Thing to See and Do Boise

Idaho Activity Ideas (random order)

Idaho Shakespeare Festival - www.idahoshakespeare.org Outdoor amphitheater where people take picnics to eat before the play, then enjoy desserts during the intermission. 

River rafting - www.cascaderaft.com  or http://bearvalleyrafting.com The Payette River is 30 – 45 minutes north of Boise with river tours. They take kids four years old, so it is pretty safe, but enough excitement for everybody.

Tubing - http://boiseriverraftandtube.com The Boise River is perfect for a two-hour float with an inner tube.  The river is fairly shallow – you can wade or stand in most of it. You can rent tubes and use a shuttle.

Bogus Basin - www.bogusbasin.com Top of a mountain, 30 – 40 minutes north. Great hiking trails with spring flowers blooming at the beginning of July. New summer experiences including a mountain coaster.

 World Center for Birds of Prey - www.peregrinefund.org Museum, science center, where they rehab eagles, hawks, etc. and one of the world’s largest archives on falconry. One of the favorites destinations to take tourist.

Boise WaterShed – http://bee.cityofboise.org/watershed/ Located at the water treatment plant, the education center is filled with indoor and outdoor activities explaining the desert and everything about water in our area. Entertaining for all ages. Some art works. Free.

Aquarium – http://www.aquariumboise.net small, but you can get much closer than at many aquariums in the country.

Botanical Gardens www.idahobotanicalgarden.org On the Old Idaho Penitentiary State Historic site. Acres of gardens that were done by prisoners for a number of years and now restored with additional information.

Snake River Canyon:

Swan Dam Recreation Area - Dam, picnic area, Snake River with incredible cliffs.  Easily accessed, about 30 miles south of the Boise area. May and June – baby eagles nesting up on the cliffs, can be seen by a boat ride through the canyon. Trails for hiking or trail biking along the Snake River.    www.birdsofpreyexpeditions.com

Celebration Park - down river from Swan Falls. Archeological park. Petroglyphs trail, atlatl darts, visitor center, historic Guffey bridge, hiking, https://www.canyonco.org/project/celebration-park/

Lucky Peak Reservoir - http://boiseoutdooradventures.com/contact-us/ Outdoor Adventure - rent a pontoon boat, jet skis, motor boat and explore the 18-mile reservoir.

Mountain Bike Riding, Hiking – https://www.ridgetorivers.org 200 miles of trails in the foothills

Idaho Zipline – 30 – 45 minutes north of Boise http://www.zipidaho.com

Roaring Springs and Wahooz – Water park and indoor game center; climbing wall, bowling alley; miniature golf; bumper cars; http://www.wahoozfunzone.com

Eagle Island State Park – beach, water slide, small lake, hiking

Bruneau Dunes State Park, 60 – 90 minutes away. On Fri and Sat nights in the summer, they do a special astronomy program, which starts at 9:30 PM, and then they get out several massive telescopes and look at the stars. 

Craters of the Moon National Monument About 3 hours east of Boise, hiking, lava tube caves. 

Shoshone Ice Caves Not too far from Craters of the Moon

Oregon Trail Interpretive Center 3 hours west in Baker City, Oregon.  Excellent exhibits and activities.

Downtown

Greenbelt - Walking and biking path along the river, more than 25 miles, past restaurants, through parks, to Lucky Peak State Park. https://parks.cityofboise.org/parks-and-facilities/parks/greenbelt/

The Flicks – independently owned movie theater with wine, beer, food; has four or five movies playing; might be foreign films or documentaries or unusual movies you won’t see any place else; http://www.theflicksboise.com

Boise Art Museum. http://www.boiseartmuseum.org Changing art exhibits as well as a permanent collection.  See website for schedule.

Discovery Center – A science and children’s museum that adults enjoy, too. http://www.dcidaho.org. See website for current special exhibit

Basque Museum and Cultural Center. https://www.basquemuseum.com.  One of the largest immigration groups to Boise was from the Basque region of Spain, many decades ago.

Anne Frank Memorial Outdoor educational park on human rights issues https://wassmuthcenter.org/idaho-human-rights-annn-frank-memorial/

Zoo Boise. http://zooboise.org  The Boise Zoo gives a higher percent of its income to education and conservation than any other zoo in the US.

BSU - Boise State University campus, with the blue turf

Food – lots of ethnic restaurants; Probably most unique Idaho restaurant is Boise Fry company.  It is casual, walk up to the counter. Bison burgers with multiple kinds of potatoes with different cuts of fries; about a dozen different homemade ketchups; then about a dozen different kinds of salt; multiple locations

IF you like wine, a unique restaurant to go to is BodoVino. Most states have laws against this way of serving wine, so folks from out of town find it fun. 144 wines on tap, serve yourself. http://bodovino.com

Rose Garden – outdoor park, Right behind the art museum with hundreds of different roses

Boise trolley tours - Ride on a trolley with history of the town and places of interest. http://www.boisetrolleytours.com or http://boisetownshiptours.com

Reuseum - http://reuseum.com.  This is a quirky place, with surplus store of all kinds of scientific, government, and industrial supplies.

YMCA – a couple blocks from the Presbyterian church -  exercise classes, activities, yoga, pool, gym.

MK Nature Preserve sponsored by ID Fish and Game. Educational center glimpse into landscapes, wildlife, fisheries, and underwater viewing https://idfg.idaho.gov/site/mk-nature-center

Indulge Boise – a walking tour of historic downtown Boise with stops at 8 restaurants https://www.indulgeboise.com

Other things to do – Idaho Old State Penitentiary – multiple buildings and stories; also hosts the Idaho transportation museum

Idaho State Capital – newly renovated, more than 100 years old, self-tour, wander around the place

Idaho Black History Museum, Ice hockey rink open year-round, Museum of Mining and Geology, World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame,

Camille Beckman –  A fun little shop in Eagle and the manufacturing facility for really nice hand creams and lotions.  She is very supportive of the community, children, refugees, abused women, and takes care of the environment. 

TripAdvisor’s top ten lists of things to do in Boise, https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g35394-Activities-Boise_Idaho.html

Chamber of Commerce list of things to do – https://www.boisechamber.org/entertainment-recreation