The Bigwood Story
A Ketchum Original — Timbers at Bigwood, a Ketchum dining institution since 1971
Since 1971.
Culinary Philosophy
Cooked with care, sourced with intention.
Timbers is the kind of restaurant we always wanted in our neighborhood — a place where the food is made with real care, the bar takes drinks seriously, and hospitality and community are at the center of it all.
The menu is built around dishes crafted with intention — made to stand out while staying recognizable, and to shift with the seasons so we can cook with what's at its best. We work with farms, ranches, and makers we know and respect — many of them here in Idaho — and we lean on those relationships first. When a dish calls for sourcing from further afield, we go where the quality is. We've built this menu around food we'd be thrilled to feed our own families. We cook with ingredients we feel good about — real, recognizable foods and clean fats, never seed oils.
Whether you're here for an anniversary, dinner with the kids, a meal after nine holes, or a gathering with friends, we're glad you came.
The farms, ranches, makers & purveyors we work with
- Ballard Cheeses ★
- Big Lost Beef ★
- Boise River Lamb ★
- Broadleaf Specialty Meats
- Cypress Grove
- DOMA Coffee ★
- Ferb's Fabulous Fungi ★
- High Desert Butter ★
- Hyndman Peak Beef ★
- Kasota Hydroponics ★
- Mount Hope Wholesale
- Shoemaker Bison ★
- Smoking Goose Charcuterie
- Sun Valley Mustard ★
- Verde Juice
★ Idaho producer
The artists we work with
Proud to display the incredible talents of these local artists.
Bigwood History
A Ketchum staple for over fifty years.
Before Bigwood was a golf course, it was a runway, where pilots would land directly on the valley floor. Before it was Timbers Restaurant, it was a Holiday Inn. This little stretch of Ketchum has been many things over the years, but it's always been a key part of the local fabric.
Before the Course
When pilots landed on the valley floor.
Long before there was a golf course or a clubhouse, this stretch of Wood River Valley was a landing strip — pilots would touch down on the open meadow with mountain backdrop on either side. The little airstrip was one piece of a Ketchum that was finding its identity in the years before the resort era fully took hold.
1971
A runway becomes a course.
Bigwood Golf Course opened in 1971, designed by renowned golf architect Robert Muir Graves. The course took shape on the same valley floor that had been home to the airstrip — a thoughtful Graves design that worked with the land rather than against it. From the start, Bigwood was the place to play in the Wood River Valley.
1973
A hotel arrives at Bigwood.
Two years after the course opened, a Holiday Inn opened its doors right where Timbers stands today. The hotel brought a mix of out-of-towners and locals through the property, with a coffee shop, lounge, and live music keeping things lively. Over the years, the onsite restaurant and lounge cycled through several identities — Coy's Mining Company, the Saddle Mountain Feed Company — each one a chapter in the social life of the valley.
1979
Continental cuisine and a 56-seat theater.
In 1979, the hotel was rebranded as the Alpenrose by Norman and Judi Fuller. Their goal was to build something that could go toe-to-toe with the Sun Valley Lodge — high-end Continental cuisine at Les Saisons, plus a 56-seat movie theater where you could order drinks via bedside-style telephones.
Though the Alpenrose closed in the '80s, Bigwood Golf continued to be the go-to destination in the Wood River Valley to golf and gather. The late '90s and early '00s brought the Thunder Spring development — reportedly the largest commercial construction project in Idaho at the time. The golf clubhouse was moved to its current location during this era, and the new space included a seasonal summer restaurant. The Bigwood Grill quickly became the social hub at the course, holding that role for over fifteen years before closing in 2022.
A New Chapter
A new chapter.
In 2024, Lyndsay and Christopher Lyle bought the course and started bringing it back to life. The first priority was the golf — staying true to the original Graves design with new irrigation, rebuilt greens, and reworked bunkers in partnership with Boise golf architect David Druzisky.
Then came the dining. Construction on Timbers and Birdie's Snack Shack kicked off in 2025, built to carry forward the community spirit that's defined this land since the days of the old airstrip. Timbers opens to the public in 2026 — a place to gather, recreate, and come back to. Whether you're walking off the course or stopping in for a sunset dinner, you're welcome here.
The Team
Meet the team.
It takes a whole crew to make Timbers feel the way it does — the cooks and bakers, bartenders and servers, hosts and dish team who bring real craft and genuine care to every shift. We're proud of every one of them. A few of the people leading the way:
Restaurant Manager
Gina Penn
Front of House Manager
Gianna Brown
Culinary Director
Taite Pearson
Kitchen Manager
Tevin Miller
Owners
Lyndsay & Christopher Lyle
Eponymous Dog
Timber