2 nights/1 day in Sun Valley. Worth it? (while on our way to Grand Teton/Yellowstone) (Boise: homes, camp)

[echo7tango]

Hello,

Is it worth it, while driving from San Francisco to Grand Teton & Yellowstone where we plan to spend 2 weeks, for me and my wife to visit Sun Valley in early September? We enjoy hiking, natural scenery, wildlife viewing, and interesting / unique museums. We'd also enjoy spending a few hours walking around town if it was interesting (but not shopping, we don't enjoy shopping) and enjoying a nice lunch or dinner, or both, but we can pack our meals and eat on the go if there's something better to see.

For more about what we like to do, a year ago we vacationed for 2-1/2 weeks in Alaska for the Iditarod dog sled race (yes it was wintertime):

• CD post about our Alaska plan -- what we planned
• CD post after the trip (same thread), report, link to pictures -- what we actually did

My wife & I have never been to Sun Valley before.

So would this stop be worth it? Or instead would it be better for us to spend that day in Grand Teton / Yellowstone, or something more interesting along the way to/from?

Thank you in advance.

[banjomike]

You chose a good time of year for this trip! Early September is my favorite time of the year. Be sure to pack some warm clothing, because the nights could be quite cold. The daytime temps will still be summery.

The places are over 100 miles apart, so I suggest considering the Sun Valley area as one entire touring zone, with Yellowstone and Teton another. And there's a lot of cool stuff to see in between them, so you might want to include a 3rd zone into your trip plans.

Sun Valley is a gateway to much more scenic and wilder places that lie all around it. The Sawtooth Wilderness area really can't be covered in only 1 or 2 days.
The parks are things unto themselves with more things to do and see within their boundaries than a person has time for in only 2 weeks. You can't see everything in Yellowstone in 30 days. Teton is smaller, and much more vertical. If you want to see some of its best stuff, hikes into the mountain range will be necessary. Some are easy, and some are rigorous.

The area that lies between them also has a lot of outstanding scenery, but some of the best would require detours. It's not very far from Sun Valley to Twin Falls, the home of Shohone Falls, one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the west, but Twin would detour you off of US 20. So you would either have to make a loop of that route to get back on 20 or choose to use the Interstate to take you east toward Yellowstone.

That means you would have a chance to see Massacre Rocks, which is close to the Interstate, but you would miss the Craters of the Moon on 20. The astronauts who went to the moon trained in the Craters.

Here's a good place to start planning:
https://visitidaho.org

I hope this helps.

[echo7tango]

Mike, great to know we’re going at a good time of year. The overall focus of the trip is Yellowstone. The Tetons and Sun Valley would be “side attractions” for want of a better description.

I’ve been to Shoshone Falls, and to Massacre Rocks and also Register Rock too. I’ve also been to Craters and plan to visit it again on the way from Sun Valley to Yellowstone.

Thanks for your info but what makes Sun Valley special and worth a visit?

[nm9stheham]

Sun Valley is OK in summer but nothing spectacular. I'd say that shopping is the main attraction there in summer and you don't like that. It gets much more interesting in deep winter snow. Jackson WY is similar.



I would pass through and head up over Galena Pass from Sun Valley to Stanley ID instead, at the base of the Sawtooths. Or, if your rroute lies more via Boise, then go direct from Boise to Stanley. After some hiking there, then proceed east through the Salmon River gorge to Challis, up to Salmon, and then to West Yellowstone. You can return down via the Tetons, and if you have time and want more hiking, then an option is Dubois WY and hiking up on the Absarokas or better yet, in the Wind River range, which is very ancient glaciated rock, 2.5 to 3 M years old. Drop south to through western WY to I-80 and head home. That route is going to contain far, far more scenery and the types of activities that you like. This route is very rural, and contains some of the most dramatic scenery you will find in the whole region.



Of course this is all subject to the travel situation with the CV...

[Syringaloid]

Shopping is not the main attraction in Sun Valley during the summer.

[nm9stheham]

Originally Posted by Syringaloid

Shopping is not the main attraction in Sun Valley during the summer.

Roger.. So what would you list as the main thing in summer? I am just going on my personal impressions, having been there in both summer and winter. You can hike from there, but I can think of better places, like Stanley.

[Syringaloid]

Originally Posted by echo7tango

Hello,

Is it worth it, while driving from San Francisco to Grand Teton & Yellowstone where we plan to spend 2 weeks, for me and my wife to visit Sun Valley in early September? We enjoy hiking, natural scenery, wildlife viewing, and interesting / unique museums. We'd also enjoy spending a few hours walking around town if it was interesting (but not shopping, we don't enjoy shopping) and enjoying a nice lunch or dinner, or both, but we can pack our meals and eat on the go if there's something better to see.


My wife & I have never been to Sun Valley before.

So would this stop be worth it? Or instead would it be better for us to spend that day in Grand Teton / Yellowstone, or something more interesting along the way to/from?

Thank you in advance.

If you are spending 1 day in Sun Valley/Ketchum, there is a lot of hiking, beautiful natural scenery surrounding the towns, wildlife including wolves and mountain goats and a few museums including the Heritage and Ski Museum. You can also visit Hemingway's grave and the places he used to frequent in the area.

The Sun Valley Resort was the first destination resort built in the USA and the Lodge is a museum in its own right with plenty of vintage photos of the political and Hollywood elite who have visited over the years. The first ski lifts in the world were installed near the Sun Valley resort and you can also view those.

If you are there when an Ice Show is going on, you can watch world class skaters put on shows on the rink adjacent to the Sun Valley Lodge. The Sun Valley Pavilion hosts outdoor concerts and symphonies.

Ketchum is the "downtown" adjacent to the Sun Valley Resort and has typical resort shops, restaurants...some of Idaho's finest, etc.

If you are there early enough in September you could ride the Gondola to the top of Mt Baldy for the views and there is a restaurant on top that is open for lunch and drinks.

If you had more time to spend and are into mountain biking, some of the best trails in the country are in that area as well as some of the finest mountain golfing.

It is an area with a lot of history including Marilyn Monroe, the Kennedy's, etc. etc. and is still a place many Hollywood stars have seasonal homes. You might spot Demi Moore in Hailey or Tom Hanks, maybe Jamie Lee Curtis...one of the lodge's and a ski run are named for her mother.

It is also as mentioned the basecamp for Stanley and the Sawtooth's.

A quick Google search will bring up a ton of info:

https://www.sunvalley.com/summer

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/t...-valley-idaho/

https://www.outsideonline.com/230138...urs-sun-valley

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by echo7tango

Mike, great to know we’re going at a good time of year. The overall focus of the trip is Yellowstone. The Tetons and Sun Valley would be “side attractions” for want of a better description.

I’ve been to Shoshone Falls, and to Massacre Rocks and also Register Rock too. I’ve also been to Craters and plan to visit it again on the way from Sun Valley to Yellowstone.

Thanks for your info but what makes Sun Valley special and worth a visit?

If Yellowstone is your main focus, I think you should make Sun Valley an option. I really love the park a lot, and though I've been there more times than I can count, Yellowstone has never grown old on me. I enjoy re-visiting it just as much as when I saw everything for the first time.

Since I live only a couple of hours away, almost all my visits there have tended to be rather short and specific; most often, I'll go for 1-3 days, and most often have one area I want to spend my time in. Sometimes it's the Hayden Valley, and other times, it's the Norris geyser basin or the lake, or some other spot.

But if I wanted to spend 10 days or so in a vacation spot, getting a room in the Old Faithful Inn and using it as home base would be my first choice. It's a grand old lodge in the grandest tradition, and I personally like the old section the best- it's heated by radiators with hot geyser water, and the rooms are all still old-fashioned, but the beds are very comfortable and snug.

Yellowstone, to me, is the perfect place to leave all the modern stuff we have surrounding us behind for a while, and I really enjoy the natural quietness of the place. The old rooms don't have as much in the way of TV, cellphone hookups, etc., but that's what I like to leave behind. Old Faithful is a good center spot for visiting the rest of the park.

[echo7tango]

Originally Posted by banjomike

If Yellowstone is your main focus, I think you should make Sun Valley an option. I really love the park a lot, and though I've been there more times than I can count, Yellowstone has never grown old on me. I enjoy re-visiting it just as much as when I saw everything for the first time.

Since I live only a couple of hours away, almost all my visits there have tended to be rather short and specific; most often, I'll go for 1-3 days, and most often have one area I want to spend my time in. Sometimes it's the Hayden Valley, and other times, it's the Norris geyser basin or the lake, or some other spot.

But if I wanted to spend 10 days or so in a vacation spot, getting a room in the Old Faithful Inn and using it as home base would be my first choice. It's a grand old lodge in the grandest tradition, and I personally like the old section the best- it's heated by radiators with hot geyser water, and the rooms are all still old-fashioned, but the beds are very comfortable and snug.

Yellowstone, to me, is the perfect place to leave all the modern stuff we have surrounding us behind for a while, and I really enjoy the natural quietness of the place. The old rooms don't have as much in the way of TV, cellphone hookups, etc., but that's what I like to leave behind. Old Faithful is a good center spot for visiting the rest of the park.

The Old Faithful Inn is quite pricey!

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by echo7tango

The Old Faithful Inn is quite pricey!

Yes. I always thought the experience was worth it, but I never was able to stay for as long as I wanted- too pricey for me.

And I always wanted to stay in one of the few really expensive suites, the ones where back in the day, a family came with a maid or butler to stay for a month or more. They were always out of my reach.

I guess it all depends on what kind of experience they want from a visit to the park.
Since it was the closest I ever expect to come to the old high-cost wilderness getaways of the Adirondacks, back in 1900, it was always something I really liked, even if it was a splurge. I never stayed in the Inn for more than 4 days.
I have stayed in about every place that's available inside the park. Some aren't so hot, and some are only so-so at best. A few are really good though; I always have liked the Lake lodge quite a lot.

They all have a different vibe to me. There were times when I also wanted to just rough it and camp in the bed of my pickup, and I've pitched a tent quite a few times. Sometimes I've stayed in accommodations outside the park, in Gardener or West Yellowstone or somewhere in Island Park.