Caldwell, ID Outdoor Activities

As the early-morning sky lightens and the sun paints the horizon in purples, blues, oranges, and yellows, a fleet of balloons takes flight. These are Boise Hot Air Company’s balloons—colorful inflated vessels bedecked with purple and yellow stripes, red checkerboard patterns, and the stars and stripes of the American flag. Captains take groups aloft at 30 minutes before official sunrise in baskets equipped with seats and dividers for added safety. Flying only in fair weather and usually at speeds of no more than 8 miles per hour, the captains pilot leisurely flights low over the countryside of rolling hills from March through November.

There is no typical climb at Urban Ascent. With the help of a belaying partner to safeguard their ropes, visitors can scale up to 43 feet of weathered rockface on endurance climbs, or they can stick closer to the ground in the ropes-free bouldering area. Urban Ascent’s team challenges climbers by regularly revamping the 14,000-square-foot gym’s routes, rearranging footholds and installing pop-out boxing-glove gags to add an element of unpredictability to climbs. During private climbing lessons, instructors fine-tune veteran climbers’ techniques or teach newbies basic fundamentals. The staff also imparts climbing-safety basics to first-time belayers in 20-minute tutorials. Urban Ascent hosts summer camps, afterschool climbing activities for students, and corporate team-building workshops.

As a PGA-certified pro, Jeff Thomsen's distinguished golf career began decades ago, when the 16-year-old Thomsen swung his way to the Idaho State Amateur championship, becoming the youngest player ever to earn that rarefied distinction. His early success would pave the cart path to a long career that included 55 PGA Tour events, participation in four major championships, multiple tournament victories, and once saving a course-side community from a feral golf cart. Today, Jeff showers pupils with golf wisdom culled from both his 35-year competitive career and a certification from the Nicklaus/Flick Golf School. The passionate pedagogue helps players sharpen their game, lengthen their drives, and fold scorecards into paper cranes with hands-on, comprehensive lessons conducted at multiple courses throughout the hills of Treasure Valley.

At Idaho X-Sports, visitors experience the high-speed thrills of barreling down snowy slopes while safely seated in cushy snow tubes. Lifts transport guests to the top of the hills, where they can choose from 900-foot runs in three varying levels of intensity, from gentle slopes to inclines steep enough to scare away even the most skilled stilt-walkers. At the bottom of the hill, a yurt welcomes spent guests to warm up by the fire and replenish their energy with food and drinks. Visitors may also snag Idaho X-Sports' skis and snowshoes and explore more than 10 miles of groomed Nordic ski trails.

Bear Valley River Co. fuels outdoor fun with half- or full-day whitewater-rafting excursions along the Payette River. Licensed guides help passengers navigate the river’s twists and turns from a well-maintained fleet of inflatable rafts. The current-savvy hosts provide life jackets, helmets, and a laminated copy of A River Runs Through It for each rider, and can also offer catered meals prepared in the company's on-site restaurant. Guides place a strong emphasis on safety with mandatory equipment checks and a safety orientation before each excursion. Following the whitewater orientation, groups can enjoy a relaxing jaunt down the main Payette River, course through the waterfalls and Class IV rapids of the South Fork, or spend the day fishing in Swirly Canyon.