Fun and Free Things to Do in the Treasure Valley
I’ve lived in Boise most of my life, and needless to say it is a wonderful place! From riding the green belt along the river to skiing the slopes in Bogus Basin, there are so many different fun activities that Treasure Valley residents can enjoy all year around. Beside the big treats that the Treasure Valley has to offer such as Table Rock, Camel’s Back Park, and Quinn’s Pond, there are also so many hidden gems in the area that you and your family can experience for really cheap or even for FREE. Here is a big list of free, inexpensive, and fun summer ideas to keep moms and kids in the Treasure Valley busy and happy. Feel free to share your favorites in the comments below!
Summer Activities
Free Outdoor Movies:
photo credit: Boise Weekly
- Settlers Park Family Night Movie: A fun family friendly free tradition that happens every summer from June to August in Meridian
- Movies Under the Stars at Julia Davis Park: Another fun option to watch family friendly hits in Boise from June to August
Free Summer Lunch Programs:
photo credit: Idaho News
- FREE lunch at the park in different parks throughout the Boise area from June to August. Kids 18 years and younger can eat for free and adults can purchase a lunch for a small fee.
- The Boise, Meridian, and Nampa School Districts provide summer meal programs for kids doing summer school, but it is also open to the public for free lunch. Check out these site for more info:
Public Pools and Splash Parks:
photo credit: KTVB
- Meridian Pool at Storey Park: Pricing ranges from $2 – $4
- Settlers Park Splash Park: FREE, park is open from 6am to 10pm
- Lakeview Waterpark in Nampa: Pricing ranges from $1-$3
- Ivywild Pool in Boise: has a fun kiddie pool & water slides for bigger kids. Pricing ranges from $2.25 to $4
- Boise Pools: try the inflatable obstacle course at the Fairmont Pool on Tuesdays and Thursdays
- Play in the fountain at Ann Morrison Park
- Play in the fountain near the Grove Hotel in Boise at the Boise Centre on the Grove
Water fun in Boise, Meridian, and Nampa:
photo credit: Idaho Statesman
- Eagle Island State Park in Eagle, ID – $5 per vehicle (make sure it’s open before you go… they have had to close at times due to some contaminated water).
- Sandy Point Beach at Lucky Peak, East Boise- $5 per vehicle
- Quinn’s Pond in Boise (Garden City) – FREE! You can rent paddle boards near by, or fish, wade, swim, play on the beach… all for free! Beautiful paths and
- Float the Boise River in Downtown Boise – you can fill your tubes and rafts for free at the starting point at Barber Park!
- Lake Lowell in Nampa, ID
- Surf the waves at Boise Whitewater Park
Entertainment in the Treasure Valley:
photo credit: Idaho News
- Starlight Mountain Theatre in Garden Valley – always a fun treat! A short one hour drive from Boise!
- Meridian Speedway: Get a family pass with 2 adults and 4 kids for $36
- Firebird Raceway
- Zoo Boise : Discount admission on Thursdays
- Meridian PAL sports Program
- Lakeview Golf Course Family Association: Inexpensive golf for the whole family in the evenings
- Right around Thanksgiving, the headquarters of Scentsy light up thousands and thousands of Christmas lights! You can stroll around the Scentsy campus (known as Scentsy Commons) and enjoy the beauty! The venue is beautiful and they even have a cafe inside the building that is open to the public! Go HERE to check out what is happening at Scentsy Commons right now!
Libraries in Boise:
photo credit: Idaho Statesman
All the Libraries in the Treasure Valley offer free and fun activities for kids, youth, and adults!
- Meridian Library: Summer reading program & other activities
- Boise Public Library: Summer reading program & other activities
- Nampa Public Library Activities
- Eagle Public Library
- Kuna Public Library – Summer Reading Program
- Caldwell Public Library – Summer Reading Program
Spring Break Activities
Easter Egg Hunts
- Check out this Easter Egg Hunt Website that will keep you updated on all the Easter Egg hunting happening in the Treasure Valley
Museums
photo credit: City Hope Church
- Tour the Basque Museum and Cultural Center: Pricing is free for kids 5 and under and ranges from $3 to $5 for kids to adults
- Visit the Idaho State Historical Museum
- Explore the Discovery Center of Idaho
- March to the Idaho Military History Museum – Displays of military firearms, uniforms, the development of Gowen Field. Tuesday-Saturday donations accepted.
- Boise Depot – Open Sunday and Monday from 11am to 5 pm FREE
- Warhawk Air Museum – explore aircrafts from WWII in Nampa, ID
- Old Idaho Penitentiary visitors may tour the cell blocks, gallows, solitary confinement and prison grounds
Sports and Outdoors
photo credit: Boise Hunter Homes
- Zoo Boise (Discount admissions on Thursdays)
- Fish at Arrowrock Reservoir
- Play frisbee golf at Ann Morrison Park
- Idaho Ice World – Family Night every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, $5 per person includes skate rentals.
- Kids Bowl Free (just pay shoe rental)
- Big Al’s Specials: Monday evenings 6pm-close $1 games, shoes and sodas (be prepared to wait though!)
- Go Geocaching
- Hike Table Rock (here is a site with info about hiking in the foothills)
- Enjoy gorgeous nature at Camels Back Park and the area right behind it, called Hulls Gulch.
- Bike the beautiful Boise Greenbelt
- Givens Hot Springs in Nampa/Caldwell Area – Swim in the hot springs. This rural location is along what was once the Oregon Trail invites historical exploration of the surrounding area. Cabin rentals and camping available.
Other Outdoor Activities:
photo credit: The North End
- Fish in the pond at Fuller or Settlers Park
- Go Ice Blocking on Simplot Hill
- Hike Camel’s Back Park
- Visit the MK Nature Center for some BEAUTIFUL nature and see all the fish! FREE!
- Go the the Capital City Market Saturday mornings
- Spring Break Camps for Kids.
- The World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise
Cheap Movies:
- Edwards in Boise: In the summer, you can watch a select variety of movies for only $1
- Reel Theatre in Nampa & Boise-
- Overland Park Theatre: in Boise- $1 Tuesdays
Refreshment Deals:
- Sonic: Happy Hour 2-4pm daily (1/2 price drinks) and 1/2 priced milkshakes after 8pm going on now!
- Best Sno Shacks: TenMile/McMillan, Cherry/Linder
Other Resources
photo credit: Idaho State Parks and Recreation
- Visit IDAHO: Great place to find info on everything in Idaho
- https://www.meridiancity.org/ (Meridian)
- https://www.nampaparksandrecreation.org/ (Nampa)
- https://www.cityofeagle.org/ (Eagle)
- https://parks.cityofboise.org/ (Boise)
- https://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/ (Idaho)
What do you LOVE to do in the Treasure Valley? Leave your ideas for fun things to do in the comments below!
Comments
Leave a Reply
More Related Posts
Trending Blog Posts
- Blog
- Recipes
- DIY
- Deals
Report a Problem
Please select the problem you are facing with this deal:
- Price Increased
- Price Decreased
- No longer available
- Expired
- Link doesn't work
- Suggestion
- Compliment
- Other
Add more details:
Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it.
Enter your email address if you would like
to receive a follow up.
Please Try Again
Thanks for providing the email address.
We will reach out to you as soon as possible.
Popular
Recommended
About Us
At Fabulessly Frugal, our goal is to help you live HEALTHY, WEALTHY, and WISE! My team and I work hard to bring you the best, online deals, clean eating, DIY's, freezer meal recipes, and more! I LOVE coaching and inspiring people to improve their health in my fitness challenge! You should also check out my favorite cleanse! Learn more about me and the rest of my team.
Copyright © 2008–2024
Fabulessly Frugal: A Coupon Blog Sharing Gift Ideas, Amazon Deals, Printable Coupons, DIY, How to Extreme Coupon, and Make Ahead Meals. All rights reserved
What is Ice Blocking? I’ve never heard of that! Sadly, Treasure Valley Family Magazine no longer publishes new issues or keeps their event calendar going. Their last issue was June. 🙁
Ice Blocking… you buy a big block of ice, sit on it and slide down the hill. 🙂 You’ll want to fold up a towel to sit on so your behind doesn’t get wet/cold!
Beware of Ice Blocking. We know people who’s teen daughter was killed on Simplot Hill while ice blocking with her Youth Group. This is not a safe activity.
Iceblocking is relatively safe. However, iceblocking into traffic, getting run over by an automobile is deadly which is what I believe what happened to that girl.
If you do decide to go where a helmet. My sister-in-law fell off and hit the ground hard enough to bruise her brain now she has seizures and will for the rest of her life. Be careful and avoid tradegy.
I’m so sorry that happened to your sister Julie!
Actually the girl was a friend of mine. She and I were cheerleaders together in Middle School; she died the summer after. She hit a bump and the ice block went into her internal organs (she was riding on her stomach). If you do go, be safe and cautious.
Thats why people put towels on the ice when ice blocking.
I assume your friend may have been D.T. Her family is one of the most selfless and finest in the Treasure Valley.
What a terrific resource. Great post Cathy! Thanks…
Thanks Renee!
Hey folks this is just a side note. Right now in Boise, if you eat at the QDoba Mexican Grill on Broadway(by Myrtle), you will find a coupon on the bottom of your receipt that gives you a buy one get one Half Off entree after 5pm. Can you say date night?!!!! The food is excellent!! They even have veggie alternatives.
Great tip! Thanks Kary!
Thanks so much for this list! Just moved to Boise last month. This is a great resource of activities in our new home.
I am having trouble finding the schedule for free lunch in the Nampa area for summer 2014. Anyone know of a link?
https://idahofoodbank.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/PITP_Flyer-Poster_2014.pdf
Thank You so much for taking the time to put this list together!! My family and I just transferred into the Boise area this past weekend. What a jewel this list is for my son and I to ‘play through’ while Daddy begins work in this beautiful city!
Thank you!
Depressing! The pin for this should say things to do in west idaho! I’m in rexburg 🙁 I can’t travel hours for this stuff lol
it has been lots of years since living on that side- but some of the things we did there are, sand dunes, caves, mountain biking, old bridge exploring, museums, farms and factory tours, shooting, rock repelling, play houses with meals, hikes, bridge jumping, there is a videogame place in Idaho Falls that has a giant teeter-totter ride. There are a few fun places there. look around and you will find much fun.
Children’s Garden Club of Edwards Greenhouse and The Florist at Edwards is provides children between the ages of 3 & 12 the opportunity to experience gardening through stories, print material and hands-on activities. https://www.edwardsgreenhouse.com/edwards-earthworms/
Most of that stuff is not free. Unless you are outdoorsy, there is nothing to do here. – Native
there are a lot of things not on this list. but then they would be crowded if we shared them. so we like to keep them secret… check out macoronikid.com
Thanks for the tip!
The Foothills learning center has a free class for kids age 3-6 the second Tuesday of each month. You have to sign up through Boise Parks and Rec. They walk the kids around their story trail and have a corresponding craft for them at the end. Very fun! If you can’t make it to the class the story trail is just a very short trail around their building with pages of a story at each stop. You read the story as you go. The story changes every month. They also have a free Saturday activity the second Saturday of each month.
Also, the first Saturday of each month Home Depot has a free kids project that are always very fun.
The Discovery Center is very expensive. However, their yearly family passes are quite affordable ($65 per year for a family). That includes 2 free adult night tickets and five free guest passes. They have a preschool class every Wed, Thur, and Fri. It is the same each week so you pick one of the days per week to go. They have also increased member benefits by adding a members only night where they make ice cream for tasting, hours for members only, and allow you to bring 2 guests per family pass with you.
I also love the city pool pass in the summer. All Boise pools for around $115 per family for the whole summer.
The Zoo pass it worth it for my family for the butterfly exhibit in the summer alone. Love my zoo pass.
Don’t forget to check out the Boise Parks and Rec summer classes when they come out. My kids have taken hip hop dance, pottery, art classes, and many other great classes in the summer. They have also been on swim team, which practices every day in July and most of August. If you want water confidence to skyrocket put your kids on swim team for a summer. Unbelievable improvement.
I love Boise, Hope you find something you will love, too.
Thanks for the tips
The park by the Village in Meridian has a splash park.
Also the theater in the Village has $5 movies on Tuesdays (as does Edwards) if your looking for a cheaper way to see summer movies that are coming out.
And there are tons of littl fishing ponds that the city stocks if kids want to try fishing. Under 14 don’t need a licence. If your and idaho resident, you can get a licence for around $25 that is good until the end of the calendar year. There’s a pond at Settlers, a couple by the park by the Village, one at McDermit park off Eagle an McMillan, and lots more!
Also if you don’t want to fight the crowds floating the Boise River, go Emmett and you can float the Payette!
The Idaho State Historical Museum is closed for renovations, and will be closed until 2017.
That’s so sad! Thanks for letting us know!
12/21/16 — Um, with sooooo much water around the city, why isn’t there an aquarium?!?
There is an aquarium off of Cole and Franklin, and the MK Nature Center is an outdoor aquarium (free)
Hi- We have two events we’d love to have you share with your readers. Both are free and geared toward families.
On November 16th at approximately 6:30 p.m. Scentsy will pull the lever and turn on 724,000 Christmas lights! That’s 34 miles of lights — even more than last year. The grounds will be open to the public. Come stroll, ohh and ahh, and take your holiday photos with this winter wonderland as your backdrop. Food trucks will be on the grounds for treats and warm drinks.
Come stroll the grounds of Scentsy’s Campus and don’t forget your camera. On December 11th and 12th, the campus will be glowing with 724,000 Christmas lights—that’s 34 miles of lights! We’ll have area high school and BSU’s choir singing traditional and holiday favorites in our outdoor amphitheater, Santa for the kids and a live Nativity reenacting the manger scene. Come get into the Christmas spirit and enjoy free hot chocolate and cookies.
This is a wonderful post and randomly reading all the comments and made me laugh but made me thankful for all the wonderful ppl still caring to try to help. God bless u all