BCRD is excited to collaborate with Hailey Public Library and The Community Library to bring StoryWalk© to the Wood River Trail. From February 15 to February 22, weather permitting, this unique activity will merge the joy of reading with the beauty of the outdoors, providing a delightful experience for families and individuals alike. StoryWalk© will be set up along two sections of the Wood River Trail. In Hailey, you can enjoy the story between Fox Acres Road and Woodside Boulevard and in Ketchum between 6th Street and Wood River Drive. As you ski, walk, or bike along these paths, you’ll encounter a different book in each location, displayed page by page. In Hailey, the featured book is “Over the River and Through the Wood” by Emma Randall, while in Ketchum, visitors can enjoy “Just One Flake” by Travis Jonker. Each page will be presented in both English and Spanish, offering an inclusive reading experience.
Wood River Trail
The Wood River Trail, known to locals as “the bike path,” enhances the quality of life in the Wood River Valley, allowing residents and visitors to connect with history and the outdoors through running, biking, walking, and skiing along the trail. BCRD grooms the Wood River Trail in winter for Nordic skiers and provides this resource for FREE for all users. More information at https://bcrd.org/winter-trails/our-winter-trails/wood-river-trail/
2024 Wood River Trail Challenge
This complimentary event is a wonderful opportunity for community members to engage in a healthy and enjoyable outdoor activity this winter. The Challenge is set to run from January 26 through February 23, welcoming everyone who enjoys skiing, walking, snowshoeing, or fatbiking. Participants can complete the full 32 kilometers of the Wood River Trail, either in one go or in sections over a four-week period. By participating, not only will individuals get to experience the beautiful Wood River Trail, but they will also receive a prize from BCRD and enter a drawing for a chance to win a free 2024/25 BCRD Nordic season pass.
StoryWalk® Begins on Wood River Trail
Blaine County Recreation District (BCRD) is collaborating with Hailey Public Library and The Community Library to bring StoryWalk® to the Wood River Trail. On Bike to School and Work Day, Wednesday, May 17, through Sunday, May 21, Blaine County Recreation District, Hailey Public Library, and The Community Library will present StoryWalk® on the Wood River Trail. This distinctive, family oriented event merges outdoor enjoyment with reading, providing an engaging experience. The children’s books Moon Rope and Cuckoo by Lois Ehlert will be posted page-by-page in English and in Spanish, to be viewed while walking or biking along the Wood River Trail. These bilingual books have beautiful illustrations to be enjoyed by all ages.
Wood River Trails Coalition Trail Season Kick-Off Party
JOIN US FOR A TRAIL SEASON KICK-OFF PARTY! AT THE ELEPHANT’S PERCH JUNE 1ST 5:00 – 7:00 PM Come celebrate the beginning of the 2023 trail season with us! NEW and renewing members get a free MiiR cup filled with beer and 20% off at Elephant’s Perch (night of only). Food will be available for purchase from La Parilla food truck.
What We’re Made Of: Wood River Trails Coalition
Originally founded in 2011 under the name the Wood River Bike Coalition, the Wood River Trails Coalition (renamed so in 2019) is a non-profit trail stewardship organization working to create, maintain and sustain the Wood River Valley’s network for all users. With so many locals and visitors alike using the trails for walking, hiking, biking, and enjoying with dogs and horses, trails in the area take a pretty good beating every year. According to the Wood River Valley Trail Study from 2012, the Ketchum Ranger District of the Sawtooth National Forest alone sees over 90,000 user days annually, 35,000 of those being visitor user days. Harsh winters mean that trails need even more maintenance after the snow melts to ensure they are up to snuff for summer outdoor enthusiasts. It is with the help of the Wood River Trails Coalition that this is made possible. Partnerships With more than 500 miles of single-track trails for various uses, land management agencies are tasked with the job of maintaining this vast area. Without predictable annual funding to pay for a proper trail crew to maintain current trails and begin projects on new ones, the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have a difficult …
Wood River Trail (the bike path)
The Wood River Trail (WRT) is a 20+ mile paved, multi-use, year-round path that provides a non-motorized connection between the Wood River Valley communities of Bellevue, Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley. The WRT, known to locals as “the bike path,” enhances the quality of life in the Wood River Valley allowing residents and visitors to connect with history and the outdoors through running, biking, walking, and skiing along the trail. The Blaine County Recreation District (BCRD) grooms the Wood River Trail in the winter for Nordic skiers and provides FREE access to this resource for all users.
24 Hours with a Local: Trailhead Bicycles Owners Kyle Wies and Andy Solomon
After several years of working for Fitzgerald’s Bicycles in Victor, Jackson, and Idaho Falls, friends and business owners Kyle Wies and Andy Solomon—and Andy’s wife, Erin—decided to open their own bike shop in Hailey after seeing a hole in the market for a year-round bike shop. The two met at Fitzgerald’s in 2015 when Andy bought a fat bike from Kyle—two years later, Andy was working there too. They opened Trailhead Bicycles in April 2022 and have been busy ever since. Andy and Kyle live fairly opposite lives: Andy and Erin are parents to their 6-year-old daughter, Finley, and shop dog 11-year-old Elliott (if you’ve been in the shop, you’ve likely seen this huge, loveable guy) who all live in Woodside. When not on the bike, Andy and the family can be found outdoors doing it all—lake days, paddle boarding, hiking, and biking, of course. Kyle lives by himself in Ketchum, commuting daily to Hailey by biking on the bike path or reading on the bus. Kyle’s a big runner and reader when he’s not biking, and the two friends also like to get together to watch soccer. Assuming the trails are dry and ready for biking (a bit of …
28th Annual Trailing of the Sheep Festival
Save the Dates! The 28th annual Trailing of the Sheep Festival will be held October, 2-6, 2024! Sheep have been trailing through the Wood River Valley of Idaho for well over a century and are an integral part of Idaho’s heritage. Each fall the iconic Trailing of the Sheep Festival honors the 150+ year annual tradition of moving sheep (‘trailing’) from high mountain summer pastures down through the Valley to traditional winter grazing and lambing areas in the south. This annual migration is living history and the focus of a unique and authentic Festival that celebrates the sheep, herders, history, food, arts, cultures, and traditions of Idaho’s sheep ranching families, highlighting the principal contributors – the Basques, Scottish and Peruvians. The five-day Festival includes nonstop activities in multiple venues – history, folk arts, a Sheep Folklife Fair, lamb culinary offerings, a Wool Festival with classes and workshops, music, dance, storytelling, championship Sheepdog Trials and, the always entertaining, Big Sheep Parade with 1,500 sheep hoofing it down Main Street in Ketchum. Festival Highlights include: Big Sheep Parade with 1,500 sheep trailing down Main Street in Ketchum National Qualifying Sheepdog Trials featuring over 80 of the county’s most talented border collies and …
What Not to Miss at the 27th Annual Trailing of the Sheep Festival
Aside from the brilliant transitioning leaves, The Trailing of the Sheep Festival is the highlight of Sun Valley’s fall season. Celebrating sheep and sheep herding traditions, Trailing of the Sheep offers a unique glimpse in to a part of Idaho’s past. Five days of dancing, music, wool classes, lamb dinners, sheep dog trials, and the famous Big Sheep Parade will tantalize the spectrum of senses.
