Upon arriving in the U.S. after living 9 months in other countries, we decided to visit Sun Valley, Idaho, which is a ski resort town in the mid-south part of the state.
We stayed in a hotel for the first night and then moved into our apartment a day later.
The hotel’s breakfast lounge area. In this authentic mountain town, decorations center around the beauty of nature.
Entering downtown Ketchum, which is about 2 miles from Sun Valley’s downtown area. Most people consider the two towns to be one and the same thing.
We stayed at the base of Bald Mountain, the town’s main ski area.
The valley is surrounded by national forest, which means all the hills that can be seen behind the houses and stores are full of hiking and biking trails. We hiked this particular hill several times as it was literally just behind our apartment.
The view from the top of the hill (pictured above). It took about 40 minutes to an hour to reach the top.
Other than hiking and biking, the area also has several hot springs…some were very near the town, others took a long bike ride to reach.
As summer approached, we began touring more and more trails, taking us far away from the town and high up into the mountains.
This ride was short but very, very steep. The top gave us a great view of the town below.
Off to explore much more difficult terrain.
On some days, we rode for 7+ hours, and although we never got lost, sometimes we had to reroute ourselves depending on the condition of the trail (higher elevations still had snow).
Some trails, like this one, took us all over the mountain. From muddy paths, rocky hills, burnt forests, avalanche aftermaths – we saw it all.
It didn’t matter how difficult or easy the trail was, we were never too absorbed in the sport that we couldn’t take time to snap pictures.
When summer came, it came in its full glory.
The flowers throughout the mountains and in the town were simply gorgeous.
Lupines! They grew in great numbers, lining the streets in pinks and purples.
Dandelions took over the park that was located between our apartment and Ketchum. We visited this often to ride or walk.
And when we weren’t admiring flowers or riding our bikes, we went hiking.
At the top of a long hike, closer to Sun Valley than Ketchum. This is Pioneer Cabin.
We also did this hike in 2017 and there was less snow on the mountains during that summer. Other than that, the view was as beautiful as we had remembered.
There were a few hikes in the heart of the city that we also did. Of course, they were much shorter, but they still gave us a stunning view of the area.
As the summer began to end, we did our best to cover more of the mountain’s trails but really, how could we see them all in one summer? They were simply endless.
The ski runs were completely free of snow (compare to earlier picture where they were covered) and the grass was even beginning to brown as summer turned to fall.
We will never forget the few months we spent here…
It was one of our best summers yet and a wonderful way to experience the U.S. again.
But, as the style of the travel life goes, we fall in love with a place and then we say goodbye to it. See ya, Our Beautiful Valley Where the Sun Shines.
Hi! I'm originally from the the midwestern part of the U.S. and I love to see, experience, and learn new things as I travel around the world with my husband, Hunter. We hope you enjoy following our adventures!
