Titled “Hailey,” this United States Geological Survey map was made in 1967 and published with a 1971 imprint, capturing a precise moment in the evolving geography of Idaho’s Wood River Valley. At 1:24,000 scale, it presents Hailey and its surroundings with the meticulous clarity associated with mid-twentieth-century federal topographic mapping. The Big Wood River threads through the valley, anchoring the town’s settlement pattern and the routes that connect it to the wider mountain landscape. State Highway 75, local roads, trails, and the developing grid of Hailey appear against a terrain of steep contours and open valley floor. The result is a richly informative portrait of a community poised between its mining-era past and its growing role in recreation, tourism, and regional development.

The mapmaker, the U.S. Geological Survey, occupies a central place in the history of American cartography. Founded in 1879, the USGS was charged with systematically measuring, classifying, and mapping the nation’s lands and natural resources. By the time this Hailey quadrangle was produced, its topographic maps had become essential tools for engineers, planners, geologists, foresters, miners, hikers, and local governments. The disciplined symbology reflects the agency’s scientific purpose: contour lines describe elevation, blue marks rivers and streams, green indicates vegetation, and roads and built features are rendered with crisp hierarchy. This restrained visual language gives the map both practical authority and aesthetic appeal, transforming a complex mountain environment into an ordered, legible landscape.

Hailey itself is shown in the heart of the Wood River Valley, a corridor long shaped by extraction, transportation, ranching, and mountain travel. The town emerged in the nineteenth century as a service and supply center for the region’s silver and lead mining districts, and its position along the Big Wood River made it a natural hub. On the map, that geographic logic is immediately visible: settlement follows the valley, while the surrounding slopes rise sharply into canyon country. Deer Creek, Trail Creek, Warm Springs Creek, Silver Creek, and smaller drainages articulate the land’s structure, each watercourse carving a path through the high desert and mountain terrain. These features reveal the environmental framework that guided roads, neighborhoods, and later recreational access.

The surrounding names evoke the broader geography of central Idaho: Ketchum and Sun Valley to the north, Bald Mountain and Warm Springs Creek in the skiing and resort landscape, and Galena Summit farther along the mountain passage. While Hailey retains its own civic identity, this map places it within the larger Wood River system, where mining trails, ranch roads, highways, and recreational routes overlap. The late 1960s were a transitional period for the valley, as older industrial patterns gave way to increasing tourism, second-home development, and outdoor recreation. The map’s contouring makes clear why the region proved so magnetic: steep ridges, narrow canyons, open river flats, and dramatic elevation changes create a landscape of both challenge and beauty.

As a historical document, “Hailey” is especially compelling for the way it records change before it becomes fully visible. Airport Road, State Highway 75, local streets, unnamed roads, and trails mark the infrastructure of a growing mountain community, while the surrounding topography preserves the older logic of river, slope, and canyon. Comparing this landscape to the present reveals shifts in urban growth, land use, transportation, and environmental management. Yet the map is more than a record of development; it is a finely composed study of Idaho terrain. Its dense contour lines, measured typography, and balanced color conventions offer a quiet elegance, inviting close reading of a place where geology, water, settlement, and history converge.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Hailey, Idaho
• Wood River
• Big Wood River
• Galena Summit
• Ketchum, Idaho
• Sun Valley, Idaho
• Deer Creek
• Trail Creek
• Imnaha River
• Bald Mountain
• Warm Springs Creek
• Silver Creek
• Airport Road
• Wood River Valley
• Surrounding canyon areas
• State Highway 75
• Several unnamed roads and trails

Historical context & cartographic details

• Map title: Hailey
• Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Hailey, Idaho and the surrounding area.
• Made in 1967 and published with a 1971 imprint.
• The US Geological Survey is a U.S. federal scientific agency established in 1879, known for mapping, surveying, and providing data on geology, geography, and natural resources.
• Hailey is historically associated with Idaho’s mining industry and served as a hub in the Wood River Valley.
• The map uses a traditional topographic style, with contour lines showing elevation changes.
• Color schemes indicate features such as vegetation and water bodies.
• The terrain shown includes mountainous areas, river valleys, and significant elevation changes typical of Idaho’s landscape.
• The map reflects the geographic and demographic context of Hailey in the late 1960s.
• It helps document changes over time, including urban development and environmental modifications related to mining and tourism.

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.

With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.