9 Amazing Idaho Day Trips That Are Worth The Drive In 2025
Idaho has about 100,000 miles of rivers, and Boise makes the perfect launchpad for exploring them. With an international airport right in town, you can arrive in Boise and within hours find yourself standing under a waterfall that roars louder than traffic, climbing desert dunes that shift with the wind, or looking out across a canyon so deep it seems endless. Even without leaving the city limits you can watch birds of prey ride the thermals or walk through a prison yard where iron doors once slammed and boots echoed off the stone. Here are nine day trips from Boise that prove a single free day is all you need to feel like you have gone somewhere far away.
Shoshone Falls (2 hours)
Drive east and the Snake River suddenly drops in a 212-foot curtain of water. Shoshone Falls has been called the “Niagara of the West,” but it actually beats Niagara in height. In spring, when snowmelt floods the cliffs, the spray shoots high enough to mist your face even on a clear day. On sunny afternoons, you might see a rainbow hang over the canyon like a spotlight, shifting every time the wind stirs the spray.
The city of Twin Falls manages the park, which includes playgrounds, picnic shelters, and trails that lead to overlooks right on the canyon rim. The main viewing platform gives you a straight-on look at the falls, but smaller pullouts along the road offer different angles if you’re the type who likes chasing the perfect photo.
Just upstream, hydroelectric dams control water flow, which means the falls roar most dramatically in late spring and early summer. By midsummer, the volume drops, but that also makes it easier to see the underlying basalt columns. Nearby Dierkes Lake is a local swimming hole where families spread towels and kids splash after a hike. Oregon Trail pioneers once detoured to marvel at this waterfall, and standing on the same bluffs today, you still feel the ground hum beneath your feet.
Bruneau Dunes State Park (1 hour)
About an hour south of Boise, the desert rolls into a set of sand mountains. The tallest dune towers 470 feet, the biggest single-structured dune in North America. Hiking it feels like climbing a staircase made of marshmallows that keeps pulling you back two steps for every one you take. Bring water. More than you think. The payoff is huge: the whole Bruneau Basin unfolding in waves of gold that shift with the sun and wind.
The park isn’t just about the climb. People bring sleds, sandboards, or even a battered piece of cardboard to slide down the slopes, kicking up sprays of sand as they go. By July, the sand squeaks under your shoes and sticks to the sweat on your arms. At the base, small lakes collect in the shadows of the dunes, attracting waterfowl and making for peaceful picnic spots. Fishing, birdwatching, and horseback riding round out the menu.
As night falls, the desert transforms again. The park’s public observatory opens its domes, and rangers help visitors aim telescopes at distant galaxies, planets, and nebulae. Check the park’s website before you go because the observatory usually runs programs on Friday and Saturday nights, and tickets can sell out. The skies are so dark the Milky Way stretches overhead like a glowing highway. And yes, you’ll still be finding sand in your shoes a week later.
Sawtooth National Recreation Area (2.5 hours)
Head northeast and you’ll hit the Sawtooths, a jagged skyline that looks like someone ripped the horizon with scissors. The Sawtooth National Recreation Area sprawls across more than 700,000 acres, with 40 peaks over 10,000 feet and more than 300 alpine lakes scattered like jewels in the high country. It’s the kind of place where you plan to stop for a quick photo and somehow spend the entire afternoon.
The road to Stanley takes you past Redfish Lake, one of the region’s most beloved stops. Families queue at the marina coffee hut before renting kayaks or paddleboards. Campers set up along the shoreline, while photographers crowd the bank at sunrise to catch the peaks glowing pink in the reflection. Moose graze in wetlands, mountain goats cling to rock faces, and anglers fan out along icy creeks in search of trout.
Hiking trails range from meadow loops you can finish before lunch to rugged backcountry routes where you won’t see another soul. Backpackers vanish into the wilderness for days, but even a short lake walk feels rewarding. Established in 1972, the Sawtooths remain Idaho’s ultimate escape, raw and untamed yet only a half-day’s drive from Boise.
McCall and Payette Lakes (2.5 hours)
Drive the Payette River Scenic Byway north and you’ll roll into McCall, a lakeside town framed by pines and mountain ridges. Payette Lake is the centerpiece, a 5,300-acre glacial lake that sparkles in the summer sun. Its sandy beaches invite swimmers, while kayak and paddleboard rentals line the waterfront. Families picnic in Ponderosa State Park, which juts into the lake like a green peninsula. The air smells of pine resin, sunscreen, and burgers grilling from lakeside cabins.
McCall flips with the seasons. Summer means boating, hiking, and ice cream on the boardwalk. Winter turns the town into a snow globe. The January Winter Carnival brings parades, fireworks, and massive snow sculptures. Outside town, Brundage Mountain delivers what locals insist is the “best snow in Idaho.”
Once a logging hub, McCall reinvented itself as a four-season playground. About 4,000 people live here, according to the Census Bureau, but the energy feels much bigger thanks to a steady stream of visitors chasing both sunshine and powder. If you go in winter, book lodging early because the Carnival fills up fast.
Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (3 hours)
Three hours from Boise, the land splits wide into Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, the deepest river gorge in North America. From the rim, the view is endless: cliffs stacked with lava and granite plunging nearly 8,000 feet to the Snake River. Stand at an overlook and it feels like the earth split open under your boots.
Adventure comes in layers. Some hop into jet boats or rafts that churn through frothing rapids, canyon walls towering on either side. Others take it slower, driving up to Heaven’s Gate Overlook where on a clear day you can pick out mountain ranges in three different states. Trails lace the rims and ridges, offering solitude broken only by wind and hawks. Anglers line river bends, hoping for steelhead or salmon. Keep in mind that many river segments may be restricted.
Designated a National Recreation Area in 1975, it protects more than 650,000 acres of rugged wilderness. Look closely at the canyon walls and you’ll spot petroglyphs etched by the Nez Perce, reminders of those who lived here long before modern explorers. Whether you’re chasing adrenaline, wildlife, or just silence, Hells Canyon hits hard.
Idaho City (1 hour)
Back in the 1860s, Idaho City was the place to be. During the height of the gold rush, it was more than a camp. It was the largest town in the Pacific Northwest, alive with miners, saloons, supply stores, and frontier chaos. At its peak, more than 20,000 people lived in the Boise Basin, fortunes rising and falling with every strike.
Today, the population hovers near 500, but the grit lingers. Wooden boardwalks creak underfoot, and false-front buildings keep the boomtown look. The Boise Basin Museum, open seasonally, displays mining tools, photographs, and everyday relics. Plaques on weathered cabins fill in the rest, telling stories of hard winters and quick tempers.
The trip itself is half the fun. Highway 21, the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway, twists through Boise National Forest with towering evergreens and roadside campgrounds. Many visitors cap the day at The Springs, a hot spring resort nearby where steaming pools and mountain views erase the dust. Idaho City isn’t polished, and that’s exactly the charm.
Old Idaho Penitentiary (within Boise)
On Boise’s east side stands Old Idaho Penitentiary, a sandstone fortress that served as Idaho’s state prison from 1872 to 1973. For more than a century, it held everyone from petty thieves to notorious killers. Riots, daring escapes, and daily grind all echo from its thick stone walls.
Today, the site operates as a museum, and walking through feels like stepping into a harsher time. You can wander cell blocks, peek into solitary confinement, tour the women’s ward, and even stand in the gallows. Exhibits showcase shanks inmates carved from scraps, grim mugshots, and stories of crimes that shocked the state. One of the most infamous inmates, Lyda Southard, nicknamed “Lady Bluebeard,” was convicted of poisoning her husbands for insurance payouts.
Special events bring extra bite. Evening tours by lantern light lean into the eerie, while seasonal programs explore crime and punishment in depth. A local tip: tickets for October “Frightened Felons” nights sell out weeks ahead, so plan ahead if you’re aiming for chills.
World Center for Birds of Prey (within Boise)
Just south of downtown Boise, the World Center for Birds of Prey crowns a windswept ridge where hawks and falcons wheel in the sky. This is headquarters for The Peregrine Fund, the nonprofit credited with pulling the peregrine falcon back from near extinction. Today, it leads global efforts for raptors from condors to owls.
The visitor center is the heart of the experience. Staff and volunteers lead daily raptor demos, typically late morning and mid-afternoon, where a condor may unfurl a wingspan wider than you are tall or a kestrel zip past your ear in a blur. Exhibits explain how endangered birds are bred and released. Closed-circuit cameras let you peek into the breeding rooms where tiny chicks are raised.
The Archives of Falconry adds depth with artifacts, photos, and stories spanning centuries. Whether you’re a birder or just curious, the center leaves you with a sharper sense of how fragile ecosystems are and how much difference conservation makes.
Zoo Boise (within Boise)
Inside Julia Davis Park, Zoo Boise blends play with purpose. What started in 1916 with just a handful of animals has grown into a zoo that now cares for more than 300 creatures from around the globe. Families crowd the giraffe platform to hand over crunchy lettuce leaves, kids squeal when the Amur tigers pace past the glass, and red pandas snooze in tree branches like furry commas. The Gorongosa exhibit transports you to Mozambique, complete with monkeys leaping between branches and gazelles grazing the grass.
But this isn’t just about fun. Every ticket sold helps fund conservation projects worldwide, from protecting snow leopards in Mongolia to preserving elephant corridors in Africa. In summer, the butterfly exhibit opens and becomes a kaleidoscope of color, while the farmyard contact area lets little ones get up close with goats and chickens.
Zoo Boise also leans into special events that make it a community staple. Halloween brings “Boo at the Zoo” with trick-or-treat stations, and summer evenings often feature family movie nights under the stars. Memberships are popular with locals who return again and again for these seasonal extras.
Tip: parking can be tight on sunny weekends, so pair your zoo trip with a stroll through Julia Davis Park or a stop at the neighboring Idaho State Museum to round out the day. For many families, Zoo Boise is where a simple outing sparks curiosity about the wider world of wildlife.
Adventure Is Already Waiting
Boise makes it easy to swap office shoes for hiking boots or trade your desk chair for a car seat with the windows down. Within just a couple of hours you can be drenched in the spray of Shoshone Falls, sliding down the Bruneau dunes, or standing on the rim of Hells Canyon. Head north and you will find McCall where summer feels like a postcard and winter turns into a snow globe. Spend a day in the Sawtooths and you will see why Idaho is called the Gem State, with lakes that shine like scattered jewels.
Even if you never leave the city, Boise still delivers. Falcons circle at the World Center for Birds of Prey, red pandas nap in the trees at Zoo Boise, and the Old Penitentiary still echoes with footsteps and iron doors. The best part is that you do not need weeks of vacation or a complicated itinerary. A single free day, a tank of gas, and maybe a little gas station coffee are enough to unlock Idaho’s wild side. In this corner of the Northwest, adventure is not something you wait for. It is already on your doorstep.
