Things To Do in Boise

A towering drive soars above Pebble Beach Golf Links' fairway along the rugged Pacific coastline, leaving a visible tail in its wake like a comet. Though it doesn't book clients free flights to California, IdaPro Indoor Golf makes such golf fantasies come true each day with its simulators, which allow clients hunt pars amid vivid digital replicas of some of the world's finest courses, including the TPC Blue Monster at Miami's Doral Resort and Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland. As they play each round, golfers also benefit from the simulators' technological refinements, including its display of the flight path of each ball and a host of data after every shot, edifying golfers about the club-head speed of a 9-iron approach, the total distance of a fairway wood, or the projected property damage caused by an errant drive. The simulators also boast practice-range modules and eVisionGolf lessons for individuals looking to work on their swings. An authorized dealer of Odyssey putters, IdaPro lets golfers test out potential replacements for aging sand wedges or 3-woods injured during a bar fight with a rival gang of croquet mallets.

Hoisting championship trophies and high-stakes competition comes second nature to the Idaho Steelheads. Since joining the ECHL in 2003, the team has qualified for the playoffs every season, and in 2004 and 2007, the team conquered all opponents to take the ECHL Kelly Cup, the league's most prestigious cup other than that coffee mug Wayne Gretzky once touched. An affiliate of the NHL Dallas Stars, their players take to the ice at CenturyLink Arena, where fans routinely fill sections to cheer their team on against Western Conference foes.

At Shankz Glo-Par-Tee, larger-than-life dinosaurs, sea creatures, and volcanoes glow under black lights as guests play through 18 holes of miniature golf in the 6,000-square-foot facility. It can take about 30–40 minutes for players aged 3 and older to travel through the course’s glowing jungles, underwater worlds, and prehistoric locales, and even longer when they’re sporting Shankz’s ChromaDepth 3-D glasses, which inhibit the wearers’ ability to perceive the fourth dimension. In addition to mini golf, Shankz Glo-Par-Tee features a glowing arcade and themed party rooms where patrons can host birthday parties or private events.

Pyrrhic Paintball derives its name from an ancient Greek dance, one whose motions were intended to mimic the death struggle of two knife fighters. Like those dancers, the players on this dusty, urban-warfare field play-act modern battles, ducking out from behind particle-board barricades to get a bead on the opponents. But there's a second, better-known meaning to pyrrhic: victory achieved at great cost. Whether attempting to capture a flag, protect a VIP, or defend a base, anyone may be called to sacrifice themselves to a splattering of paint in order to ensure the completion of a team's objective.

With Alpenglow's one-day Call in Sick kayak- or stand-up-paddle-rental package, river riders traverse down the Boise River with a variety of down-river equipment, kayaks, and rafts. The package gives floaters the option of turning on a dime with any one-person flat-water kayak, stand-up paddle board, or enjoying the portability of an inflatable kayak. Although Alpenglow's rentals include paddles (for kayaks and rafts) and life vests, customers can opt to rent other equipment such as helmets, wetsuits, and repair kits for when the kayak gets a little scratch and asks for its mommy.

With a five-star rating as an instructor-development center from the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), Dive Magic’s aquanauts impart scuba prowess to aspiring underwater explorers. During a two-hour Discover Scuba session (a $50 value), fledgling flipper-kickers are introduced to the essential elements of scuba safety, equipment usage, and how to gurgle "gesundheit!" after a subaquatic sneeze, then descend into the depths of an on-site heated swimming pool. While basking in the buoyancy, a Dive Magic staff photographer will snap a photographic keepsake (a $10 value) to memorialize the immersed moment. To make the experience as comfortable as possible, Dive Magic offers a choice between male or female instructors. All equipment is provided.

A competitive shooter since he was a teenager, Mike Wirth began teaching responsible firearms operations during college. Between bouts of studying for his degree in mechanical engineering, he showed friends and classmates the firearms basics, such as marksmanship fundamentals, proper cleaning and storage, and how to smelt each bullet by hand.

Now teamed with business partner Aaron Goodfellow, Wirth continues training clients in responsible armed defense. On the outdoor ranges shared with Parma Rod and Gun Club, he and Goodfellow lead classes focused on handgun operations, teaching guests skills from swapping magazines to courteous behaviors when on the range.