spa: Day spa and full-service salon
Ice skating and hockey: One outdoor rink, one indoor rink
Après-Ski
Entertainment: Duchin Lounge, Bald Mountain base lodges
Dancing: Jazz musicians perform nightly for dancing in the Duchin Lounge
Movies: First-run movies nightly in the Sun Valley Opera House. Free viewings of “Sun Valley Serenade” play continuously in guest rooms.
Summer Recreation
Golf: Sun Valley Resort Golf courses, 45 holes
18-hole Trail Creek course designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
New 9-hole White Clouds course designed by Knott & Linn
New Elkhorn Golf Club
Tennis: 17 courts, full-service pro shop and expert instruction
Ice skating: Indoor and outdoor rinks, skating school, hockey
World-class ice shows Saturday nights during the midsummer, featuring Olympic and world champion figure skaters
Swimming: Three heated outdoor pools, one Jacuzzi, one children’s pool
Gun club: Trap and skeet fields, double trap, wobble trap, duck tower, five-stand, sporting clays, professional instruction
Horseback riding: Sun Valley Stables
Gondola and chairlift rides: Access to Baldy’s summit and biking and hiking trails
Fly-fishing
Rafting: Whitewater trips on the main Salmon River, the Middle Fork of the Salmon River and others
Bowling alley: Six lanes, Sun Valley Lodge basement
Paddle boating, horseshoes and volleyball: Sun Valley Lake
Sun Valley PlaySchool: Available year-round
Restaurants & Lounges
13 restaurants, including 6 mountain lodges
4 lounges: Duchin Lounge, the Ram Lounge, Warm Springs Day Lodge and River Run Day Lodge
Shopping
Sun Valley Village: 12 shops
Summer Calendar
Major events include Sun Valley Pavilion entertainment, the Sun Valley Wine Auction, Arts and Crafts Festival, the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, Saturday night Sun Valley summer ice shows, Swing ’n’ Dixie Jazz Jamboree, car auction, Writers’ Conference, Killebrew-Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament.
Meeting & Banquet Facilities
The newly renovated Sun Valley Inn Convention Center totals more than 12,000 square feet and is as grand in interior décor as it is impressive in its concealed state-of-the-art technological function. Meeting rooms have extensive telecommunication and audiovisual backbone cabling systems that allow for numerous telephone, data, video and audio distribution via fiber optics, data-rated twisted-pair 802.11g wireless and coax. High-speed Internet access is achieved through RJ45 twisted-pair connectivity and fiber-optic cabling along with 802.11g wireless Ethernet. This access also can be configured to allow for virtual LAN networking between meeting rooms within the hotel. In addition, an in-house, resort-wide fiber-optic backbone can accommodate all possible data and video distribution needs as well as direct fiber connections from carrier circuits to all meeting rooms.
Total meeting rooms: 18
Largest capacity: Seats 1,100 theater style
Total meeting space: 28,500 square feet
Ownership
Sun Valley Resort is privately owned by the R. Earl Holding family, owners of Sinclair Oil Corp. Sister properties include Snowbasin Ski Resort, the Grand America Hotel, and the Little America Hotel and Towers in Salt Lake City, Utah; the Westgate Hotel in San Diego, Calif.; the Little America–Flagstaff in Arizona; and the Little America–Wyoming and the Little America–Cheyenne in Wyoming.
Management
Vice President/General Manager: Tim Silva
Director of Hotels: Justin Cambier
Director Marketing & PR: Jack Sibbach
Director of Sales: Brent Gillette
Manager of Mountain Operations: Peter Stearns
