IDAHO’S
GREAT OUTDOORS
BY MICAH DREW
Join the rafting fest on the Boise River, June – September. / Karen Day
Take an unconventional route
For 53 years, the Boise River Greenbelt has ferried walkers, runners, and cyclists along the Boise River through the heart of downtown and to many of the valley’s trendiest spots. The horizontal parkway strings together the “Ribbon of Jewels,” 12 parks named for and dedicated to Boise’s finest female civic leaders. The Greenbelt is a collaborative effort between the City of Boise, Ada County, Garden City, and Eagle and stretches from Lucky Peak State Park down Eagle Road (ID 55), with nearly 50 miles of mostly paved pathway on both sides of the river. With convenient river crossings and access to Boise State University, BoDo (Boise Downtown), golf courses, Table Rock, and more, there’s no better way to traverse the city. When the summer heat rolls in, hordes of people flock to the Boise River to take part in one of the area’s most popular traditions—floating. Each year around 125,000 people leisurely float downstream on inner tubes, rafts, kayaks, and giant inflatable unicorns. The six-mile float begins at Barber Park and takes two or three hours, ending just past Friendship Bridge at Ann Morrison Park. While it isn’t a difficult stretch of river to tackle, three diversion drops add a splash to the day! 20
BOISE, IDAHO
Get rolling
It’s only been a few short years since brightly colored scooters began littering the sidewalks of Boise, offering a quick and easy way to navigate through town. SPIN, the orange Fordowned e-scooter company is one of several options in town, and is quite innovative. This year, SPIN plans to debut a fleet of remote-controlled, riderless scooters, a first-of-its-kind pilot program in Boise. The new technology, which has been tested in other cities, involves three-wheeled scooters with cameras that can self-park by remote control and even roll themselves to waiting customers. The repositioning technology is designed to help with blocked sidewalks, an issue with dockless e-scooters. Boise’s City Council recently approved an ordinance change to allow the pilot program to go forth. If seated movability is more to your liking, or if you aim to hit the trails from town, look no further than an e-bike from Evolve Electric Bikes. Conveniently located above Ann Morrison Park, Evolve offers half-day, full-day, and week-long rentals of mountain bikes, city bikes, fat bikes, and cargo bikes to cover any of your cycling needs. Within three minutes of leaving the shop you can be pedaling along the Greenbelt and it’s only a short jaunt to the trail system in the foothills.
When the summer heat rolls in, hordes of people flock to the Boise River to take part in one of the area’s most popular traditions— floating. Scooter across town. / Courtesy of SPIN
