IDAHO

Zoo Boise:

The Zoo Boise was a little underwhelming after seeing so many positive reviews. We went in December, right before Christmas when we were in town for a football game. It was $3 admission that week (typically only $10), but the whole place felt shut down. The bare trees didn’t help, but there were no holiday decorations or décor. The pathways were old and very bumpy for a stroller and it was a little confusing to figure out where to go, even though it was a small footprint. The animals are mostly in cages or very small enclosure habitats. Bushes in front of these made it hard for the kiddos to see what was inside. They did have a giant giraffe slide near the giraffe exhibit, but that was pretty much the only park activities we found. Even the carousel was closed so they couldn’t ride it. The Wild Dogs were the highlight of our visit because they were out and rowdy. Overall, if you’re in the area and need something to do, it’s inexpensive and easy, but depending on what other zoos you’ve been to, you may find this one lacking.

The Discovery Center of Idaho:

Just next door to the Zoo the Discovery Center came with a hefty price tag (cost us $70 for a child + 2 adults) and the whole experience will entertain for maybe 60-90 minutes if they are little and want to play with the building blocks for 30 minutes like ours did. Outside of that, it really was very small, we were surprised and expected more. There is a cool dinosaur exhibit near the front, but it wasn’t very interactive, more of a museum display set-up. For what we paid, we expected a lot more. Compared to other children’s museusms that cost half that and deliver way more, I would only recommend this one if you’re in Boise with little ones and it’s bad weather and you absolutely need something for them to do indoors.

Albertson’s Stadium (Boise State Football):

The iconic blue field didn’t disappoint, but the concessions sure did. Aside from a stale hot dog, popcorn and pretzels, there weren’t any other food options-and that includes on the club level. We were there for the Idaho Potato Bowl and it was VERY low attendance, but for the premium area, it was very underwhelming. The restrooms didn’t have changing tables on the club level or the one bathroom we tried on the main level. They may be in certain locations, but bring a large changing mat for a floor change if you have littles in diapers. They were pretty flexible about what you could bring in, so knowing the concessions seem very limited, I would suggest packing all you need for the littles.

Riverside Hotel:

This hotel was hands down the best part of our stay. While the room wasn’t anything special, it was clean, nice, had a big sliding door with a child bolt and comfortable beds with plenty of room for a pack n play. Their indoor pool took the prize though. They just remodeled and this INDOOR space had a vortex pool (goes in a circle), heated main pool with a waterfall, hot tub and a splashpad that was also bathwater warm. We went there every day and the girls had such a great time. The staff were great and they even have a courtesy shuttle to/from the airport and within 5 miles of the hotel. Their food was also delicious and the buffet had great portions. It was right on the river, and even though we were there in winter and it was cold, we had a great time walking the path (which is even lit at night). Would highly recommend.

Wepa Café:

This Puerto Rican restaurant near the river was amazing. We went twice. They had bamboo silverware for the kids, to go cups and the food was amazing (our girls loved the rice and beans, tostones and asada frites). 

Closest Airport
Boise [BOI]