Sun Valley

Pros: Scenic Valley, quiet town, friendly, non commercial.
Cons: Minimal Night life,low altitude, little skiing for beginners

Introduction
Sun Valley is the resort hotel and shopping center built in Ketchum Idaho by Mr. Harriman to increase passenger miles on his Union Pacific Railroad. Ketchum is the town around the resort, and Baldy is the ski mountain that...

Pros: Good skiing, friendly people, great food
Cons: Traffic in and out of Ketchum. Speed limits

Just returned from a week in Sun Valley.

Weather was mixed but generally great skiing. All runs were well groomed and high speed quad chairs gave us lots of time to ski. The mountain is a good mixture of intermediate and expert runs. Many of...

Pros: Great food
Cons: Pricey, weak snow, boring

Ahh, Sun Valley ... perhaps the most overrated resort in history.

Okay, fine -- it's still a great destination, particularly for families, but after living there for over a year, I came to the realization that it just doesn't stack up to the...

Pros: Felix's Restaurant
Cons: Too difficult, lousy weather, remote, unfriendly.

We visited Sun Valley in Mid-January of this year (2000). Our odyssey began with just trying to get there. They don't tell you this in the brochures, but the flights from Salt Lake City frequently do not make it to Ketchum. Due to weather problems, they...

Pros: well-rounded destination
Cons: pricey

Sun Valley is a perfect destination for the combination of skiing/boarding, dining, accommodations, and shopping.

For the intermediate to advanced skier, Baldy Mountain offers an excellent variety of terrain. There is intermediate and...

Pros: Long Runs, so much above treeline A Great Date Trip!
Cons: Concave runouts, Valleys lack Sun exposure

So Sun Valley to me is about food, is that so bad?

I enjoy Sun Valley. I do not love it, that is too strong a word, and I do not make many trips out of my way to get there. When I go, I enjoy it.

Sun Valley is a Must Ski place,...

Pros: Sunny, Lots to do, Fun Mountain, Not pretentious
Cons: If you are looking for all Expert skiing, this is not the place

I have been going to Sun Valley for years. I learned to ski in the East (not an encouraging experience) but fell in love with skiing in Sun Valley. Honestly, this is a beautiful place to be and do nothing. It's even more spectacular on a powder day in...

Pros: Skiing and Fishing
Cons: Can't do it all in one trip

If you're looking for a relaxing time with tons of excitement, look no further. Sun Valley has it all. You'll find experiences from some of the best fly fishing in the summer to the best skiing in the winter. Sun Valley's Baldy Mountain, owned by Sun...

Pros: Ketchum is a great town. Food is good.
Cons: Very little sunshine, mislabeled trails.

A lot of things at Sun Valley are mis-named or mis-labeled. Sun Valley is neither the mountain nor the town, but rather the name of a resort community. The town is Ketchum, the mountain is Bald Mountain (or Baldy).

If you are looking for...

Pros: Grand mountain, sumptuous accommodations, great food
Cons: Largely patronized by returning large family groups with bratty teens and screeching kids.

Averell Harriman built this comprehensive ski resort in 1937 to introduce skiing to America and provide a new destination for passengers on his Union Pacific railroad. It appears that Harriman wanted to build a very opulent resort, modeling it after St. ...

Pros: good skiing, state-of-the-art snowmaking equipment, lots of runs, high speed quads, few people
Cons: hard trip, price

When I was 25 I went to Sun Valley on "vacation." As you may have guessed I never left. I am 30 now and have been living here for 4 and a half years and have enjoyed every second. Although Sun Valley does not receive as much snow a year as the...

Pros: Beautiful, vibrant, keeps you busy
Cons: remote

Sun Valley is one of Idaho's premier ski resorts, and as such, is seen as a November-to-April destination. Don't be fooled into thinking, however, that Sun Valley in the summer is any less enjoyable. The Elkhorn Resort (http://www.elkhornresort.mb.ca/)...

Pros: Long runs with fast chairs
Cons: Too expensive for those with tight budgets

Sun Valley has been consistently rated the best cruising mountain in North America (depending on the publications you read) and for good reason. You'll need a parachute to release once you get to the bottom of the trail, because you'll be cruising in at...

Pros: Weather, terrain, dining
Cons: Can be difficult to get to

We’ve skied British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, Wyoming and the Swiss Alps. Our favorite place to ski is still Sun Valley. The key to our enjoyment is probably the word “ski”. At Sun Valley we don’t sit around waiting for...

Pros: for skiers
Cons: remote

Of the many ski resorts I have been to in the NW United States, Sun Valley is my favorite. Sure, I lived there one season years ago, so I may be prejudice, but it's a great place to be and I can't wait to go back. The location is remote, but the travel...