[4][5] Scheduled passenger airline service is available at Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN) in Hailey, approximately fifteen miles (25 km) south.

The first destination winter resort in the U.S. was developed by W. Averell Harriman, the chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad, primarily to increase ridership on U.P.

A lifelong skier, Harriman determined that America would embrace a destination mountain resort, similar to those enjoyed in the Swiss Alps, such as St. Moritz and Davos.

[citation needed] Late in his trip and on the verge of abandoning his search for an ideal location for a mountain resort development, he backtracked toward the Ketchum area in central Idaho.

employee in Boise had casually mentioned that the rail spur to Ketchum cost the company more money for snow removal than any other branch line and the Count went to explore.

One of the early single chairlifts was transported to Cordova, Alaska in the 1970s where it now serves Mount Eyak Ski Area as the oldest operating charlift in the world.

[17] Gary Cooper was a frequent visitor and hunting/fishing partner, as were Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Lucille Ball, Marilyn Monroe, and several members of the Kennedy family.

[19] In February 1958, the cast of "I Love Lucy" filmed an episode of their follow-up series of hour-long specials, known in syndication as "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour", at Bald Mountain.

[citation needed] In 1971, Apollo 15 astronaut and avid skier Jim Irwin, when stepping upon the surface of the Moon's Hadley–Apennine, exclaimed that it was like Sun Valley.

[17] Hollywood actor, politician, and businessman, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a frequent visitor of Sun Valley and owns a residence in Ketchum, ID.

[citation needed] After World War II, Harriman focused on his career in government service and the Union Pacific gradually lost interest in the resort.

[30] During this Janss era of ownership, the north-facing Warm Springs area was developed, as well as Seattle Ridge, and condominium and home construction increased significantly.

Snowmaking was introduced on a limited basis in the fall of 1975, covering 40 acres (16 ha) up to an elevation of 8,200 feet (2,500 m)[33] The original Seattle Ridge double chairlift was installed in 1976, but due to a very poor snow year in 1976–77 it was not operated until December 20, 1977, christened by local legend Gretchen Fraser.

While the negotiations were strung out by Disney, Earl Holding, a Utah businessman, learned of the situation through a small article in The Wall Street Journal and contacted Janss and arranged for a meeting.

For about $12 million, Holding purchased Sun Valley through his company, Sinclair Oil, which operates the Grand America Hotels & Resorts.

[44][45] Under Holding's ownership there have been substantial improvements on the mountain: extensive snowmaking and grooming, high-capacity chairlifts, and the construction of four impressive day lodges, a gondola, and the renovation of the classic Roundhouse restaurant.

[46][47] An impressive day lodge, constructed of logs, river rock, and glass, opened at the base of Warm Springs in the fall of 1992, replacing the 1960s "Northface Hut" cafeteria.

A fire of undetermined origin damaged the Warm Springs lodge in 2018; it occurred shortly after the end of the ski season, while unoccupied at night in mid-April.

Phil Mahre of White Pass, Washington, age 19, won the 1977 slalom race over Stenmark, with twin brother Steve placing third.

But during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake (about 300 miles (480 km) to the southeast), Sun Valley was used as a training site for many nations' alpine and Nordic ski teams.

US TV's legendary sports commentator Tim Ryan (CBS/NBC) also lives in Sun Valley as well as Ski Racing Magazine's proud owner, Gary Black Jr.

[36] It attained non-profit status and was officially founded in 1971; the original 5-acre (2.0 ha) campus was located off Dollar Road in Sun Valley.

The SVC offered year-round workshops, lectures, and exhibitions by nationally recognized artists and craft persons to both residents and tourists to Blaine County.

Later, the Sun Valley Center for the Arts acquired its main building in nearby Ketchum as well as a historic house and classroom in Hailey.

The annual Sun Valley Writers' Conference (SVWC) was founded by journalist Reva B. Tooley, with the inaugural event run in 1995.

As of 2022[update] Robin Eidsmo is executive director (since 2014), and novelist John Burnham Schwartz, essayist Anne Taylor Fleming, and Pulitzer Prize-winner Liaquat Ahamed help to mount the event each year.

Since opening, the 450-seat theater has hosted nationally and internationally recognized artists such as Robert Cray, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Isabella Boylston, Peter Cetera, Kristen Chenoweth, Rita Wilson, and others.

Ketchum comprises primarily the 19th-century town center (with its limited grid system) and lands adjacent to Bald Mountain along the Big Wood River and Warm Springs Creek.

[67] The climate of Sun Valley is classified as dry-summer humid continental (Dsb), just narrowly avoiding a subarctic (Dsc) classification.

Due to the altitude and aridity of the climate diurnal temperature variation is high, with summer swings especially significant with hot days combined with nights just above the freezing mark in July and August.