Top 5 Boise Outdoor Spots for Kids

We just passed our one-year anniversary as residents of the greater Boise area, moving from Virginia Beach, Virginia. To mark the occasion, we will be sharing our favorite outdoor spots around Boise we’ve discovered this past year with our kids. Suffice it to say, Boise is a terrific place to raise your kids. My boys are loving all the outdoor activities available, especially hiking. Although we loved Virginia Beach, too (we sure do miss the First Landing State Park trails), here we get to enjoy changes in elevation along with the hiking–bonus! So here you have it:

Our Top 5 Boise Outdoor Spots for Kids

1. Hiking the Boise Foothills

Hiking has been a great choice of activity for us in the spring, summer, and fall–and even a few select days during the winter months. The hiking is plentiful in both quantity and quality. You can find excellent options ranging from an after-dinner stroll to a half or even all-day excursion with the kids.

One thing we love about Boise is that the semi-desert air doesn’t hold in heat as much as it did in Virginia Beach. That means that even though summer is HOT here, the early morning hours are often (but not always) relatively cool. So if you’re an early-bird family, you can get that hike in before the heat really kicks up. Then it might be time to hit the pool.

I’ve listed a few specific hikes we’ve discovered:

Table Rock

Table Rock, near downtown Boise, seems to be one of the most well-known trails. It was the only one we’d actually done before moving here, once many years ago while on a vacation in town. While it offers the reward of a beautiful view of the Boise State Capitol and the surrounding area from on top, truthfully, overall it’s not my favorite hike. I find the actual hike itself a little lackluster. The “wow” factor is just not there for me. However, it is very accessible being right in town. Plus, the fairly steep incline of the trail makes for some excellent exercise. So for those reasons, plus the view at the top, it’s more than worthy of a mention.

Seaman’s Gulch

This set of trails, located in the foothills of Eagle, a suburb of Boise, is a great choice for a quick (as little as 45 minutes or less for the short loop) but invigorating hike with the family. This has been our go-to place many times over this past year when we don’t want to drive too far out but need to get out of the house. It was especially beautiful in the spring with the gorgeous wildflowers blooming all over the hills.

Dry Creek

This hike is located about five miles up Bogus Basin Road, on the way to the ski resort. At about five miles up, just look for the parking pull-off on the right side of the road. The best season to do this hike is mid-October when the leaves are at their peak. The trail takes you at first alongside of, and then gradually descends into, a canyon lined with trees that turn bright yellow in the fall.

For the first little bit, the single-track trail does run close to the canyon edge, so it may not be suitable for very young children. But for older children, no problem! On a beautiful, cool fall day, this trail is near perfection. One terrific feature about this trail is the numerous spots for kids to veer off and enjoy the water and shady spots along the way. It’s a nice change from most of the semi-barren foothill trails around Boise.

Dry Creek Trail goes back several miles; however, the most common turnaround point comes at about two miles in at the convergence of Dry Creek and Shingle Creek. That’s usually about enough for a family hike.

2. The Morrison Knudsen (MK) Nature Center

The MK Nature Center right in Boise offers a free, year-round, easily accessible outdoor activity great for all ages, including adults. However, it is an especially attractive option for families with for younger children. The outdoor walking paths include bridges over ponds, fun features for young children like a gigantic eagle’s nest, petroglyph replicas, and underwater viewing windows for observing the fish population. In the right season, you can even see fish eggs ready to hatch.

While at the Nature Center, be sure to try and spot the couple of gigantic sturgeon in the main pond area. Wow! Who knew they got so huge?

3. Idaho State and County Parks

We love our city, state, and county parks, no matter what state we’re currently living in. Idaho, happily, is no exception! So far we’ve visited three in the greater Boise area and have loved them all:

Lucky Peak State Park

Lucky Peak State Park is really a three-in-one park: Discovery, a picnicking area, Sandy Point, a “beach” (Idaho version) at the base of the dam, and Spring Shores, offering lakeside fun with boat ramps. Having moved to Idaho from Virginia Beach, let’s just say we REALLY miss the beach! While Idaho does not exactly offer what Virginia Beach did in that one area, Lucky Peak is a pretty great substitute, especially with the surrounding dramatic topography.

Needing a fun water activity, we checked out the Sandy Point area of Lucky Peak one gorgeous midsummer day. Before we committed to buying anything, we rented inflatable kayaks for a few hours of pure serenity. As a welcome bonus under the hot sun, the rental stand offers refreshing shaved ice with various toppings too.

If you prefer biking to beach, you’re in luck at Lucky Peak! The incredible Boise River Greenbelt bike trail ends right at Lucky Peak, and the scenery heading down toward Lucky Peak is top-notch.

Celebration Park, a Canyon County Park

South of Boise, in Melba, this Celebration Park offers great hiking inside its borders and just outside of them near this pedestrian bridge:

However, the main and unique attraction of the this park is the authentic petroglyphs found along, aptly named, Petroglyph Trail.

Somehow we zoomed right past the sign pointing to the most prominent petroglyphs on the trail and spent the next thirty minutes intently scanning each rock looking for signs of them. Sometimes right what you’re looking for is under your nose the whole time.

One caveat about Celebration Park, however, is that it can be boiling HOT in summer. The area around Melba and Kuna, south of Boise, is usually hotter than Boise itself. So if it seems like a bearable summer day in Boise, it may not be further south. Spring or summer would most likely be better seasons to reserve for your visit here.

Bruneau Dunes State Park

Located outside Mountain Home, ID, Bruneau Dunes is about an hour and fifteen minutes outside of Boise, so a bit of a drive. It can also be WINDY at the park like the day we visited. But where else are you going to run up the tallest single-structured sand dune in North America?

And if running UP the sand dune is not thrilling enough (although it might be enough exertion for you!), you can rent sand boards in the park for some extra speed going down the hills. We didn’t this time, but there’s always a return visit, right?

We would also love to return to Bruneau for the astronomy observatory located on its premises. We hear Bruneau is the place to be for clear nighttime sky watching. However, sadly, it is still closed for COVID-19. We will definitely be putting it on our calendar, though, when it reopens.

4. Swan Falls Dam

As the weeks of COVID-19 quarantine passed, we (like much of the world) were feeling particularly cooped up. When the initial part of the quarantine was over, we headed straight to the car for a 45-minute excursion out of the town to Swan Falls Dam.

It felt so GOOD to go somewhere–and somewhere beautiful at that! In the miles leading up to Swan Falls, we saw plenty of these critters, which we later found out were ground squirrels, scurrying across the road. I honestly think we (almost) hit about five of them with our car.

Swan Falls is known for more than just its beauty; it’s also known for the birds of prey that call it their home. We were mesmerized for the longest time watching the graceful birds swoop and dive.

5. The Boise River Greenbelt

Last–but absolutely not least–on our top 5 Boise outdoor spots for kids is most local residents’ go-to place of choice for recreation, beauty, and fresh air: the aforementioned Greenbelt.

After all, what is there not to love about 25 miles of trails, some cutting right through the city itself?

The Boise River Greenbelt offers so many advantages, chief among them being its close proximity, making it accessible even with little free time. In addition, it is perfect for all ages and great for biking, jogging, or just taking a leisurely family stroll. It’s beautiful spring, summer, and fall, and its beauty changes in different ways throughout the seasons. Spotting the meadow spring flowers in full bloom after what seemed like a long winter was a most welcome sight. Now we’re drinking in the fairyland of colorful fall leaves before winter hits us again.

One day we took a new trail and eventually stumbled upon this: Boise River surfing at its finest. Who knew?

And at the end of the day, don’t neglect the surreal Boise River sunsets:

The best thing is that we know we have a lot more outdoor Boise gems to uncover with our kids. Cheers to starting our second year in Idaho! Come along with us as we discover our next favorite places.

Have you been to Boise? What have I missed that you would include on your favorite outdoor places there? Please comment, pin, and/or share this post!