Sun Valley is one of the best places to go in 2025, NYT says. One competition is the key
The New York Times has listed Sun Valley as one of the 52 best places to go in 2025.
The list was curated by expert freelance journalists, as well as reporters from the New York Times’ global newsrooms, who were invited to nominate a destination for inclusion. Editors from the New York Times travel desk review the nominations and selected those that fit their vision for the year ahead, according to Melissa Torres, manager of external communications at The New York Times.
“We seek destinations that would inspire our readers and spark their travel curiosity, ensuring the destinations are compelling, geographically diverse and news driven,” Torres wrote in an email to the Idaho Statesman. “A team of almost 100 journalists and photographers work on the annual list, a process that begins in September until publication in January each year.”
The Times wrote that the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals, which will be held in Sun Valley from March 22 to March 27, make for a key reason to visit Sun Valley this year. This will be the first time the alpine finals, which features the best ski racers in the world, have been held on U.S. slopes since 2017.
Sun Valley is listed eighth on the best places to go in 2025. The list includes places in Thailand, England, New York and more.
What happen during World Cup skiing finals?
The World Cup skiing finals will consist of competitions over the course of six days for men and women, including the downhill, super-G, giant slalom and slalom, according to the FIS Ski World Cup Finals website.
During the finals, fans can visit Ketchum for the 5850 Fest. Between March 20 and 27, athletes and locals can enjoy the annual music festival that will include live music, parties and plenty of food and drink. Headliners include Sugar Ray, Brandi Cyrus, Barenaked Ladies and Tracy Byrd, according the the 5850 Fest website.
If you’re just in town to make a few turns of your own, the new Challenger chairlift, which opened last season on Bald Mountain, will take you up 3,138 vertical feet in eight minutes, making it the tallest vertical ascent in North America, according to the Sun Valley Resort website.
Here are the 10 best places to go in 2025, as decided by the New York Times.
- 1. Jane Austen’s England
- 2. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
- 3. New York City Museums
- 4. Assam, India
- 5. ‘White Lotus’ Thailand
- 6. Greenland
- 7. Aix-en-Provence, France
- 8. Sun Valley, Idaho
- 9. Lumbini, Nepal
- 10. Sydney, Australia
