Staying Home Sucks, home
Ketchum, Idaho street July 2024
Ketchum, the nearest town. Photo: Sharon Hahn Darlin, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Sun Valley

Ski resort · United States

Is it worth the trip?

Every day scores the same

Sun Valley is closed for the season on these dates.

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
13 cm
Depth
0.1 mmid 0 m, base 0 m
Coldest
-6°C
Wind
8 kn

Tue 3 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
9 cm
Depth
0.1 mmid 0 m, base 0 m
Coldest
-8°C
Wind
5 kn

Wed 4 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
0 cm
Depth
0.1 mmid 0 m, base 0 m
Coldest
-4°C
Wind
4 kn

Thu 5 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
0 cm
Depth
0.1 mmid 0 m, base 0 m
Coldest
-5°C
Wind
5 kn

Fri 6 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
2 cm
Depth
0.1 mmid 0 m, base 0 m
Coldest
-6°C
Wind
12 kn

Sat 7 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
2 cm
Depth
0.1 mmid 0 m, base 0 m
Coldest
-5°C
Wind
3 kn

Sun 8 · 0 out of 100

From the usual week for these dates, not the forecast.

Tap a day for snow, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 7 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 10, poor
  2. Mon 20, poor
  3. Tue 30, poor
  4. Wed 40, poor
  5. Thu 50, poor
  6. Fri 60, poor
  7. Sat 70, poor

The resort in three facts

  • Top 2,780 mvillage 1,783 m
  • 79 km of runsevery grade
  • Open December–Aprilusually

Full forecast

every day, every number

Lifts closed for the season. They usually open about 25 November.

We don't know the avalanche risk here. Check Sawtooth Avalanche Center.

Forecast and score for each day at Sun Valley
DayScoreFresh72 hDepthtop, mid, baseColdestat topWindat top
Sun 1Nov0, poor13 cm0.2 mmid 0.1 mbase 0 m-2°Cwind, 5 knots
Mon 2Nov0, poor13 cm0.1 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-6°Cwind, 8 knots
Tue 3Nov0, poor9 cm0.1 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-8°Cwind, 5 knots
Wed 4Nov0, poor0 cm0.1 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-4°Cwind, 4 knots
Thu 5Nov0, poor0 cm0.1 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-5°Cwind, 5 knots
Fri 6Nov0, poor2 cm0.1 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-6°Cwind, 12 knots
Sat 7Nov0, poor2 cm0.1 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-5°Cwind, 3 knots

Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to. Snow depth starts from today's reading at Lost-Wood Divide, 2399 m. More

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

best in Mar

Good ski days in a typical week, each month, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).

  1. Jan1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar4of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May0of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun0of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul0of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug0of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep0of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov0of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
  12. Dec1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Snow by month

Typical snow on the ground and coldest daytime temperature by month
MonthBase1,783 mMid2,282 mTop2,780 mColdestat the top
Novnone0.1 m0.1 m-8°C
Dec0.3 m0.4 m0.5 m-13°C
Jan0.6 m0.7 m0.8 m-14°C
Feb0.8 m0.9 m0.9 m-13°C
Mar0.9 m1.0 m1.1 m-10°C
Apr0.5 m0.9 m1.0 m-6°C
Maynone0.3 m0.5 m-1°C

Typical snow on the ground in the village, halfway up and at the top: the middle value over 2016 to 2025, from ERA5-Land reanalysis at the grid cell nearest each height. Not a forecast, and not the groomed pistes: resorts make snow lower down.

Map

the resort and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors, terrain © Mapterhorn.

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Sun Valley

Village 1,783 m.

A ski resort with its village at 1,783 m and its top at 2,780 m. It has 79 km of runs and 12 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap. The runs drop 1,025 m, from 2,780 m to 1,755 m. For beginners and families: 65% of the km of runs are green or blue (beginner to intermediate). For experts: 28 km of advanced, expert and freeride runs. Within 5 km of the village: a public pool, an ice rink and a ski school. It is usually in season from December to April. The snow is usually deepest in March, about 1.1 m at the top (2,780 m). For skiers the best month is usually March, with about 4 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Ketchum. Within 5 km we also list 1 mountain bike area.

Ketchum is a city in the western United States, located in Blaine County, Idaho. In the central part of the state, the population was 3,551 at the 2020 census, up from 2,689 in 2010. Located in the Wood River Valley, Ketchum is adjacent to Sun Valley and the communities share many resources: both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its skiing. The city also draws tourists to its fishing, hiking, trail riding, tennis, shopping, art galleries, and more. Air travel is through Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey, approximately fifteen miles (24 km) south.

From the Wikipedia article Ketchum, Idaho by Wikipedia contributors, shortened by us. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

The ski area

Runs from 1,755 m to 2,780 m: 1,025 m of vertical. 79 km of runs and 12 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap for Sun Valley - Bald Mountain.

Runs
Easy33 km
Intermediate19 km
Advanced28 km
Lifts
Gondolas and cable cars1
Chairlifts10
Magic carpets1

Measured along each mapped run, so it can differ from the resort's own figure. Ski area: Data from OpenSkiData / OpenSkiMap.org, © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Skimap.org, Who's On First, © Mapterhorn.

For families

65% of the km of runs are green or blue (beginner to intermediate).

Within 5 km of the village:

  • a public pool: Olympic Pool, 2 km
  • an ice rink: Christina Potters Outdoor Ice Rink, 0.8 km
  • a ski school: Mountain Dreamworks, 0.3 km

The Family filter counts these. Places from the Overture Maps Foundation, from Meta, Microsoft, Foursquare and AllThePlaces. Foursquare data © 2024 Foursquare Labs, Inc., Apache 2.0. Check opening times before you go.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$2,490–US$3,890 each

about US$2,490–US$3,890 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, transfer, stay, food, lift pass, ski hire.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to SUN, estimated from distance and season, 2 airlines on the route, with a hold bagabout US$214–US$442
Transfershared airport transfer, returnabout US$94–US$161
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$288–US$482
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Lift pass5 days at about US$312 a day, country averageabout US$1,330–US$1,800
Ski hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$221–US$368
Totalabout US$2,490–US$3,890

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Ketchum

Closest

Ketchum

1 min by car · 42 places to stay

about US$107/nightcountry average

See 42 places to stay in Ketchum · Booking.com

About Ketchum its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$107 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 6h 15m

About 6h 15m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → SUN, direct, then 50 min by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.