Idaho Travel Blog

Lake Pend Oreille in north Idaho  

Every month, Boiseans flock downtown for First Thursday, a combination extended happy hour, sidewalk sale, and gallery stroll. The event is sponsored by the Downtown Boise Association, and it’s a great way to explore the city. As you might guess, it takes place the first Thursday of every month...

The Sawtooth mountain range is one of my favorite Idaho icons. The high, craggy peaks tower above deep canyons where rivers and lakes hide. This past three-day weekend, I went on a snowshoe trip in the Sawtooths with several families involved with my son’s Boy Scout troop. We hiked in to an area just...

With  Boise as your headquarters, anywhere in Idaho is a relatively easy drive. Often, when friends visit and we want to show them a taste of what the rugged mountains are like we take them on this drive. It can be completed in one day, offers plenty of opportunities to stop for a variety of recreational...

Idahoans are just as active in the outdoors during winter as we are the other seasons of the year. One of my favorite outdoor winter time activities is staying in a yurt. (They’re great in the summer, too, but in winter it offers the camping experience in a nice, warm yurt.) These are basically canvas-walled...

The Boise airport is not the largest airport in the world—far from it.  But we have perhaps the most public art per square foot of any airport you’ve ever been in. So if you have a wait in the Boise airport, take in these pieces that nobody but air travelers ever sees: Reticulated Horizon is a fused...

Shafer Butteis just a half hour drive out of Boise, up a little curvy mountain two-lane highway. Once you get to the Bogus Basin parking lot, you keep going up a dirt road. Seems like a lot of work for the pay off, but it’s totally worth it. From the trails at Shafer Butte, you can see the entire Treasure...

  Anne Frank Memorial.  Situated behind the Log Cabin and the Boise Public Library, this quiet, unassuming memorial pays tribute to Anne Frank and her spirit. An enticing statue of Anne Frank peaking out of her window has center stage among a walkway of bricks donated by patrons. A gurgling stream...

Idaho has a unique geological setting which results in underground springs that bubble up to the surface. It makes sense: we’re right next to Yellowstone, with all of its geysers and bubbling sulfur pots. Hot springs are everywhere in Idaho, many of them undeveloped, just water trickling down the side...

For someone who has lived in Idaho for nearly 22 years, you would think I have visited every corner and seen all there is. Not true. This is a big state. Really big. I have seen and done only a small percentage of what this great state has to offer. So I resolve to see some new places this coming year,...