Idaho may be known for potatoes, but this scenic gem of the West is also an adventure mecca well-suited to attendees who love the great outdoors. It is a state that claims more white-water river miles than anywhere else in the Lower 48, has rock climbing for all levels around every corner, is one-quarter green on any decent map to designate national forest, state park or national monument, and has resorts for skiing and snowshoeing in winter and mountain biking in summer.
Outdoor recreation enthusiasts worldwide (and Idahoans themselves) don’t think “potato” when conjuring images of the state. They’re the ones you see hiking the trails, rafting the rivers, and fishing for the cutthroat trout.
The only secret is that groups can follow in their footsteps, their wake and their snowshoe tracks.
Boise
Boise, Idaho’s capital, lies at the western end of the crescent of cities that follow the Snake River Valley’s curves. The Boise River, a Snake tributary, flows through downtown and is framed by the Boise River Greenbelt, a paved pathway that runs for 26 miles on both sides of the water. The Greenbelt touches on 13 separate parks and is popular for bicycling since no vehicle traffic crosses it.
“Our foothills are also really great for outdoor enthusiasts,” says Lisa Edens, senior sales manager at the Boise CVB. “We have over 77 marked trails where you can hike or bike—mostly mountain biking. It’s called the Rivers to Ridges Trail System.”
The remarkable thing, Edens adds, is that you can spend most of the day working or playing in Boise and still get in some white water on the nearby Payette River.
“You can do half-day trips where you leave as late as 3 p.m. in the summer,” she says. “People coming here for a meeting can enjoy the museums and things in the city and drive an hour, take a guided rafting trip and have dinner on the banks of the river.”
The Cascade Raft Company and several others can accommodate groups, Edens adds. Visitors can also go ziplining in Horseshoe Bend, about 35 minutes from town, step outside waterfront venues such as the Riverside Hotel and fish the Boise River, or just sit at the Sandbar restaurant and watch cyclists and tubers go by.
During winter, 18 miles from Boise, Bogus Basin Ski Resort—named for a long-ago discovery of fool’s gold—has one of the longest night-skiing runs in the West as well as a tubing run.PageBreak
McCall/Cascade Lake/Tamarack
The McCall area is justly known for skiing, thanks to the roughly 300 inches of snow that fall on Brundage Mountain and Tamarack Resort. The town of McCall lies between the two skiing hot spots and is the obvious place to base groups seeking outings on Lake Cascade, Payette Lake or the terrain of the surrounding Payette National Forest. Tamarack Resort offers guided white-water rafting trips for up to 30 people, plus an 18-hole Robert Trent Jones-designed golf course.
Sun Valley
During the winter, Sun Valley and adjacent Ketchum are dominated by skiing on Bald Mountain, which looms over both towns.
“You have the trails and rivers almost to yourself most of the time, [plus] we have a world-class arts and culture scene that was recently awarded an ArtPlace Top 12 Small Art Towns in the U.S. designation,” says Greg Randolph, director of public relations, social media and special events at the Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber and Visitors Bureau.
Sun Valley Resort is the big group-friendly venue here and offers hiking, mountain biking and shooting sports at the nearby Sun Valley Gun Club. The 900-acre Rocky Mountain Ranch in Stanley, about an hour’s drive away, offers fishing, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking and white-water rafting.
Twin Falls
Twin Falls’ big outdoor attraction is the adjacent Snake River Canyon, which runs for 100 miles at depths of around 500 feet. You can kayak, canoe or raft in the canyon itself, but at certain times of the year the main attraction is Twin Falls’ Perrine Bridge. Here, autos and pedestrians pass hundreds of feet over the Snake River, says Kyle Tarbet, marketing coordinator at the Twin Falls Area Chamber of Commerce—but some people jump off wearing parachutes.
“It’s the only bridge you can BASE jump from 365 days a year without a permit,” Tarbet says.
BASE stands for “buildings, antennas, spans, earth,” starting points most parachutists would consider far too low. But some enthusiasts revel in Perrine Bridge’s high convenience and low regulation; their parachutes open almost immediately into steerable canopies, and seconds later they glide to a safe landing.
Visitors can watch the spectacle from the Twin Falls Area COC’s Visitor Center.PageBreak
Pocatello
Pocatello lies along the old Oregon Trail as well as the Portneuf River, close to where it flows into the giant American Falls Reservoir. With a body of water this large so close by, it’s no wonder birding is popular. But Pocatello is also close to Craters of the Moon National Monument, where visitors can hike over 618 square miles of lava flows left by volcanic explosions. The area’s unique geological formations, such as the oddly shaped “lava bombs” ejected from volcanoes that now dot the surrounding plains, are a perennial attraction.
Lava formations right in town have created some remarkably accessible rock climbing, says Birgitta Bright, tourism administrator at Visit Pocatello.
“Ross Park has a bunch of lava cliffs, and they are bolted for top-roped sport climbing. They range from a few feet high to 80 to 100 high, and all are rated for different levels of difficulty. You can get instructors from Idaho State University to come out to teach groups.”
Coeur d’Alene
Coeur d’Alene is just east of Spokane, Wash., on I-90 and at the top of 25-mile-long Lake Coeur d’Alene, which National Geographic has called one of the world’s most beautiful lakes.
The destination is filled with outdoor adventure opportunities, including biking, hiking, boating, rafting and various water sports. Local businesses rent out watercraft ranging from pontoon boats to stand-up paddleboards, while guides can take groups on tame river floats or more challenging white-water raft trips, says Katherine Coppock, CVB manager at the Coeur d’Alene Visitors Bureau.
“Hiking is abundant at Tubb’s Hill, or you could challenge yourself a little more and try Canfield Mountain’s many trail systems. We are also home to the North Idaho Centennial Trail, a 24-mile paved trail stretching from the Washington/Idaho border to the east end of Lake Coeur d’Alene.”
The Coeur d’Alene Resort is the largest property here and polished at working with groups. For those seeking something unique, ROW Adventures is the only outfitter licensed to guide fly-fishing on the pristine upper section of the Coeur d’Alene River and its tributary creeks.
Paul D. Kretkowski. writes frequently about travel, food and sports. He is also the founder of Beacon, a blog about foreign policy.
