Free & Cheap Things to Do in Sun Valley/Ketchum

Outdoors

Paved 20+ mile non-motorized path connecting Bellevue, Hailey, Ketchum, and Sun Valley along the Wood River. Built on the abandoned Sun Valley line of the Union Pacific railroad and finished in 1991, the trail is the valley's main free way to bike, run, walk, or cross-country ski with the Pioneer and Boulder mountains framing every stretch.

Address: Bellevue to Ketchum/Sun Valley, ID (multiple access points along Hwy 75)

Tip: Speed limit is 20 mph valley-wide and 10 mph inside Ketchum city limits. Most bike rentals cluster around Sun Valley Village and Ketchum Main Street. BCRD also maintains free fishing-access points along the trail — pick up a map at any local sporting-goods store.

Outdoors

The most popular trailhead on the Ketchum Ranger District, Adams Gulch sits just outside Ketchum and feeds a network of free hiking and mountain-biking trails through wildflower meadows, aspen groves, and creek crossings. The 6-mile Adams Gulch Loop with about 700 feet of climbing is the signature day-hike — moderate, dog-friendly, and shaded most of the way.

Address: Adams Gulch Rd, Ketchum, ID 83340

Tip: Vault toilets at the trailhead but no potable water — bring your own. Dogs may be off-leash in some sections. No e-bikes on the gulch trails (except Old Adams Gulch Road). The road in becomes snowbound in winter, so the main hiking season is May through October.

Parks & Nature

The southern gateway to the 756,000-acre Sawtooth National Recreation Area sits 7 miles north of Ketchum on Highway 75. Free natural-history exhibits, a video presentation, an audio tour, and Forest Service rangers cover the SNRA's 700+ lakes and 40+ peaks above 10,000 feet. There's a picnic area and a small gift shop on site.

Address: 5 North Fork Canyon Rd, Ketchum, ID 83340

Tip: Office hours run 9 a.m.–noon and 12:30–3 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, closed federal holidays. Stop here for free trail maps before heading north toward Galena Summit and Stanley — rangers will flag current closures, snowpack on the higher passes, and bear activity.

Memorials & History

A bronze bust of Hemingway by sculptor Robert Berks sits on a granite column over Trail Creek, dedicated by his family on what would have been his 67th birthday in 1966. The inscription is from a eulogy Hemingway wrote in 1939 for his friend Gene Van Guilder. The setting is wooded and quiet — Trail Creek runs right below the bust.

Address: Trail Creek Rd, Sun Valley, ID 83353 (1.5 miles east of Sun Valley Lodge)

Tip: Sun Valley doubled the parking lot here in 2021. Trail Creek Road closes in winter, so the easiest access window is May through October. The 4.4-mile Proctor Mountain Loop starts at the same pullout if you want to extend the visit into a hike.

Historic Sites

Ernest and Mary Hemingway, plus granddaughter Margaux Hemingway, are all buried in this small 1880s cemetery just north of downtown Ketchum. Ernest's grave is a flat grey marble slab — no statuary, no fence — under three tall spruce trees about halfway around the cemetery's oval loop road. Fans still leave whiskey nips and pennies.

Address: 1026 N Main St, Ketchum, ID 83340

Tip: Grounds are open dawn to dusk daily, no fence or gate. The cemetery district asks visitors to keep voices low and not disturb other markers. From the entrance go counter-clockwise around the loop road and look for the spruces and the loose offerings. Actress Ann Sothern is buried nearby.

Museums & Galleries

The Lewis Ore Wagons — built in the 1880s to haul gold and silver ore over Trail Creek Summit and the only ones of their kind still in existence — live in this small city-run museum two blocks off Ketchum Main Street. The historic Bonning Cabin, Ketchum's oldest surviving building, sits right next door.

Address: 500 East Ave, Ketchum, ID 83340

Tip: Viewings are by appointment — email participate@ketchumidaho.org or call 208.726.3841 at least two hours ahead. The wagons also roll out for the Wagon Days Parade every Labor Day weekend with an 18-horse hitch, billed as the largest non-motorized parade in the Northwest.

Arts & Culture

Free contemporary-art gallery in downtown Ketchum, two blocks west of Main Street at the corner of Washington Avenue and Fifth Street. SVMoA (formerly the Sun Valley Center for the Arts) rotates regional and national exhibitions, runs an artist-in-residence series, and hosts free lectures and family-day events year-round. Shows lean contemporary — painting, sculpture, photography, video.

Address: 191 Fifth St E, Ketchum, ID 83340

Tip: Admission is always free — the museum is funded by membership and grants rather than ticket revenue. Walking distance from Ketchum Main Street and within easy reach of the Wood River Trail. Check the website for current lectures, gallery talks, and Saturday family days.

Shopping & Strolling

The pedestrian heart of Sun Valley Resort — a walkable cluster of restaurants, shops, the 1937 Opera House cinema, a bowling alley, and the year-round outdoor ice rink behind the historic 1936 Sun Valley Lodge. The lodge's lobby is open to the public and packed with framed Hollywood-era photos of Bing Crosby, Marilyn Monroe, and Ernest Hemingway from Sun Valley's 1940s heyday.

Address: 1 Sun Valley Rd, Sun Valley, ID 83353

Tip: Free public buses (Mountain Rides) connect the village to Ketchum, Hailey, and Bellevue — useful if you're not staying on-site. The Saturday-night summer ice shows on the outdoor rink can be viewed for free from the surrounding patios, though seated rinkside tickets are paid. Lobby photos are best seen weekday mornings.