Looking for mountain adventure mixed with artsy charm? Head to Ketchum, Idaho! Nestled in the Sun Valley region, Ketchum is a year-round destination for skiing, hiking, fine dining, and creative energy. Whether you’re chasing powder or relaxing with local wine, Ketchum blends alpine beauty with small-town sophistication.
Ketchum, ID Highlights:
- Hit the slopes at Sun Valley Resort: Enjoy world-class skiing and snowboarding on Bald and Dollar Mountains.
- Stroll Downtown Ketchum: Browse upscale boutiques, art galleries, and mountain-chic cafés in a walkable setting.
- Bike or hike the Wood River Trail: Scenic paved trail system connecting Ketchum with Sun Valley and beyond.
- Visit the Sun Valley Museum of Art: See rotating exhibitions and attend creative events or talks.
- Pay tribute at the Hemingway Memorial: Honor Ernest Hemingway in a peaceful spot overlooking Trail Creek.
Best Time to Visit Ketchum, ID
The best time to visit Ketchum depends on your interests: Winter (December–March) is ideal for skiing and snowboarding, while summer and early fall (June–October) are perfect for hiking, mountain biking, fly fishing, and festivals.
How to Get to Ketchum, ID
- If you are traveling by car: Ketchum is accessible via ID-75, approximately 2.5 hours from Boise and 1 hour from Twin Falls.
- By Bus: Mountain Rides offers local transit and shuttle services to/from nearby towns and the airport.
- By Train: No train service, but Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN) in nearby Hailey offers regional flights.
Where to Stay in Ketchum, ID
- Limelight Hotel Ketchum – Contemporary resort hotel with a rooftop bar, outdoor pool, and mountain views.
- Knob Hill Inn – Cozy boutique inn with alpine-style rooms, complimentary breakfast, and a hot tub.
- Hotel Ketchum – Stylish and modern lodging close to downtown, with ski lockers and a vibrant lobby bar.
Best Things to Do in Ketchum, ID
1. Sawtooth Botanical Garden
Rating: ★★★★★
Sawtooth Botanical Garden is a five-acre public botanical garden that was originally founded in 1994, located near Highway 75. The gardens are open to the public seven days a week from dawn to dusk, showcasing a variety of native and exotic plants that thrive at high altitudes, with a particular focus on plants from Idaho's riparian, alpine, montane, and sagebrush steppe ecosystems. A number of cultivated gardens are showcased on the property, including a xeriscape garden, an ornamental garden, and a Zen Buddhist-style Garden of Infinite Compassion, constructed in 2005 by landscape designer Martin Mosko. A variety of horticultural classes are offered for visitors, including vegetable gardening, medicinal plant, and native edibles courses and summer camp workshops for children.
11 Gimlet Rd, Ketchum, ID 83340, Phone: 208-726-9358
2. Ketchum/Sun Valley Heritage and Ski Museum
Ketchum/Sun Valley Heritage and Ski Museum is the official museum facility of Ketchum and the Sun Valley, originally founded in 1995 by the Ketchum/Sun Valley Historical Society. The museum is dedicated to the preservation of the social and cultural history of the Upper Wood River Valley, offering a variety of exhibits related to the region's cultural groups and economic and tourist industries. Exhibits detail the region's indigenous groups and pioneer fur trappers, along with its connection to author Ernest Hemingway and the rise of its tourism and resort skiing industry following the construction of the Sun Valley Lodge. Significant collections of historical documents and photographs are also preserved. The museum is open to the public Mondays through Saturdays throughout the morning and afternoon hours.
180 1st St E, Ketchum, ID 83340, Phone: 208-726-8118
3. Sawtooth National Recreation Area
Sawtooth National Recreation Area is a 730,000-acre national recreation area that is overseen as part of the Sawtooth National Forest, offering a wide variety of seasonal outdoor recreation activities for visitors. The recreation area was originally established in 1972 and is operated by the United States Forest Service, encompassing the national forest's Hemingway-Boulders, Sawtooth, and Cecil D. Andrus-White Clouds units. It is home to the headwaters of the Salmon River and several hundred smaller alpine glacier lakes, including the Redfish, Pettit, Stanley, Yellow Belly, and Sawtooth Lakes. Popular visitor activities include kayaking, fishing, hunting, mountain biking, and white water rafting. Overnight campground facilities are provided throughout the park, along with two ranger stations.
Idaho 75, Stanley, ID 83278, Phone: 208-737-3200
4. Sun Valley Center for the Arts
Sun Valley Center for the Arts is the Wood River Valley's oldest currently-operating arts organization, originally founded in 1971. The center operates two locations throughout the Wood River Valley region, including a primary facility in Ketchum that offers art galleries and a variety of public arts programming. It is one of less than five percent of arts and cultural institutions in the United States to receive prestigious accreditation status from the American Alliance of Museums. More than 25,000 people attend the center's annual exhibitions and events, which include temporary rotating exhibitions by Sun Valley and international artists, including Sebastião Salgado, Marie Watt, Martha Rosler, Joyce Kozloff, and George Nakashima. An annual lecture and performance series brings in top international names from the arts and culture world, including luminaries such as humorist David Sedaris, authors Junot Díaz and Louise Erdrich, and musicians Bonnie Raitt and Arlo Guthrie. Other annual special events include a wine auction and an August arts and crafts festival.
191 5th St E, Ketchum, ID 83340, Phone: 208-726-9491
What to do if you are traveling with kids:
5. The Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve
The Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve is the United States' first gold-tier dark sky preserve, designated in 2017 by the International Dark Sky Association. Dark Sky Reserves are designated areas of land that are shielded from light pollution, allowing visitors to observe the night sky and wildlife conditions in the region without the interference of modern urban development. The reserve spans more than 1,400 square miles throughout the Sawtooth National Recreation Area region, located near Highway 75 and Redfish and Pettit Lakes. As the 12th dark sky reserve designation of its kind in the world, the reserve also spans land throughout four counties in Idaho, including Boise, Blaine, Elmore, and Custer Counties. The city of Ketchum, Idaho has also been listed separately as a Dark Sky Community, operating under a dark sky ordinance since 1999.
Activities and Attractions for Couples and Singles:
6. ZENERGY
ZENERGY is the premiere health club and spa of Idaho's Sun Valley, located in beautiful downtown Ketchum's northern end. The world-class health club, which opened to the public in 2001, underwent significant expansion in 2012 and now offers a full menu of spa treatments, including massages, manicures and pedicures, organic facials, and bamboo ginseng scrubs. Visitors can enjoy use of the facility's state-of-the-art health club, which offers cardiovascular and resistance training equipment, saline pools, and tennis courts. A wide variety of instructor-led exercise courses are offered throughout the week, including pilates, yoga, personal training, and aquatic exercise classes.
245 Raven Rd, Ketchum, ID 83340, Phone: 208-725-0595
7. Hotel Ketchum
Hotel Ketchum is a hip industrial-chic hotel in Ketchum, conveniently located near top area attractions like the Ketchum Sun Valley Historical Society Heritage and Ski Museum and the seasonal recreational opportunities of Bald Mountain. The charming hotel features individually-decorated rooms and suites featuring amenities such as flat screen televisions, private sitting areas, and complimentary wireless internet, with cozy fireplaces and stunning mountain views offered from select rooms. Guests can relax at the Hangout Lounge, which serves up Idaho craft beers and espresso beverages from Equator Coffee and Teas, or enjoy delicious Asian fare at Paddles Up Poké, Idaho's first specialty poké joint. Other amenities include a heated outdoor pool and hot tub, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and an onsite ski shop.
600 N Main St, Ketchum, ID 83340, Phone: 208-471-4716
8. Easley Hot Springs
Located in the Sawtooth National Forest, Easley Hot Springs is a popular recreational park overlooking Boulder Mountain. The park offers a large chlorine-free swimming pool which is filled with natural, mineral-rich water from the hot springs. The water temperature is kept at around 85 degrees, which means it is wonderfully warm and welcoming. In addition to the main pool there are two slightly warmer hot-tubs for wallowing. There are showers and changing cubicles on site as well as a store where you can buy sodas and snacks. Visitors are also welcome to bring their own picnic. If you would like to linger for a few days you can spend a night or two in the near-by campsite. The area around the hot springs offers excellent hiking.
Easley Hot Springs, Idaho-75, Ketchum, ID 83340, 208 726 7522
9. Fly Sun Valley
Fly Sun Valley is a paragliding tourism company that is operated by former national champion paraglider Chuck Smith, an influential figure in forming the American Paragliding Association and the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. Smith is a certified USHPA Advanced Instructor and Tandem Administrator and has guided more than 5,000 flights at the company, which accommodates flights for visitors of all ages and ability levels. As the Sun Valley's only fully-insured paragliding company, tandem paragliding flights are offered with reservations, conducted in cooperation with the United States Forest Service. All certified pilots at the company use GoPro cameras to record experiences, with tour participants encouraged to bring their own cameras to document flights as well.
160 4th St W, Ketchum, ID 83340, Phone: 208-726-3332
10. Independent Goods
Independent Goods is an independent handmade crafts and gifts store that is owned by Ketchum residents Susan and Mark Nieves, located within the city's Colonnade Building on Walnut Avenue. The store is devoted to the art of independent makers and their crafts of choice, carrying a wide variety of homemade goods by artists throughout Idaho and the western United States. It is structured in a gallery-type format, showcasing makers' biographies and creative stories alongside their goods for sale. Gifts and collectibles available include household goods, jewelry, and a variety of gift items paying homage to mountain life and the American West.
330 Walnut Ave, Ketchum, ID 83340, Phone: 208-720-9004
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