Things to Do in Boise Idaho: A Fun Weekend Travel Guide

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If there is only one constant in this world, it is my newfound love for Idaho. An undeniably hidden gem of the United States of America, Idaho is filled to brim with incredible nature. The most populated city in Idaho, Boise, is easily one of my favorite cities in America. My first visit to Boise was for a birthday weekend in 2019. I chose Boise simply because…well, I was broke and it was driving distance from Oregon. I knew absolutely zero about Idaho, much less fun things to do in Boise. Like, I knew there were potatoes but…uh…what else?

APPARENTLY A LOT.

As it turns out, Idaho is amazing. Boise is amazing. I’m hands down obsessed and I will never stop pushing everyone to visit. NEVER.

Idaho as a whole offers a wide variety of activities, but for this post, I’ll just focus on all the cool and unique things to do in Boise! But first, a basic rundown of everything you need to know about this city.

• Pronunciation: Boy-see (not Boy-Zee, surprisingly)
• State: Idaho
• Population: 226,570
• Ancestral land:  Boise Valley Shoshone and Bannock tribes
• Best season to visit (in my opinion): I love Boise in the summer. It’s like a greener Southern California…without a beach. But Boise experiences all seasons, so whatever you’re in the mood for!
• Price range: Super affordable. It isn’t dirt cheap, but one of the cheaper major cities in the US!
• Transportation: If you don’t want to leave the city, then it’s easy to get around via bike/scooter or Uber! But if you want to explore outside the city, there are not many tour buses so I would advise renting a car.

Alright, so now with all the basic info out of the way, let’s get you planning your fun weekend trip to Boise, Idaho!

Where to Stay in Boise

If I’m being real, Boise is a pretty small city. Basically, if you stay anywhere downtown, you’ll be fine. However, I would highly recommend you stay within walking distance of 8th street downtown. It’s where all the great restaurants, shops, and bars are located! You wouldn’t even need a car! I personally stayed at Hilton Garden Inn. At about $100 usd, it’s probably the only place I could afford staying in a Hilton hotel, haha. AND IT WAS AMAZING.

First, the staff was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable about the city! The lobby bathrooms have free pads and tampons for those who need them (which is very considerate imo), and the rooms are mad spacious. The Hilton isn’t right off of 8th street (where most of the Boise action takes place), but it’s not far either! It’s only about a 15-minute walk!

I would recommend booking with Booking dot com! Mostly because they give great loyalty rewards! Liiike, earning discounts and perks (aka 10% off and free room upgrades!) with multiple bookings! I pretty much exclusively book hotels through Booking now!

Sign up for Booking for $25 off your first booking and earn rewards as you book!

And then here are some other good choices for accommodation in and around Boise!

• Budget: Red Lion Inn (close to airport, but about 10min drive/uber from city center)
• Midrange: Hyatt Place Boise (right in the center!)
• Luxury: The Grove Hotel or Inn at 500 Capitol (center and both have great views!)
• Quirky: The Potato Hotel (30 minutes outside of Boise, BUT YOU GET TO STAY IN A GIANT POTATO!!!! That’s already one of the best things to do in Boise lol)

What to Eat in Boise

What’s a travel guide without a list of restaurants to chow down at? I mean, if you’re only in Boise for a weekend, you need to make sure ALL of the restaurants are hitting right! So no worries fam, I got chu. I’ve personally eaten at all of the following restaurants, and I fully endorse them!

However, I am not a food blogger. So please don’t drag me for my bad food pics *cry emoji*

Bacon

Let’s start with breakfast, yeah? Bacon is one of the most popular breakfast spots in town, but surprisingly isn’t very busy! Then again, I visited on a random Monday morning. It’s an order-first restaurant, which I prefer for breakfast because once you’re done, you can get up and head off to your next adventure! But, since they have brunch LITERALLY all day, you can decide whenever you want to start your day!

The main showstopper of the show is their “bacon flight.” It is…exactly what it sounds like. You get like five different flavors of bacon. And you eat them. It’s amazing. My favorite flavors were the sweet and savory ones, but they had some fun spicy and smoked varieties too. They also have an INSANE bloody mary. I haven’t tried it, but a few other tables reordered theirs! But I did have the hash and it was great!

Java and Wild Root Cafe were two other good breakfast spots, but I didn’t get any pics there!

Boise Fry Company

Truly, if you’re going to Idaho, YOU NEED TO HAVE SOME POTATOES. Granted, basically everywhere you go in Idaho will have good potatoes, but visit Boise Fry Company for the grand buffet! Here, burgers are the side and the fries are the main dish! There are SOO many options for fries too! Six, to be exact: yam, sweet potato, purple potato, red potato, gold potato, and russet potato. I literally thought there was just sweet potatoes and…the other ones.

On top of that, there are over 10 different fry dipping sauces! Some of them are wacky, some are genius in a small paper cup, but I advise you to try them all! Side note, in case any of you care about the burgers – they were delicious! There are also veggie and vegan burger options!

Fork

Ohhh this is such an amazing restaurant! You can’t go wrong choosing between lunch or dinner. I had…another burger and fries, and it was great. My boyfriend had salmon, equally awesome. So you could go casual or a little more upscale, your choice! The REALLL home-run is Fork’s incredible butter cake. Whatever you order, LEAVE ROOM FOR THE BUTTER CAKE. It’s warm and sweet and so so fresh.

Eureka!

Notice all of these restaurants are really close to 8th street. That’s the location of most of the restaurants and things to do in Boise, Idaho! By now, I’d had my fair share of burgers, so I had a really bomb strawberry salad at Eureka! Boise prides itself on having a lot of fresh farm-to-table produce (and locally raised and ethically sourced beef!), so the available salads might change based on the season. It was incredible though. But, as with most of Boise, the burger and fries are a delicious option as well! Eureka also has a great selection of beers on tap if you drink.

Juniper

Dinner time!! Towards the end of the night, we headed into Juniper for happy hour, but ended up just ordering from the main dinner menu. The atmosphere is very chill-lounge, so feel free to drop in for food or drinks and a conversation! I reallyyy wanted to try the risotto, but I was feeling pretty stuffed on carbs from the thousand and one potatoes I shoved in my mouth from early so I went with ramen. They also have vegan ramen! The salmon was also a show stopper!

Barbacoa Grill

This was my birthday restaurant! First, let me start off by saying the atmosphere was AMAZINGGG. I want to cry just thinking how incredibly warm and exciting it felt. I got a three-course meal, but with like three appetizers because I’m extra and it was my birthday. The dishes just KEPT. GETTING. BETTER. Traveler’s tip: get one of the fun drinks! I didn’t because I had no idea what they looked like, but they are an intricate dish all on themselves! If you don’t drink alcohol, they can make them virgin!

Y’all know how I love chicken wings, right?

Well, if you don’t – hi, my name is Kay. I love chicken wings.

ANYWAYS. All the appetizers are great, but seriously, get the hibachi chicken wings. They are fully cooked and amazing as is, but you get a fun personal hibachi grill for an extra glaze!

Also incredible were the crab cakes (I wanted to slather that sauce across my naked body), and the scallops! UGH THE SCALLOPS. Also I know I had a food pic disclaimer earlier, but really, I apologize for the blur. Idk how to focus my camera.

I forgot to take pictures of dinner because I get too excited sometimes, but the steaks were increddd. And also the salmon. Idk why Boise has such good salmon…

More Food in Boise

And there’s tons more to eat in Boise! But I didn’t take pictures. I’ll probably throw together a longer post of the best restaurants in Boise later, but this will get you through the weekend!

• Best Cafes: The District Coffee House, Neckar Coffee, Hyde Perk Coffee House, Zero Six Coffee Fix
• Best Acai: Boise Juice Company, Roxberry Juice Co.
• And Best Donuts: Guru Donuts, The Dapper Doughnut, The Donut + Dog

Boise doesn’t have a lot of “non-American” restaurants, which is new to me from the West Coast, but all of the “American” cuisines is great and hearty, as American restaurants go.

Things to Do in Boise

Ah yesss the juice of the travel guide! Things to do in Boise! I’ve said it before, but Boise is a pretty low key city, so a lot of the attractions are equally low key! Which is perfect for a relaxing weekend getaway! I’ll go ahead and separate the activities by theme!

Town Activities

The bread and butter, you want to see what makes Boise tick, right? THE BLOOD OF ITS VEINS…or whatever. Well….here are some of the classics!

Idaho State Capitol Building

Classic Boise, amirite?? It is the heart of the city! It’s not toooo different than any other state capitol building tbh. A small but kinda cool feature was that in the front, there is a memorial by Native American artist Doug Hyde that depicts the hospitality of Nez Piece tribal chief, Twisted Hair, towards Lewis and Clark.

Supposedly, there are actually underground tunnels in Boise, righttt under the capitol building! I couldn’t find them buuut I believe they’re there! A few locals have told me that their school gave them tours of the tunnels under the state building.

There are also rumors that there are more tunnels that date back to Boise’s Chinatown days. If you didnt know, Boise actually had the second-largest Chinese population back in the mid-late 1800s. Yupp. RIGHT behind San Francisco. In 1870, 30% of Boise’s population was Chinese.

Similar to Portland, Boise had a large number of Chinese immigrants for various infrastructure labor projects(like railway work), and the Gold Rush of 1848. ALSO similar to Portland, Chinese immigrants (and even those born in the US!) experienced anti-Chinese sentiments and blatant and violent racism from white locals. Basically, any white person charged with a hate crime back then was acquitted, if they were even charged at all.

The city actually TORE DOWN the Chinatown. 1970 marked the official erasure of Boise’s Chinatown, with the last remaining building removed for non-Chinese renovations.

But anyways, yeah, the state building. It’s cool.

Idaho State Museum

On that note though, you can check out the Idaho State Museum to learn more about how current-day Idaho came to be. Err…spoiler alert, a lot of it has to do with unfulfilled treaty promises with the region’s Native American tribes. #America

There’s a lot of good info though! If you’re into geography, there’s also a section on that, which is cool because Idaho has a ton of volcanic areas!

Admission is $10 USD for adults, $8 for military/seniors/college students, and $5 for children!

Boise Art Museum

The museum is small, but nice! However, there are no photographs or cell phone usage allowed inside the museum. They will literally scold you. You must also check any backpacks. Bummer. BUT the upside is that there are a lot of cool classes and workshops that you can take, like drawing, ceramics, and even crafting your own bookmarks!

Freak Alley Gallery

Now that you have all that inspiration (and pent up photographer’s rage) from the art museum, head over to Freak Alley. It’s a large -and long!- alleyway over by 8th street FULL of graffiti, murals, and street art by local artists! The artwork occasionally changes over the seasons, but there will always be something fun and cool to look at! Perfect for an after beer-crawl sober-up stroll!

Another one of the fun things to do in Boise is heading to the Labyrinth Escape Games, an escape room experience that has options for every age group!

Old Idaho Penitentiary Site

If you like wandering around old prisons, welllll Boise has just the thing for ya! The Idaho State Penitentiary closed its doors to inmates in 1973, but before that it housed some of the roughest toughest criminals in the West. And now there are like, cute events and even concerts that happen here! For a normal day though, you can chill in solitary confinement, walk through cell blocks, and explore the gallows.

Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial

This isn’t so much an attraction as the others, but definitely worth stopping by. It’s along the Boise Greenbelt (more on that next), and I urge you to stop and take it in. It’s incredibly moving and pays tribute and remembrance to the lives and communities shattered by global genocide. This memorial is one of only eleven United States sites to receive a sapling from the actual Anne Frank Chestnut Tree in Amsterdam, which was planted in the memorial. It is actually the FIRST time I have ever seen the Bosnian genocide publically recognized at a memorial in the United States.

“You know those of us who leave our homes in the morning and expect to find them there when we go back – it’s hard for us to understand what the experience of a refugee might be like.”

Naomi Shihab Nye

Outdoor Activities

For being nestled in dry terrain, Boise is surprisingly green! There’s a ton of fun ways to get outside, both within Boise and the surrounding areas!

Ride/Bike/Walk along the Greenbelt

The main green space in Boise is called the Greenbelt, and it runs along the river in the city. You can rent a bike from Boise Green Bike, but it was closed when I visited. I just grabbed an electric scooter which worked out even better for me. I hate pedaling. Just start at one end and enjoy your time under the green canopies. Boise is a college town, so you’ll see lots of pick up frisbee and ball games in the fields!

Idaho Botanical Garden

Ess cute. Issa garden. There’s not much else to say to that tbh. The garden itself is a nonprofit, and is completely dependant on tax-deductible (heyyo) donations and admission. $8USD for adults, $6 for seniors, $5 for children. Members get in free! Though be aware that the garden store is closed in the winter!

Bogus Basin Mountain

If you visit during the winter, heading up to Bogus Basin is a fantastic option to leave the city and see the slopes! It is a non-profit mountain recreation center, and 100% of profits go back into education and school programs, scholarships, outreach, facilities, equipment for youth, and more! Their mission is to make snow sports and mountain activities more affordable and accessible to EVERYONE in the community.

I CAN STAND BEHIND THAT!!

I mean seriously! Full-day ski rentals for adults are $25 USD, and $12 for children! There is also winter tubing, snowshoeing, and a toboggan ride! In the summer, there is a climbing wall, trampolines, scenic chairlift rides, mountain biking, horseback riding and hiking! Unlimited summer day passes for most activities are $49 USD for adults, and $39 for children! And there are four different restaurants on the mountain to enjoy as well!

World Center For Birds of Prey

The World Center for Birds of Prey was founded to help with the conservation of endangered birds of the Americas, such as the California Condor and the Peregrine and Aplomado Falcons. The organization is non-political, science-based, solution-oriented and hands-on. I LOVE that they actually have their five-year conservation plan published on their website!

General admission is just $10 USD for adults, and includes many events and exhibits to learn about the raptors and birds of prey. They even have an entire wing dedicated to falconry and Bedu hunting in the Arabian Peninsula. It’s super cool, but I’m just biased because I love raptors.

Bruneau Sand Dunes Road

Only thirty minutes outside of Boise is an amazing NATURAL state park with sand dunes! I always love visiting sand dunes, like the Imperial Sand Dunes in California. The Bruneau Sand Dune State Park definitely fulfills my desert-child needs! Along with sand dunes, there are tons of picnic tables and even a lake for boating!

Culture Activities

I meannn, is it truly a list of things to do in Boise if I leave out all of the great cultural spots? So in-between stuffing your face with delicious potatoes and hiking through all the green, take a pitstop at one of these places to re-light your soul!

Basque Museum and Cultural Center

Yooo, did you know Boise, Idaho has the largest Basque community in North America?? Well, it does! The Basque are the Indigenous people of the Spain/France region. Now, the Basque homeland, Euskal Herria, is a region between France and Spain, near the Pyrenees Mountains and the Bay of Biscay. Euskara, the Basque language, has no connection to any Indo-European language, and the discrimination and division led to a global Basque diaspora as they migrated to other areas of the world. However, ninety percent of all Basques live in the four Spanish provinces of Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Araba, and Nafarroa. The remainder live in the three northern French provinces of Lapurdi, Nafarroa Beherea, and Zuberoa.

Anyways, back to Boise, Idaho. You can visit the Basque Museum and Cultural to learn more about Basque history and culture! The museum is in the middle of the Basque Block, a block or so filled with shops and Basque restaurants!

Idaho Shakespeare Festival

The Idaho Shakespeare Festival starts up in the late Spring through early Fall. The productions are put on by the local Festival Company and theater community, and they’re all great shows! It’s an especially good time when you’re sitting under the amphitheater shade in the warm weather with a nice breeze.

I especially appreciate the theater’s commitment to accessibility. Each of the summer productions is interpreted into American Sign Language for the Deaf and Hard-of-hearing. They also offer realtime captioning available on personal devices, student discounts, complimentary tickets to people in financial constraints and disadvantaged situations (at-risk youth, refugee families, elderly citizens, and veterans) so that everyone in Boise can experience the arts.

The Flicks: Rick’s Cafe Americain

And for cinemaniacs, check out The Flicks! It is a super cute indie movie theater that…well, plays indie films! I actually saw The Farewell here before it was out in major theaters! There is a small concession area with all of the usual candy and popcorn, but also a FANTASTIC cake slice selection. Actually, the entire menu is amazing so you don’t even need to eat at a dinner restaurant before!

There is also a DVD rental section if you want to spend the rest of the night in! The Flicks holds frequent events as well!

Things to do in Boise: Day Trips

If you’re in Boise for a bit longer than a normal weekend, there are plenty of easy day trips! These are my recommendations from my experience!

• Shoshone Falls
• Craters of the Moon
• Potato Museum
• Niagara Springs
• Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural & Educational Center
• Museum of Clean
• EBR-1 Atomic Museum

Things to do in Boise: Conclusion

Basically, Boise is incredible. Arguably, one of my favorite cities in the United States and I WILL NOT SHUT UP ABOUT IT! You should book a ticket RIGHT NOW. Or even make it into a road trip! That’s what I did!

I personally think Boise is a great destination for any reason. Well, maybe except for a lit rager mood. But it’s definitely a spot for a chill relaxing catch up for a group trip, or a pleasant low-key couple’s getaway! It’s even a great solo destination.

Have any of you ever been to Boise? What about Idaho? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!

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