BY KAREN BOSSICK

Hop aboard a Mountain Rides bus and learn about the history and stories of Ketchum and Sun Valley.

The Wood River Museum of History + Culture will offer free Sun Valley Story Bus Tours beginning Friday, July 11, and continuing every Friday through Aug. 29.

The bus tour will start at the Visitor’s Center, or Starbucks, in Ketchum.

Beginning July 18 the bus will take tourgoers past Lane Mercantile (now Enoteca restaurant)—one of the oldest buildings in Ketchum, past the cemetery where Ernest Hemingway is buried and past the location of the Ketchum Depot and Philadelphia Smelter. It will then go out Warm Springs past the site where the Guyer Hot Springs Hotel once sat, then make its way to Elkhorn, around the loop in Sun Valley and past the landmark red barn once owned by the Brass family, who sold their ranch to Union Pacific Railroad for it to build Sun Valley Resort.

The July 11 tour will encompass some walking since the regular Mountain Rides bus stops are still in the process of being reestablished following the construction of Main Street between 4th and 6th Street.

Tour guide Jim Jaquet says tourgoers will gather at the Visitor Center at Starbucks at 10 a.m., then walk across the street to the Elephant’s Perch where they will hop on the bus to tour the Sun Valley and Elkhorn areas.

The bus will return to the Visitor Center where it will drop off tourgoers. They will then walk two blocks to Ketchum’s Ore Wagon Museum where they will learn about Ketchum’s mining history. Tourgoers will then walk through the alley outside Bluebird Village to the Wood River Museum of History + Culture where they will conclude the tour.

The bus tour was started 10 years ago to share history and show visitors how easy it is to ride the bus. It gives people an overview of the layout and history of Sun Valley and Ketchum from the comfort of the bus.

Volunteers, such as longtime Ketchum residents Jim and Wendy Jaquet, will offer commentary along the way.

Registration is recommended and can be made in person at the Visitor’s Center inside Starbucks on Sun Valley Road or via email at info@visitsunvalley.com. It can also be made by calling 208-726-3423.