Ketchum Facts

Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho.

Ketchum population was 3,003 at the 2000 census. It is in the Wood River Valley, adjacent to Sun Valley; the two communities share many resources and both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its world-famous skiing.

Ketchum draws tourists from around the world to enjoy its fishing, hiking, trail riding, tennis, shopping, and more.

Ketchum airport is Friedman Air Feild, is located 15 miles south in the town of Hailey.

The elevation of downtown Ketchum is 5880 feet (1792 m) above sea level.

Ketchum was once an isolated mining and ranching town in the wilds of central Idaho. After the development of Sun Valley in 1936, the city became popular with celebrities, including Gary Cooper and Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway loved Ketchum and the surrounding area, fished, hunted and lived in the valley.

Hemingway took his own life in Ketchum; he and his granddaughter, model and actress Margaux Hemingway, are buried in the Ketchum Cemetery.

Ezra Pound was born in Ketchum.