A Winter Wonderland (Sun Valley, Idaho)
A WINTER WONDERLAND (SUN VALLEY, IDAHO)
What more could you possibly want than skiing, snowboarding, and cheese fondue? Luckily, Sun Valley, Idaho, has it all.
Waking up with a cup of warm coffee in hand and elk outside our window was a dream we could definitely get used to. Our days revolved around winter sports in this picture perfect winter wonderland. Everywhere we went in Sun Valley and the surrounding area were absolutely stunning, and the picturesque mountain views were everywhere your eyes could wander. The town itself is filled with lovely quaint coffee shops and delicious diners to fill you up before an adventurous trip on the slopes.
Among our favorite and recommended downtown Sun Valley lunch spots is Cristina’s Cafe. Cristina’s is an adorable diner attached to a petite, delicious bakery. Below is an image of a little gingerbread man that the sweet owner gave to us as a, “Welcome to Sun Valley,” gift. For dinner, we went to the Pioneer Saloon, which is also a must-see. The restaurant has a large display of taxidermy covering its interior walls, and the food is similar to home-style cooking, which will absolutely seal the deal on a perfect trip in the mountains.
Prior to our visit to Sun Valley, I had personally only skied once in my entire life, and needless to say, I failed miserably on the slopes. If this also holds true to you, I advise taking a ski lesson or two at a local hill before visiting Sun Valley. Although I struggled quite a bit, the beautiful scenery of Idaho made the trip worth while.
Luckily for me, my first ski lesson was with an extremely helpful lady and my class was filled with 5-7 year olds. Although it was quite embarrassing, I felt very accomplished and gained at least a little confidence before the end of the day.
On our second day, I finally decided to tag along with Jalen and attempt some of the slightly more difficult slopes which ended up not being the brightest of ideas. After face-planting five times before the first turn, I proceeded to plant my butt on my skis as I sledded down the remainder of the course, as I desperately tried to admire the beauty around me. If you take away anything from reading this blog post, use my advice and take some lessons! The mountain that we were skiing on during our second day was called, Mount Baldy, which Jalen highly recommends. As you can see, the views are absolutely stunning. The mountain has several gondolas which will take you up to the very peaks of the mountains. Of the several stops along the way, we recommend a restaurant called the Roundhouse. We assure you that Roundhouse quite possibly has the best cheese fondue your taste buds will ever experience. The building was built in 1939 and has been serving good cheers and cheese ever since.
The views from the Roundhouse are as great as they come. You can see miles and miles of white-topped mountains, filled with pine trees in every direction. In addition to the view, the staff was delightful and the service was fantastic.
Sun Valley is a destination we will be visiting far into our future. As soon as I have a few more ski trips under my belt, we will be back off to Idaho to get my revenge on Mount Baldy!
