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Destination: Idaho's Big Outdoors
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Get back in the saddle for some fresh-air fun, then add river rafting, hiking and (why not?) ice skating
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BY JAMES VLAHOS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY DMITRI ALEXANDER
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Rafting the Salmon River; sweets from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory; a posse on the Gold Creek Overlook Ride.
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Collin Friedmann, a rafting guide on Idaho's famous Salmon River, specializes in unreliable testimony. "The river flows in a circle," he'll tell gullible paddlers. Another of his stories starts, "I became a guide after winning the lottery." Or perhaps, "One time I rescued a boatful of Playboy bunnies." Entertaining the passengers with tall tales during riverine lulls is as vital a guiding skill as steering, Friedmann says. In fact, guides all over the world have a stock joke: "How do you know when a river guide is lying?" Answer: "When his mouth is open."
If you should happen to be a passenger on one of Friedmann's boats, though, and he tells you the next rapid is coming up, get ready for some fun. You might not see it at first if there's a turn ahead, but trust him, the rapid is coming. The Salmon, which you can run with the Sawtooth Adventure Co. (866-774-4644; sawtoothadventure.com; from $69 for a half-day trip), snakes through the pine-cloaked slopes of a deep, majestic canyon. It hits nearly a dozen exciting rapids, each one an all-natural thrill ride.
Rafting the Salmon is an adventure highlight of one of America's most scenically blessed and action-packed regions: central Idaho. The area is anchored by the upscale resort towns of Sun Valley and neighboring Ketchum, as well as the more rustic Stanley, 60 miles to the north. Four distinct mountain ranges rise into the region's wide skies: Pioneer, Boulder, White Cloud and Sawtooth. Below them run the rambunctious Salmon and the calmer Big Wood River, which meanders amid fluttering aspens and brilliant wildflowers. Visually diverse, the area is also geographically compact: In a single day, you can go hiking, biking, rafting and horseback riding, all without spending more than an hour in your car. So if a local—even one as duplicitous as Friedmann—tells you there's something great around the next bend, listen up. He's surely telling the truth.
Even though Sun Valley is known as a winter resort, there are almost no bad times to visit. Spring has a chance of being rainy, sure. Summer is usually hot and a little busy, but not too hot or busy. But fall—well, fall can be just about perfect. The days are still warm but the nights are refreshingly crisp. The mosquitoes, which can be pesky earlier in the year, are way down. As the aspen leaves change from green to gold, walking down a forest trail can feel like strolling through a cathedral, with the light streaming softly in through stained glass windows. Best of all? Most of the other tourists have gone home, so you'll likely have that trail to yourself.
HEMINGWAY SLEPT HERE
In the 1930s, Union Pacific railroad chairman Averell Harriman was looking for ways to boost train business in an era when car travel was on the rise. He dispatched Austrian Count Felix Schaffgotsch to find the perfect location for a new mountain resort—one best reached by rail, of course. Schaffgotsch canvassed the West until he found the aging mining town of Ketchum. In a wire to Harriman, the count said the area combined "more delightful features than any place I have ever seen in Switzerland, Austria or the U.S." The Sun Valley Resort, comprised of a ski resort and a lodge, opened in 1936, and soon welcomed celebrities like Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Marilyn Monroe and Claudette Colbert. Its popularity was boosted by the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade, starring Olympic skater Sonja Henie and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Ernest Hemingway cemented the resort's place in history when he wrote much of For Whom the Bell Tolls while staying in Room 206.
Today, pictures of luminaries line the halls of the grand, Tyrolean-style Sun Valley Lodge. Even if you're not staying at the lodge, the resort offers plenty of activities. The Trail Creek Golf Course wins accolades for its views as much as for its challenging design by Robert Trent Jones Jr. (208-622-2251; $89, cart included). Looking to get pampered? After a hot stone treatment at the spa (208-622-2160; one-hour massage, $90), you can take a dip in Sun Valley's iconic round pool, which was famously photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt for Life magazine. Finally, whatever the temperature, you can glide across the ice at the resort's pair (indoor and outdoor) of skating rinks (208-622-2194; $14, includes skate rental).
KETCHUM IF YOU CAN
A mile west of the resort is the three-stoplight town of Ketchum, pop. 3,000. It sits on the banks of the Big Wood River, beneath mountain slopes of grass, sage, aspen and pine. Many of the town's 19th-century brick buildings still stand. At Tuesday's farmers' market in Giacobbi Square, you'll find grapes and plums, local cheeses and fresh-baked pies. For a sugary snack, sample the caramel apples topped with M&Ms, pecans or toffee at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (460 Sun Valley Rd.; from $6). In the vibrant restaurant scene, Cristina's is a standout for lunch. Cristina Ceccatelli Cook, who grew up in Tuscany, prepares favorites like fettuccine with prawns and chipotle cream sauce.
For a nightcap, stop by Ketchum's Pioneer Saloon (308 Main St.; 208-726-3139) where, under elk antlers and stuffed bison heads, you can mingle with locals—fly-fishing guides, waitresses, retirees—who, regardless of age, seem more athletic, happy and attractive than the law of averages would seem to dictate. As resident Doug Taylor explains, "Sun Valley has a way of keeping people young."
THE AMERICAN ALPS
The Sawtooth National Recreation Area's stats are staggering. More than 300 lakes are scattered among its 756,000 acres, and 50 of the snowy peaks within its borders rise more than 10,000 feet. All four of the region's mountain ranges are represented here, but the most dramatic summits belong to the namesake Sawtooth Range, whose pinnacles are so spiny they've been nicknamed the American Alps. Though they're about as dramatic as Wyoming's Tetons (which also draw frequent comparisons to the Alps), they benefit from being just far enough off the beaten track—most flights require connections and the closest major city, Boise, is a three-hour drive away—to keep the crowds down.
Among dozens of possible hikes, one of the most striking is the 8½-mile roundtrip to Sawtooth Lake. Before you set off, fuel up in Lower Stanley with burgers at the Bridge Street Grill, which overlooks the Salmon River. Then drive west a couple of miles on Highway 21, turn left onto Iron Creek Road and continue three miles to the trailhead.
At first the going isn't too steep, as you follow Iron Creek. Watch for the notably gregarious spruce grouse—gray-and-white striped birds with distinctive red bands over their eyes. After passing through a small meadow, you'll work your way up a set of switchbacks through a forest of Douglas fir and pine, with the jagged whitish granite of the Sawtooths jutting above the treetops. You'll emerge just above Alpine Lake, but that's only the warmup for the grand finale: A mile later, you'll arrive at Sawtooth Lake, whose clear, aquamarine waters hold the reflection of 10,190-foot Mount Regan, towering above.
A mellower option is to drive a couple of miles farther on Highway 21 and take the turnoff to Stanley Lake. From the lake, Trail 640 to Lady Lace Falls is a five-mile roundtrip, but some of the best scenery comes at the start: Purple asters and western yarrow brighten the verdant meadows along Stanley Lake Creek, with the craggy, gun-sight notch of McGown Peak (9,860 feet) overhead.
SADDLE UP!
Wherever you roam in this area, you'll see long, grassy valleys spreading between peaks, cows grazing behind miles of zigzagging log fences, and big blue skies. And sooner or later the urge will strike you: This place should be seen from the back of a horse. Sign on with wrangler Devan Jackson and his crew at Pioneer Outfitters for a trail ride to Horton Peak, the Casino Lakes or another destination (208-774-3737; $70 half day, $105 full day). The Gold Creek Overlook ride, which takes a few hours, is ideal for late afternoon. After moving steadily upslope, first through aspens and then pines, you emerge onto a high open ridge, with the full line of the Sawtooths spread jaw-droppingly before you.
Pioneer Outfitters operates out of the Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch, a 1,000-acre retreat established in 1930. You might stop here for dinner after your ride—there's a festive barbecue with live music every Thursday—or perhaps decide to sleep over in one of the ranch's log cabins. Either way, this is a place to settle down, stop doing so much. You can soak in the large hot pool fed by geothermal waters, or relax in a rocking chair with a glass of wine on the front deck, watching the light of the setting sun play on the Sawtooth Range. Ranch manager Sandra Beckwith knows exactly how you'll feel after spending a few days exploring central Idaho, with your cell phone and laptop all but forgotten. "I don't know what's happening in the world," she says, "and it feels wonderful."
EAT
THE KNEADERY
Hearty morning fare, like
the Goldilocks Pancake
Sandwich: blueberry
pancakes, eggs and bacon.
260 Leadville Ave.,
Ketchum; 208-726-9462;
breakfast for two, $20*
CRISTINA'S
Homemade pastas and
simple delights like fresh
raspberry sorbet. Breakfast
and lunch only. 520 2nd
St. E., Ketchum;
208-726-4499;
lunch for two, $30
KETCHUM GRILL
Low lighting, a long wine
list and elegantly prepared
dishes like grilled peppered
duck breast with Idaho
huckleberries. 520 East Ave.,
Ketchum; 208-726-4660;
dinner for two, $60
BRIDGE STREET GRILL
Sit outside overlooking the
Salmon River, and keep it
simple: burgers, fries and
beer. 1 Bridge St., Stanley;
208-774-2208; lunch for
two, $30
KASINO CLUB
The kitchen serves up seared
prime rib while beer-fueled
river guides recount the
day's wildest rides. 34 Ace
of Diamonds Ave., Stanley;
208-774-3516; dinner for
two, $55
*Prices are for a meal for two
without drinks, tax or tip.
STAY
RCI-AFFILIATED RESORTS IN CENTRAL
IDAHO INCLUDE:
BIGWOOD CONDOMINIUMS, Ketchum
VACATION INTERNATIONALE ELKHORN, Sun Valley
For more information,
visit RCI.com or call
Weeks: 800-338-7777
Points: 877-968-7476
NON-RCI-AFFILIATED RESORTS:
SUN VALLEY LODGE
Guests at the historic 148-room lodge have access to
the resort's swimming pools, restaurants, spa, bowling
alley and ice rinks. 1 Sun Valley Rd., Sun Valley;
800-786-8259; sunvalley.com; doubles from $229
IDAHO ROCKY MOUNTAIN RANCH
This guest ranch, established in 1930 and still surrounded
by wilderness, has nine cabins and four lodge rooms.
Hwy. 75, nine miles south of Stanley; 208-774-3544;
idahorocky.com; doubles from $343, cabins from $412,
meals included
MEADOW CREEK INN & SPA
Six rustic rooms beside Meadow Creek, with a
panoramic view of the Sawtooth Range. Hwy. 21,
½ mile west of Highway 75, Stanley; 800-811-5745;
meadowcreekinn.com; doubles from $178 for
first night, including one-hour massage or spa
treatment per person; additional nights $95
(lodging only). Open through mid-October
NOTE: Information may have changed since publication. Please confirm key details before planning your trip.
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Published: Sept/Oct 2009 Issue
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