Where to camp near Sun Valley

[utsnowgirl]

We're trying to plan a Labor Day weekend camping/biking trip to the Sun Valley area. We haven't spent much time in that area, and are not familiar with the camping there. I know that Labor Day weekend will probably be busy, so I'm hoping to find a place that will take a reservation, since we won't make it up there until late Friday night at the soonest.

We've got a group of 6-10 people, and are open to any camping options (Forest Service to commercial camp sites w/showers).

Any ideas???

[altachic]

I can't tell you where to camp, but I've been wanting to ride there for a long time....maybe not this season, but for sure next.

[ccwaskier]

Corral Creek off trail creek road is nice. There are also places right along trail creek road. I don't know how busy they will be on labor day though. As far as i know thats the best area close to town. North on 75 there are lots of places but it will be a bit of a drive in and out of town.

[ski_faster]

Paging The Reverend Floater and Jimmy Page.

[TuaDog]

Whenever I've come into town late, I've had good luck with camp spots down Greenhorn Gulch road right outside of Hailey. First come, first serve though. No reservations.

[Bart T]

send an email or call sun valley trekking to see if their coyote yurt is available that weekend. that'd be my first choice for shizzle. info at svtrek dot com

[jimmy page]

I'll come up with some options for you later today, once I finish work.

[Natedogg]

There are some amazing places between Sun Valley and Mackay. Not sure how far you want to be away from town, though. I'm a real dick, so I won't tell you my favorite place, but it's a popular starting point for popping this pup:

http://www.idahosummits.com/meridian/images/dbe.jpg

:eek: :eek: :eek:

[utsnowgirl]

Thanks for the suggestions so far - I really appreciate it.

Our group is pretty diverse - some will be hanging out at the Hailey skate park, others will be fishing or hiking, and some will be riding bikes. Any suggestions for good easy-intermediate bike trails in the area?

[TuaDog]

Ride the lift. It's fun for all levels. Flowy, buff, downhill single track. The Warm Springs Trail off the top of baldy is one of my all time favorites.

[mntlion]

great biking guide book for the area, "good dirt" I think.

lot of options, descriptions etc.

[5B]

Thanks for the suggestions so far - I really appreciate it.

Our group is pretty diverse - some will be hanging out at the Hailey skate park, others will be fishing or hiking, and some will be riding bikes. Any suggestions for good easy-intermediate bike trails in the area?

I took the dog on a walk out Corral Creek this a.m. Agree that it is a nice place to camp. Half of the spots were not occupied. They did change the max days stay from 10 down to 3 now. I suppose that is in anticipation of the coming holiday, which is huge here.
I have a copy of "Mountain Biking, Sun Valley" aka "Good Dirt." I would be happy to lend you my copy if you would like to borrow it. PM me and I'll mail it Monday.
Good luck, Brad

[mtnjam]

Any suggestions for good easy-intermediate bike trails in the area?

As much as I like the info in "Good Dirt", I think the map you can get of the area, "Sun Valley Trail Map" is much more detailed and gives you just as good of ride descriptions for the area. Go to Elephants Perch or Sturtos and get a copy.

There's some great campsites just across the road from the ranger station a few miles north of Ketchum. That's where we usually stay and it has a few group campsites available. There's also plenty of no pay sites in that area too.

[sultanslayer]

Warm springs road has some good free camping, singletrack rides leaving both sides of road and free hot springs right off the side of the road

[jimmy page]

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond.

I first must say that Labor Day weekend here in Sun Valley is probably the busiest weekend of the Summer. There is a big parade downtown on Saturday, as well as antique fairs, and this year they have added a three day music fest, featuring Micheal Franti, Matisyahu, Kenny Loggins and Chris Isaak. That being said there should still be some camping to be had.

I would first look to the sites out Corral Creek. They are free and you can ride the Corral Creek trail right from your site. It is a trail that probably everyone in your group can ride. Part of it recently burned, but the trail itself is in good shape. If all of those spots are full I would look for a spot out Baker Creek, which is 13 miles north of town, or I would head up the top of Trail Creek summit. Camping out Warm Springs is also an option, but right now it is on fire, so I am not sure what it will be like in two weeks.

All of the above spots are free, if you are wondering about pay sites I would call the Ketchum Ranger Station at 208-622-5371, or the SNRA vistors center at 208-727-5000. They should be able to give you the names of some sites and let you know if you need to make reservations.

The only bad thing about camping in the area right now is that you can't have a campfire, due to stage two fire restrictions.

I wouldn't let the crowds discourage you from coming out here though. The trails will probably be pretty empty for the most part and there will be plenty of things to do off the bike.

Let me know if you want or need any more info. Send me a PM and I'll get you my phone number.

[utsnowgirl]

Thanks for the detailed info. Having never spent much time in the SV area, this really helps. Sounds like it will be a busy weekend, but hopefully we'll be able to find a place to camp. :)

Hope the fires are out soon - that's no good!!

[5B]

We're trying to plan a Labor Day weekend camping/biking trip to the Sun Valley area. We haven't spent much time in that area, and are not familiar with the camping there. I know that Labor Day weekend will probably be busy, so I'm hoping to find a place that will take a reservation, since we won't make it up there until late Friday night at the soonest.

We've got a group of 6-10 people, and are open to any camping options (Forest Service to commercial camp sites w/showers).

Any ideas???

Well, we've got this fire up here. Ketchum says plans for Labor Day events are still a go, but I'm not sure. Smoke is bad. Mid valley residents are under mandatory evacuation. 1500 firefighters here and are occupying many campsites. Not a healthy place to be right now. Check this site for updates.
http://blainecounty.org/

[utsnowgirl]

Well, we've got this fire up here. Ketchum says plans for Labor Day events are still a go, but I'm not sure. Smoke is bad. Mid valley residents are under mandatory evacuation. 1500 firefighters here and are occupying many campsites. Not a healthy place to be right now. Check this site for updates.
http://blainecounty.org/

Thanks for the heads up. We'll keep an eye on the fire this week, but it looks like we'll probably start working on a Plan "B".

[utsnowgirl]

So, right now, Plan "B" is looking like Jackson Hole.

Is it going to be too crowded? Will we be able to find camping?

I'd love to check out the freeride trails, but are there intermediate trails in the area for my newbie friends?

I know, I know - I should probably use the search function, right? :)

[jimmy page]

Probably a good idea to move to plan B. Yesterday they cancelled all Ketchum events for this weekend.

You might want to start another thread so more people see your Jackson question.

[utsnowgirl]

You might want to start another thread so more people see your Jackson question.

Thanks for the advise.

At this point, we've opted for Plan C, which entails staying home, shreddin the gnar in the wasatch, and drinking lots of beers. :)

We'll plan Sun Valley again when it's not on fire.

[skiguide]

At this point, we've opted for Plan C, which entails staying home, shreddin the gnar in the wasatch, and drinking lots of beers. :)


which is not the worst plan in the world:)

[Lynx]

for future reference on plan B, the little bike shop at the bottom of teton pass has a bunch of maps, and it looks like snow king has built a lot of trails with a lot of interconnectedness to make your ride longer or shorter, all the pics i saw of the snow king trails looked like buff single track, so it would seem they have some good intermediate options.

edit: SV peeps....are the wild fires affecting the stanley area as well? We were planning a bike trip up there for the 3rd weekend in Sept.

[jimmy page]

edit: SV peeps....are the wild fires affecting the stanley area as well? We were planning a bike trip up there for the 3rd weekend in Sept.

Stanley riding should be great. If the fire makes it that far north then all is lost.

[utsnowgirl]

which is not the worst plan in the world:)

Exactly! While I was totally looking forward to getting out of town, I think we'll have plenty of weekend biking trips in the coming months, especially once it's cool enough for Moab.

[Natedogg]

I'd love to check out the freeride trails, but are there intermediate trails in the area for my newbie friends?

I know, I know - I should probably use the search function, right? :)

Further future reference for plan B is to ask Rideit or UAN. But you probably already knew that. Just in case you didnt...

[uncle crud]

It would be really wise to check out the extent of the fires in the Sun Valley area. It looks like the ski hill is about to catch fire. Some of the good riding terrain already was scorched.

Fire status data here (http://inciweb.org/incident/952/).

[phatfreeheeler]

It would be really wise for me to check out the extent of the thread before posting. I see others warned of the fire. Some of the good riding terrain already was scorched.

Fixed it for ya...No harm, we already canned the trip. Going to stay local for the weekend.

[uncle crud]

Fixed it for ya...No harm, we already canned the trip. Going to stay local for the weekend.

That's a bum deal, that fire down there. I got lots of strong suggestions from my friend Rodney to ride in Sun Valley and the Sawtooths. He rode there earlier this summer.

[Arty50]

OPOTRP (obligatory piss off the Reverend post)

Sun Valley has biking? Now I've heard it all.