Thursday, September 27, 2012

Bellevue, ID, Gateway to Ketchum & Sun Valley

We've relocated about 150 miles SE of Boise to Bellevue, ID. Because we are still newbies at this full time RVing we want simplicity; a bit of time to get to know the RV lifestyle without undue stress.

With that in mind, we chose a very simple RV park in Bellevue called Riverside RV Park (practically the same name as the last place) because it was low cost ($27/night), had full hook ups, pull-through sites, easy access to the Wood River Trail (a 33 mile paved trail that connects Bellevue, Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley), plus walking distance to a sweet little nature trail and a couple of restaurants. We also figured by staying slightly South of the mountain ranges there was a little less chance of a freeze if the weather changes.

The Wood River flows outside our campground...seen here from the Wood River Trail at Boxcar Bend

Our first day we drove up to Ketchum/Sun Valley to get a feel for the area. There is a lot less smoke here than we experienced in Boise. That is partly due to the winds lately and a little bit of rain that washed away some of the smoke (and hopefully helped the fire situation).

We did a short hike on the edge of Sun Valley to soak in the views and fall colors.

The ravines between hills are filled with colorful aspen

Only the North side of the hills have conifers, most hillsides around here are covered 
in low, brown chapparal (foreground where Hans is walking)

Taken from a ravine, here you can see the rolling chapparal covered hills in the background.

Today we rode about 25 miles of the Wood River Trail.






It's clear and sunny and 75 degrees, with night time temps in the 40's, absolutely perfect! I would love to see the area in early summer when the hills must be green and loaded with flowers...guess we'll have to come back some time.

4 comments:

  1. SW? Looks like almost due East to me!Looks like a great place!

    Have fun!

    Bill

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    1. HA! Good catch...guess I better edit that! :-)

      The campground is bare bones, but there are very few options up here with hook ups. The area itself is beautiful!
      Lisa

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  2. Thank you so much for this helpful post! My husband just accepted a position with a company near Blaine County, and as I was Googling nearby areas like Bellevue, your blog post showed up in my results. Not only has this post convinced me that we need to move to Bellevue, but I'm also following your blog now, so that I can glean some hiking tips. I'm so glad you are blogging! :)

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    1. Thanks for following us! We are having a great time on the road and hiking is our number one favorite activity!

      I like to cook so I'll be checking out your blog too!

      Lisa

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