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Sun Valley | Mountain Camera's

News:

   Blaine County was named one of the 10 best places to live in rural America by the Progressive Farmer magazine, according to the Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber and Visitors Bureau. The magazine considered 600 counties with rural areas that met population, population density and income criteria. They ranked them by health care, education, climate, pollution index, crime rates and tax burden.

The editorial board also looked at quality of life, leisure and cultural pursuits, and scenery.

Blaine County

Acreage = 1.7 Million

Square Miles = 2,645

Population (July 1, 1998) = 17,200

Blaine County's history is as varied as its topography.

   Prospectors entered the Wood River area soon after the beginning of the 1862 Boise Basin mining boom. The County's first permanent settlers were farmers who arrived in 1879. The 1880 Wood River mining boom brought the first large population influx, including a significant number of Irish, Welsh, German and Chinese immigrants. Towns like Bellevue and Hailey grew overnight in the frantic scramble for gold, silver and lead.

   The Wood River area had gained renown as the Idaho Territory's most progressive area. The main reason was through the prosperity brought in by mining. The first electric light plant in the Idaho Territory was installed by the Philadelphia Mining and Smelting Company just west of Ketchum. The first telephone system was installed in Hailey in 1883.

   Although not as prominent as the mining industry, a parallel economic force in the early years, starting in 1880, was the feeding and shipping of sheep. By 1900, more than 2 million sheep had been raised or trailed through the Wood River Valley. Between 1910 and 1920, more than one million head of sheep a year were trailed through the area, making Ketchum one of the largest sheep shipping centers in the United States.

   The area's sheep industry has substantially diminished in recent years, but continuing signs of this once important sheep migration route can still be found in the Annual Trailing of the Sheep throughout Blaine County in the Fall.

   With the construction of Sun Valley Resort in 1936, Blaine County experienced a second boom. Averell Harriman, Chairman of the Board of the Union Pacific Railroad, conceived the idea of establishing, near Ketchum, a first-class resort for skiers, the first in the United States.

   Harriman sent Count Felix Schaffgotsch to the Ketchum area after Schaffgotsch had researched the western United States looking for appropriate terrain. The name "Sun Valley" was coined by UPRR publicist, Steve Hannagan, a warm weather fan who decided one of the Resort's outstanding features was its ample supply of sun. Amid the flurry of publicity Hannagan created, celebrities from Hollywood and other areas began to pour into the Wood River Valley.

   The topographic, geographic location, and seasonal variation in climate in Blaine County create a unique and varied natural environment which ranges from the scenic high alpine country in the north to the desolate lava plains and desert mountains in the south.

   As a recreational area, Blaine County is known throughout the United States and the world for the quality and variety of the natural environment and recreational opportunities.

   Renowned as a winter haven, the addition of Elkhorn Resort in 1970 brought a new perspective to Blaine County - year round recreation.

   Summer, once a slow time of the year, has now disappeared in the wave of outdoor enthusiasts. Now activities like kayaking, backpacking, ice skating, hiking, golf, swimming, water-skiing, jogging, horseback riding, mountain biking, camping, sailing and fishing attract recreation lovers from around the world looking for world-class outdoor activities. Among them is the world class flying fishing on legendary Silver Creek. The Salmon River, also known as the River of No Return with its headwaters in the north and the Snake River in the south offer solitude and spectacular white water rafting.

   Bald Mountain, due to its great variety of terrain and snow conditions, has been consistently rated as one of the finest ski facilities in the United States. The Sawtooth, Boulder, Smokey, and Pioneer Mountain ranges provide high alpine country as beautiful and inspiring as any to be found in the United States and breathtaking heli-ski opportunities.

   The Great Rift area in the southeast portion of the County is a unique land form with lava formations similar to a lunar landscape.

   It is this diversity of environment, recreational opportunity and quality of life that has attracted many people to Blaine County to live on a full-time basis.

Demographics

City of Ketchum - Sun Valley

   Located in South Central Idaho, the Wood River Valley is located in Blaine County, at the edge of the Sawtooth and Challis National Forests; the majestic Sawtooth Wilderness is located immediately to the north. Almost surrounded by U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands, the valley’s heart is the Big Wood River. Between the sagebrush and lava dry lands to the south and the forested mountain ranges to the north, the valley has a mountain desert climate. With an average humidity of only 30%, and 15 inches of precipitation per year, the northern latitude creates long days, with 15 hours of sunshine in the summer. Dry sunny summers and mild sunny winters gave the resort community its well-deserved name. Average summer temperature is 78 degrees and average winter temperature is 23 degrees, with an annual snowfall of 150 inches.

   The cities of Sun Valley and Ketchum are at an altitude of 5,750 feet and are dwarfed by the ski mountain, Baldy, at 9,150 feet. The river valley slopes down to the cities of Hailey and Bellevue at 5,300 feet. Four large lakes in the Stanley Basin to the north and two large reservoirs to the south offer recreational opportunities. Hundreds of streams and alpine lakes can be found in the mountains and valleys surrounding the towns.

City of Hailey

Demographics

   City of Hailey: Located 11 miles south of neighboring communities Ketchum and Sun Valley, Hailey lies in the midst of the lovely Wood River Valley and in the heart of the central Idaho Rockies. Hailey is about 160 miles east of Boise, the state's capital. The Wood River Valley is in Blaine County, at the edge of the Sawtooth and Challis National Forests. Almost surrounded by U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands, the valley's heart is the Big Wood River. The main route into town is State Highway 75 off U.S. 20 to the south. The nearest interstate freeway is I-84 to the south. The population is close to 7,000 and Hailey enjoys the tag line: "Idaho's hometown in the mountains". Hailey is home to the high school, middle school and one of 2 elementary schools in the area. Hailey also has a wonderful public library that has special collections of the history of the area.
Hailey Public Library