Skies, Seasons and Vibes: The Urbanite’s Guide to Sun Valley, Idaho

Living in the city doesn’t mean you can’t ever leave the city.

Being an urbanite at your core means you thrive in the energy and pace of city life, and it’s probably where you’ll always be. But sometimes you want to visit a place where you might, say, be able to look up at a clear night sky.

A place like Sun Valley, Idaho.

“It’s breathtaking,” says Candice Pate, director of the Sun Valley Film Festival, of the town’s night sky. “There are literally nights when I’m doing something mundane like taking out the trash and I’ll look up and it will take my breath away.”

Sun Valley’s smallish population (about 21,000 for all of Blaine County, Idaho), the clean mountain air and a community-wide commitment to limiting light pollution combine to make its night skies truly spectacular, even earning a spot as a Dark Sky Reserve. Once you see the Milky Way gleaming in the southwest quadrant of the Sun Valley sky, you get it.

And it’s just one reason Sun Valley is the ultimate recharging, resetting, good-for-your-mental-health vacation spot for urbanites who are city people for life, but just need a break. Here are several more.

Summer in the valley. Sun Valley is famous for skiing — in fact, it’s home to America’s first ski lift which opened in 1936 alongside the storied Sun Valley Lodge. But locals live outside year-round. Summer is all about mountain biking, fishing, hiking, outdoor concerts — anything to take advantage of the long gloaming hours (also known as twilight), the time after sunset but before it gets dark. In Sun Valley summer, the gloaming hours can stretch til 10 pm.

And while a summer stroll in the city is met with the sounds of sirens and honking horns, in Sun Valley it’s the sight of wildflowers everywhere.

“I have fallen in love with wildflowers and enjoy watching them burst through — because of the elevation change between south and north valley you can find wildflowers from April to November,” says Kristin Poole, long time local and artistic director of the Sun Valley Museum of Art.

Cool calm fall. Lots of locals insist fall is the real Sun Valley seasonal MVP.

“Fall is Sun Valley’s best kept secret,” Pate says. “Golden leaves, warm days and chilly nights. The perfect combination. Epic bike rides during the day and toasty fireside dinners in the evening. Can’t beat it.”

You’ll also find smaller crowds, more calm — exactly what city people need every once in a while.

“We are all a bit frantic in the summer as we try to cram it all in, from hikes to cocktail parties with friends to theatre and the Writers’ Conference,” Poole says. “Fall is quieter, cooler and the trails and town are less crowded.”

And, you get to see something you’ll never see in the city, or maybe have even heard of unless you grew up in a mountain town: aspenglow, the name for the glow of light on mountaintops at dawn and dusk.

“Experiencing the range of subtle color and light change is a treat, whether you are outside walking in the early morning or as dusk falls,” Poole says.

That Sun Valley vibe. It can be tough to find balance when living in the city, when the demands of work and life can make you feel out of whack. In Sun Valley, the town’s whole vibe is about rejecting the hustle.

“We are so privileged to live in a place where the land and locals alike support a balanced life, where we have a shared respect for time outside and how nourishing that is for our work, our families and our souls,” Poole says.

And the locals make sure that vibe extends to everyone, even out-of-towners.

“Although the beauty and access to world-class outdoor activities is huge for wellbeing, I think what is arguably more valuable is that we are still a small town that focuses on community, our neighbors and like-minded visitors’ well-being,” says Olin Glenne, owner of Sturtevants, a ski and bike shop with several locations around town.

What’s it mean to be a “like-minded visitor?” It means embracing “mountain culture,” and not expecting everything to run at city pace. Things might run a little slower, but you can pass the time by taking a deep breath of fresh mountain air or counting the stars in the night sky. Sometimes culture shock can be a good thing.

That Sun Valley charm. Urbanites will also love this about Sun Valley: There aren’t many cookie-cutter, chain restaurant-type places. Instead, local hotels, shops, restaurants, art galleries, and even breweries abound, all adding to the area’s unique identity.

And if you visit in October, you’ll see something you’ll definitely never see in the city: 1,500 sheep strolling through town, migrating from the mountains to their winter grazing homes during the Trailing of the Sheep.

“Trailing of the Sheep is hilarious,” Pate says. “Seeing all those sheep cruising down main street never gets old.”

Don’t forget about winter! Yes, Sun Valley has fun and interesting activities to offer year-round, but don’t forget it’s also a legendary destination during the snowy season.  A winter visit can include all sorts of chilly delights, from Nordic skiing and snowshoeing to ice skating and laid-back sleigh rides through the snowy hills. Need a little more adrenaline? Check out heli skiing (exactly what it sounds like) or snowmobiling.

Learn more about Sun Valley here.