It's a Tuesday in late summer, on a paved path near Sun Valley, Idaho. On both sides of the asphalt, aspen leaves shimmer in the sun. They're clean and damp from an early morning rain.
By the end of the month, these trees will have turned yellow. The air will be cool. But today, while the weather is still balmy, the tourists are riding bikes.Sit on a bench and watch for a few minutes. First you'll see two men, perhaps conventioneers, gliding along the path, talking business. Presently, an elderly couple passes at a sedate speed. Next, a family of four whizzes by.
The people who live in this valley are the ones who built the Wood River Trail -- even though, on a weekday in the summer, it is the tourists you'll see using it.
Tourists have biked for years in Sun Valley. For several generations, vacationers have been able to rent bikes at the lodge. In those early days, of course, they had to be satisfied with a short trip along the resort's skinny walking paths.
Oh, there may have been some adventurous bikers 40 years ago who ventured onto a dirt road. Certainly, there was no such thing as a bike path. If tourists wanted to explore the whole valley, they'd most likely rent a horse.
But in 1976, the people of Blaine County bonded for a recreation district. They built a swimming pool in Hailey, and two small parks. They also built a bike trail. For the next decade, they continued to hold fund-raisers and make improvements until, today, the Wood River Trail stretches more than 20 miles. Beginning north of Ketchum, it meanders down the valley, past Hailey, into Bellevue, Idaho. Later, the Sun Valley resort tied into the trail with another 10 miles of path, which encircle Sun Valley and Elkhorn.
About the time the trail was paved, the mountain bike craze came to Sun Valley. Rental shops proliferated. Residents and tourists discovered hundreds of miles of dirt road and mountain paths. Eventually, the resort began transporting bikes on the ski lifts, making available 28 miles of downhill dirt rides on Bald Mountain.
Still, for rollerbladers or joggers, or for families or anyone else who enjoys a gentle bike ride, the Wood River Trail can't be topped. It is 10 feet wide and built on the easy grade of a railroad right-of-way -- with drinking fountains, benches, historical markers and chemical toilets located at strategic points.
The best part of the trail, of course, is its view. The trail parallels the Sawtooth National Forest. You've got mountains to gaze at all along the way. The route passes by condos and trailer parks (even the trailer courts in this valley have class, you will note), over trestle bridges and under the highway, out through the grasslands and along the river. You'll see horses and birds, and people fly fishing.
There are Wood River Trail maps available at the Sun Valley/Ketchum Visitor's Bureau, on Main Street in Ketchum. But you don't really need a map to find the trail. Just go west on any of the east/west streets in Ketchum. They all dead end at the bike trail.
Shelly Preston is the director of the Wood River Trail. She says the route sees 250,000 user/days per year. Most of that use comes from tourists, although she and others ride it to work every day during the summer months.
There are no plans for expansion, she says, but the locals do have dreams. "We dream of connecting to the Harriman Trail, eight miles north of Ketchum," she says. And they've obtained a right-of-way to the south, from Bellevue for about 12 miles, to connect up with Highway 20. That would not be a paved path, but rather a primitive path, alongside the Silver Creek Wildlife Refuge.
Preston says it is rather amazing to contemplate how much biking there is in this one small valley. The 18-mile Harriman Trail should be finished next summer, she says. That, too, will be a perfect family bike trail, she adds. "With breathtaking scenery."
There are at least a dozen bicycle rental shops in the Ketchum/Sun Valley area. Rates are about $12 for a half day/$18 for a whole day. Specialty bikes cost more; children's bikes cost less.
For more information call:
Sun Valley Chamber of Commerce: 1-800- 634-3347
Wood River Trail Recreation District Office: 208-726-2117
Ketchum/Sun Valley Visitor Information: 208-726-3423
Information on Idaho in general: 1-800-VISIT-ID