Sun Valley Insider's Guide to Wildflowers

A Sun Valley Insider’s Guide to Wildflowers

One of the best things about spring in the Wood River Valley is the explosion of wildflowers. This guide is meant to help you find some of the better places to see the full display. It is not meant as an identification guide. And of course, each year is different, which adds a little mystery to the hunt!

This guide is arranged from South to North, since the flowers show up earlier (around the beginning of May) in the South Valley, and then continue to emerge in different pockets and places as you move northward. So while flowers are at their height in the South Valley in mid- to late-May, June and early July are often better for wildflowers in Ketchum and the Sawtooth Basin.

Lupine | Croy Canyon

Pond Lily | Silver Creek

HAILEY, BELLEVUE & THE SOUTH VALLEY

In the South Valley, the flowers start showing out in late April and through May and into June. Hillsides, particularly West-facing for some reason, often get blanketed by yellow, purple, and hybrid-colored lupine, and patches of arrowleaf balsamroot are unmissable throughout the South Valley.

Lupine in Democrat Gulch | Croy Canyon

Daffodils | Broadford Road

Fireweed | Greenhorn

Arrowleaf Balsamroot | South of Bellevue

KETCHUM, WARM SPRINGS & SUN VALLEY/ELKHORN

The “Resort Core” is full of pockets of wildflowers strutting their stuff. With so many gravel roads and trails heading off in all directions, there’s no limit to what you might find after a short drive or ride and a five-minute walk from your car or bike. Plenty of in-town parks also boast smorgasbords of color too!

Arrowleaf | White Clouds Trails

Mule’s Ears | Sun Valley

Tulips | Ketchum

Lupine | Adam’s Gulch

Camas Lily | Ketchum

Indian Paintbrush | Warm Springs

Lupine | Elkhorn

NORTH OF KETCHUM & THE SAWTOOTH BASIN

So. Many. Places. To Explore. To find wildflowers north of town, you have to have some patience, since he flowers don’t start blooming until late June and then well into July. But once they get going, they are everywhere!

If you like to explore, it is impossible to take a wrong turn off of Scenic HWY 75, which connects the Wood River Valley to Stanley and Challis. Just fill your tank up, pack a lunch, and enjoy the views,

Lupine | Galena Summit

Indian Paintbrush | Silver Lake

Mule’s Ears | Trail Creek Summit

Fireweed | Sawtooth Basin

Columbine | Alturas Lake

BEYOND THE IMMEDIATE WOOD RIVER VALLEY

The opportunities for viewing wildflowers don’t end in the Wood River Valley and Sawtooth Basin. One of the very greatest places to go is to the Camas Prairie, about 70 miles southwest of the valley, on HWY 20 towards Mountain Home.

The Pioneer, Boulder, and Smoky Mountains all offer great pockets of wildflowers, as do places like Gooding City of Rocks, the Lost River Valley, and the Pashimeroi Valley. Get out and enjoy all Idaho has to offer!!

Camas Lilies | Camas Prairie

Off of Hwy 20

Alpine Meadow | Pioneer Mountains

Indian Paintbrush | Pioneer Mountains