Who knew a random addition to our summer vacation would actually end up becoming one of our favorite cities. Well, that’s exactly what happened with Boise, Idaho.

In June of 2022, we set out on a two-week national park trip to Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Glacier. This was a full-on vacation with no remote work and just time to explore. I had just left my previous job and was about to start a new one when we got back, which meant no PTO needed on my end. Anna had to use 10 of her vacation days. Worth it!

With our goal of visiting all 50 states, we figured we might as well spend a few days in Idaho since we would be so close. So that’s what we did! We flew into Boise and spent the first two days exploring the city, and we absolutely fell in love with it.

Boise is not a large city, with a population of just over 235,000 as of 2020 according to Google. Located in western Idaho, it’s about a 6 hour drive away from Grand Teton and was the perfect starting point for our trip.

Going into this trip, the only thing we (really just me since Anna doesn’t watch sports) knew about Boise was the blue turf the Boise State football team plays on. To be honest, I think the main reasons we picked Boise was because it’s the state capitol and there is an airport, so it would be easy to get to. Needless to say, I’m glad we did and below are some of the main reasons why we always talk about going back one day.

It was our first night in the city when we were walking around trying to get the lay of the land. That’s when we came across Camel’s Back Park in the northern part of Boise. While the park itself has everything including open fields, volleyball and tennis courts, an outdoor gym and a playground, our favorite part was the steep climb to the top to get an incredible overlook of the Boise skyline and the land beyond.

Here’s a couple photos of the staircase leading to the top and from the top. Looking at these, it honestly doesn’t seem too steep but when you’re there, it’s completely different. It’s short but it’s straight up a set of stairs. If you’d rather avoid the steps, there are other trails that have a more steady incline leading to the top. Either way, it’s completely worth making the trip up.

From the top, you’ll have awesome views of the city as well as more trails leading deeper into the Hulls Gulch Reserve. It’s the perfect spot in Boise to watch the sunrise and sunset on a clear day.

Sticking with the outdoors, let’s talk about one of the most popular parks in Boise, the Boise River Greenbelt.

Following the Boise River, this 25 mile path offers some very scenic views and access to a number of riverside parks. Known as the “Ribbon of Jewels,” these parks honor influential women in Boise’s history and offer a wide range of activities. Some of the things you can do include, but aren’t limited to:

• Going to the zoo at Julia Davis Park
• Fishing, paddleboarding and swimming at Bernardine Quinn Riverside Park
• Testing your surfing skills at the adjustable wave river at J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation Boise Whitewater Park
• Golfing at Warm Springs Golf Course or Quail Hollow Golf Course
• Swimming at the Natatorium Pool
• Honoring the Idaho first responders on 9/11 at the Idaho Fallen Firefighters Memorial Park

These are only just a few of the activities you can enjoy along the Greenbelt. I highly recommend checking out the official Greenbelt map to get a full picture of the area so you know exactly how you want to spend your time.

For our afternoon there, we chose to bike along the path, renting bikes from one of the shops downtown (though I can’t remember which one). We followed the path north towards Garden City before looping back and and heading over to Boise State University, which is also accessible from the Greenbelt. All in all, I’d estimate we biked somewhere between 10-15 miles.

The Greenbelt really offers the perfect blend of city and nature. Whether you’re going for a run, bike ride, leisurely stroll or want to visit one of the many parks, this is easily one of the best outdoor spots to explore in Boise.

If you’re thinking about visiting Boise, one of the most famous sights that will be mentioned everywhere you look is the Freak Alley Gallery. Located right in the heart of downtown, Freak Alley runs between 8th and 9th streets and is the largest open-air, multi-artist gallery in the northwest. Simply put, if you’re in Boise, you can’t miss it and you shouldn’t. It’s such a cool feature that is very easy to see.

The artwork is incredible with so many different styles and the gallery is growing every year. We’re not art people but we really did appreciate this alley and found ourselves walking through it many times during our two days in Boise. It’s also super convenient to get to as it’s connected to the main part of Downtown Boise, which we’ll get to next.

We definitely can’t recommend this one enough.

We were staying at a hotel a little outside of the city so we needed to drive in each time, which took about 10-15 minutes. We loved that once we parked our car, the city was completely walkable/bikable. Whether you’re riding a bike or just casually walking, there’s really no need for a car to go from neighborhood to neighborhood.

With that being said, here are the best parts that make up Downtown Boise:

The heart of downtown and central to everything is 8th Street. 8th Street is a pedestrian only area where you’ll find everything including bars, restaurants and shops. The entrance to Freak Alley is here as well and it’s just a few blocks away from the Idaho State Capitol building.

A couple restaurants we went to on 8th Street were Matador for Mexican food and Diablo & Sons Saloon for some burgers. We also rented bikes for an afternoon from a shop in the area. This really is where you’ll want to be for all of the action in the city so head here for a night out or some good food!

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a lot of immigrants from the Basque region of Spain settled in Boise. The Basque Block is Boise’s way of remembering the contributions these people made to the community.

Here you’ll find the Basque Museum & Cultural Center to learn the history of the community, the Basque Market for traditional Basque cuisine and the Basque Center for events, dancing and gatherings for the locals.

It’s also only a few blocks from 8th street so it’s not out of the way and worth checking out. It was a cool piece of history and chance to learn about a different culture that we weren’t expecting.

Finally, in the North End of Boise, is Hyde Park. Similar to 8th Street, Hyde Park is filled with restaurants and shops to explore. It also provides a great chance to experience nature and the outdoors as Camel’s Back Park is right there. Just north of Hyde Park is Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area where there is mountain biking, a mountain coaster, disc golf, hiking, a challenge course and then all winter sports including snowboarding and skiiing.

We spent a lot of time walking through the neighborhoods admiring the homes in the area, going in and out of the many shops and exploring Camel’s Back Park. Walking over from 8th Street takes around 20 minutes and is a very peaceful walk.

Any trip to Boise has to include exploring Hyde Park.

Now I’m not a college football fan (NFL for me) and Anna certainly doesn’t follow it either, but for my entire life, I’ve known about the blue turf that the Boise State University football team plays on. It’s iconic and anyone that follows sports probably knows about it. Getting the chance to see it in person after seeing it on TV all these years was pretty awesome, even for someone who isn’t a college sports enthusiast.

Since we were in Boise in June, there were no games. Instead we biked over to the stadium where they offer tours that take you as close to the field as possible without actually going on it. You’ll learn all about the history of the field as well as just how important this team really is to the community.

If you’re on a bike, like we were, getting to the campus and football stadium are very easy as they’re both right across the river from the Greenbelt. The Friendship Bridge crosses over the Boise River and leads directly to the school. From there, we were able to bike around the campus before finally heading over to the stadium.

I’d imagine actually attending a game here would be an incredible experience!

While this one isn’t in Boise, I’m including it here as it makes for a potential great day trip idea at just under 3 hours away from the city. It might be a little far but with the proper planning, is totally doable. However, we actually stopped here as a break on our drive across southern Idaho to Grand Teton, so we didn’t head back to the city afterwards. If we had spent more time here, I probably would have created a separate post for it.

Craters of the Moon began forming about 15,000 years ago as lava, cinders and gas were all released from fissures in the Earth’s surface. These fissures created fields of lava flow that, as the name suggests, resembles the surface of the moon. It became a national monument in 1924.

Upon entering the park, the Robert Limbert Visitor Center will be right at the entrance where you can learn all about the natural history of the area. From the visitor center, you’ll be at the start of the 7 mile Loop Road. This road is closed during winter and early spring until snow melts and it will usually open around mid-April.

Craters of the Moon is made up of over 750,000 acres, but we focused our time on the sights along the Loop Road. These included the Devils Orchard Trail, Inferno Cone and the Spatter Cones.

Along the Loop Road, there are also two lava tube caves formed by rivers of molten rock flowing beneath the surface that are open to the public. These are the Indian Tunnel and Dewdrop Cave and can be found on the Caves Trail. We didn’t make our way to any of the caves but they are highly recommended.

One last note before diving into the Loop Road are the fees. Getting into the park costs $20 per vehicle or you can use the America the Beatiful Pass as this is federal land managed by the National Park Service.

Coming from the visitor center, the Devils Orchard Trail will be on your left-hand side. This trail is easy and fully accessible as it’s paved the entire way. It’s only half a mile long and loops you through a volcanic landscape. Along the way, there will also be interpretive signs that discuss the geology of the area.

Walking along this trail makes you realize just how accurate the name of the park is. Being surrounded by volcanic rocks that formed thousands of years ago really does feel completely different than any other landscape. It’s as if you’re actually on the moon.

The Devils Orchard Trail gives you the opportunity to get real close to the rock formations that have formed and really learn about the history of Craters of the Moon.

Further down the road, you’ll eventually reach the Spatter Cones trailhead. Here, after a quick walk, you’ll be able to look straight down into the mini volcanoes that were formed during the end stages of an eruption. The trail leading to the Spatter Cone is fully paved making it accessible to anyone. It’s only 0.2 miles round trip so you might as well stop by to see it.

Also accessible from the Spatter Cones parking lot is the trail that leads to Big Craters. This is the location of the most recent eruptions and one of the larger craters in the park.

Finally, our last stop before finishing the loop was the Inferno Cone. This one was by far our favorite. The trail to the top is short but very steep. Once at the top, you’ll have stunning views of the entire lava field and surrounding mountains. Be prepared for heavy winds as there is a good chance it’s going to be extremely windy up there! I actually lost my hat as it blew right off my head and the wind just took it down the side of the cone. I had just gotten that hat the day before in Boise, so that was a bummer. Either way, it makes for a fun story when thinking about our trip here.

Just watch and listen below to see just how strong the wind was:

As I mentioned in the beginning, Boise is now one of our favorite cities. We were only there for two days so we barely even scratched the surface of what there is to do in Boise and the surrounding areas. For a place that was kind of a throw-in on our vacation, it really became something more and we can’t wait to one day be able to head back to the area to continue exploring.