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Map courtesy Sun Valley Co. A new network of trails will weave in and among the hillsides around Sun Valley's new Gun Club 9 golf course. The trails are delineated in white.
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The Gun Club 9 at Sun Valley will be more than golf. In fact, golf clubs and spiked shoes will accomplish little on the five miles of trails under construction on the hillsides in the vicinity of the new world-class golf course.
The trails, which will replace an old network on Sun Valley Co.-owned property, are scheduled to open next spring.
The project is a joint effort by Sun Valley Resort, Big Wood Backcountry Trails and the International Mountain Bicycling Association.
"The trails are another great amenity of the Sun Valley Resort," said Sun Valley spokesman Jack Sibbach. "They'll be an additional great amenity for our guests and those of us who live here. It's gorgeous up there."
The multi-use, all-levels trail system will be open for hiking, trail running and mountain biking. A five-member crew working a mini-tractor and mini-excavator has been laboring to cut the trails in the last week and will continue for several more. The new paths snake around the hillside and undulate with exciting-looking turns and moderate climbs.
The views are, indeed, breathtaking.
"We're excited because the trails that were originally up there were very popular for people doing quick bicycle rides and hikes from town on their lunch hours," said Chris Leman of Big Wood Backcountry Trails. "To replace them with trails that are better than what were there originally, that is an extra bonus.
"And we're very excited that Sun Valley is footing the entire bill to make it work up there."
Chris Bernhart is the director of IMBA's Hood River, Ore., Trail Solutions crew, which has been working this month in Croy Canyon, at Galena Lodge and on the hillsides around the new Gun Club 9.
"I think one of the things that makes us unique among trail builders is that we like to think ourselves very adept at including the community with a lot of stakeholder meetings, making sure we can meet the needs of the trail users," Bernhart said.
"We have a wealth of experience working with a variety of trail users. IMBA has published two books that are fairly definitive in trail design and construction. The projects we're doing here are a real good example of that. On multi-use trails, you have to pay real close attention to those design issues."
The trails at Sun Valley Resort will be moderate and accommodate a variety of skill levels, he said, adding that the Wood River Valley is lucky to have three very different, though equally exciting trail projects running concurrently.
The Croy Canyon project at the old BMX track near Rotarun is mountain bike specific skills course that will be like "a skate park for mountain bikers," Bernhart said.
Meanwhile, Sun Valley's Gun Club project will accommodate a variety of uses and skill levels.
Ongoing work on U.S. Forest Service administered land surrounding Galena Lodge could result in a destination trail network should the Forest Service approve plans drawn up by Trail Solutions.
"You've got it all," Bernhart said. "You've got the skills building in an appropriate area, a close-in trail for after work and the destination that's not too far away. I couldn't pick one, to be honest with you. They're all exciting for various reasons."
