Boise Outdoor Activities

The mission of the Idaho Botanical Garden has remained the same since its founding more than 25 years ago: to foster community appreciation and understanding of horticulture and natural conservation. Nestled in the Boise foothills, the facility's 33 acres house more than 14 themed gardens. Some feature carnivorous plants, native flora, or colorful and aromatic herbs, whereas others focus on rose varieties, succulents, peonies, and water-conserving plants. Garden staff use adjacent foothills for nature hikes and environmental education.

A day at the gardens may also include a snack at the Tea House or a trip to admire plantings on the roof of the Gathering Place gazebo. Pathways lined with Table Rock sandstone wander through the four quadrants of the green Celtic labyrinth, each representing one of the four seasons. In a separate Children's Adventure Garden, smaller visitors frolic in a colorful tree house and watch the ripple of fins at a koi pond. For self-guided family tours, the staff provide backpacks containing suggestions for things to see and do, as well as scavenger-hunt items, a magnifying lens, and binoculars so children can check whether that's really a Bubo virginianus slinking through the trees.

On the outdoor tactical playing field at True Paintball Adventure Park, players skulk behind burned-out cars and plan evasive routes to safety while under fire from paint-splattering combatants. That’s at just one of the facility’s outdoor fields. There’s also a hyperball field peppered with plastic barrels. Indoors, teams take to towers and take cover behind wooden sheds set up under a weather-neutralizing roof and overhead lighting. It’s an ideal spot for creating memorable birthdays, bachelor parties, corporate events, and Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

Indian Lakes Golf Course's nine-hole course showcases a 3,027-yard labyrinth framed by the snow-capped peaks of the Owyhee Mountains. The par 35 course sports two sets of ladies' tees and two sets of men's tees to create a distinct front- and back-nine experience for players looking to schmooze their boss into letting them borrow the company caddy over an 18-hole round.

A staff of PGA pros presides over the grounds, which encompass a grass-tee driving range for lessons and practice sessions. Players can seek post-round refuge in the outdoor pool or within the cozy confines of the onsite restaurant, which offers a full-service bar, patio seating, and a menu of grill fare and dinner specials that go well after a mid-round snack of bunker sand.

According to a profile by the Boise Weekly's Rachael Daigle, Tony Perreira's dream of growing the ranks of American curling enthusiasts began as " but a glimmer in one curler's eye." Now carving out a niche on the ice as the founder of Boise Curling Club, Perreira helps his band of talented leads, skips, and sweepers share their precise and entertaining skills at one of the Winter Olympics’ two most recently added sports. The club's coaches distill the complexities of their sport into easy to digest instruction and FAQs designed to answer curling inquiries better than the oracles found at every ice rink. The club provides all equipment aside from comfortable pants and layered clothing, and offers workshops focused on constructing your own curling shoes.

At Fast Lane Indoor Kart Racing, low-riding Sodi go-karts, careen around the winding track at 40 miles per hour, powered by Honda GX270 and GX160 engines. These karts suspend drivers inches from the ground, which—according to staff—gives them the sensation of 80-mile-per-hour speeds without the hassle of putting a saddle on a cheetah. After a driving-and-safety briefing, riders don full-face helmets before starting the 10-minute race. Spectators can keep an eye on lap times on the electronic scoreboard and on monitors scattered throughout the facility, each measuring times to the thousandth of a second.