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.

As the NBA Developmental League affiliate of the Portland Trail Blazers, the Idaho Stampede have been whetting Boise fans appetites for swishes and dunks since 1997. NBA D-League champions in 2008, A number of former—and future—NBA stars all learned the ancient spells needed to spin a ball on a finger while playing for the Stampede, who won the D-League championship in 2008 and broke the league's record for scoring in a game with a 165-point offensive onslaught on March 31, 2010.

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.

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.