http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/travel/escapes/24Idaho.html?hp

Sun Valley and its mining-era neighbor Ketchum sit at the top of the Wood River Valley, a stretch of alpine forest, mixed with bald, sage and grass slopes. Following the Big Wood River as it flows south from Galena Pass, the resort area is peppered with aspen groves, willow and cottonwood trees. North of the pass, the road leads to Stanley and the Sawtooth Wilderness.

During the peak of autumn colors, some trails I rode connected Bureau of Land Management and United States Forest Service land. Customized cattle guards made it possible to keep riding without having to open and close range-land gates, just as hand-built wooden ramps and bridges made it possible to keep riding without having to dismount in the forest and riparian zones.

Trail quality was at its height on the roughly 450 miles of singletrack around Sun Valley. Day trips here can also include excursions to the Sawtooth Valley, including loops in the Boulder and White Cloud Mountains, a proposed wilderness area east of the Sawtooth range. One of the most popular ride-from-the-road experiences there is the 17.5-mile Fisher Creek Loop, which passes through the burn zone of the Valley Road Fire, a 2005 wildfire.

Like many trail networks in the area, the popular circuit barely scratches the surface of possibilities.