Kristine Bretall, Wood River Museum Community Engagement Manager
Here, we look back on an old image of kids on skis approaching the Challenger Inn from the pond near the Sun Valley Opera House in about 1955. The shot was taken for publicity purposes by the Union Pacific Railroad, which owned Sun Valley Resort at the time.
From the start of the resort in December 1936, Union Pacific’s goal was to get travelers to arrive by train and stay at the resort for all their needs. The Sun Valley Lodge opened that first winter of 1936-37, but quickly saw a need for a more affordable place for people to stay with their families in tow. The Challenger Inn was designed to resemble a Tyrolean village, with the building painted a variety of colors to look like individual buildings.
For the resort’s second winter, the Inn opened in 1937 and rooms were $4 per person per night—with up to four per room. Meanwhile, in the Lodge, a suite with en suite bathrooms and a deck cost $36-$48 per night. In addition to being much more affordable, the Challenger also featured a bowling alley, a 500-seat movie theater, an outdoor pool, a game room with billiards and slot machines, the Ram Restaurant and even a drug store and general store.
The Inn quickly became the hub of fun and activity at the resort and many a guest chose the livelier Inn over the high-society atmosphere in the Lodge. The Challenger Inn was later rebranded as the Sun Valley Inn to ensure that the Sun Valley name wasn’t used on a hotel elsewhere and cause confusion.
The Community Library’s Center for Regional History has a trove of incredible photos. The Union Pacific Photo Collection was saved from a landfill in Omaha, Nebraska, by librarian Dottie Thomas in 1982. She happened to be there when Union Pacific was clearing out its “photo morgue.” Lucky for all of us.
Note this story was originally published in February of 2025 in the Idaho Mountain Express.
