Sun Valley Location and Climate

In central Idaho, the Wood River Valley is located in Blaine County, at the edge of the Sawtooth and Challis National Forests; the majestic Sawtooth Wilderness is located immediately to the north. Almost surrounded by U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands, the valley's heart is the Big Wood River. Between the sagebrush and lava drylands to the south and the forested mountain ranges to the north, the valley has a mountain desert climate. With an average humidity of only 30%, and 15 inches of precipitation per year, the northern latitude creates long days, with 15 hours of sunshine in the summer. With an average of 250 days of sunshine a year there is no question where Sun Valley gets it's name from. The area typically has dry sunny summers and mild sunny winters. The average summer high temperature is 77F and the average winter high temperature is 33F with an annual snowfall of 100-150 inches.

The cities of Sun Valley and Ketchum are at an altitude of 5,750 feet, dwarfed by the ski mountain, Baldy, at 9,150 feet. The river valley slopes down to the cities of Hailey and Bellevue at 5,300 feet. Four large lakes in the Stanley Basin to the north and two large reservoirs to the south offer recreational opportunities. Hundreds of streams and alpine lakes can be found in the mountains and valleys surrounding the towns.

 

	High	Low	Avg Precip (Total Inches)	Avg Snow  (Total Inches)	Avg Snow Depth (Inches)
January	31.0	5.4	2.20	27.50	22
February	35.7	8.4	1.94	22.40	28
March	43.3	16.6	1.79	13.10	23
April	52.9	24.9	1.32	4.30	6
May	62.3	32.5	1.82	0.70	0
June	71.1	38.0	1.27	0.0	0
July	80.6	43.8	0.81	0.0	0
August	79.2	41.2	0.70	0.0	0
September	69.7	34.0	1.07	0.10	0
October	57.9	25.9	1.09	1.60	0
November	41.2	15.4	1.69	13.10	3
December	31.4	6.9	2.56	30.10	13

 

Bald Mountain has an average of just over 200 inches of snowfall for the last 10 years. Here are year-to-year totals:

 

2000/2001	121"
2001/2002	198"
2002/2003	209.5"
2003/2004	171"
2004/2005	205"
2005/2006	360"
2006/2007	145.5"
2007/2008	232"
2008/2009	191"
2009/2010	186"