During the High Republic Era, Rhinnal was a planet of the Galactic Republic known for its cold climate. Due to its significance within the Republic, a sky-island that replicated Rhinnal's environment, including a turbo-ski course, was created for the Republic Fair held on Valo, an Outer Rim world, in 231 BBY.
Jedi Master Elzar Mann visited the island because Valo's climate was significantly warmer than Rhinnal's, and he wanted to observe the enviro-engineering that kept the snow from melting in the summer heat. He later spoke with Samera Ra-oon, a fair coordinator, about his visit. Ra-oon agreed that the island was an impressive feat and encouraged Mann to try the ski run when he had time, offering to show him around after the opening ceremony. However, the Nihil pirates launched an attack that destroyed the sky-islands, preventing Mann from returning to the Rhinnal recreation.
Within current Star Wars canon, the 2021 novel The High Republic: The Rising Storm, penned by Cavan Scott as part of Phase I of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project, mentions Rhinnal. Conversely, in Star Wars Legends continuity, the first mention of Rhinnal occurred in the "Galaxywide NewsNets" feature, written by Paul Sudlow, within the fifth issue of Star Wars Adventure Journal magazine by West End Games, released in February of 1995.
An illustration of the planet was included in The Far Orbit Project, a 1998 supplement for West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, authored by Timothy S. O'Brien. Later, the planet formally appeared in The Fury of Darth Maul, the third book in the Star Wars: Episode I Adventures junior-novel series, published in 1999 and written by Ryder Windham.