After visiting Salt Lake City and Butte, Montana as part of my ‘American Ancestral Adventure’, my final stop on the big trip was Boise, Idaho. You see, two of my grandad’s cousins had been bank robbers in the area, and his other cousin has sadly taken her life in nearby Twin Falls, so I was desperate to find out more about them…and well, I found out much more than I expected!
As well as doing all of my family history bits and bobs, I also had time to explore Boise a bit, so I’ll tell you my favourite things to do in the city, as I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised with it!
Where to Stay in Boise
Book a room at Inn at 500 Capitol Boise, which is a short walk from the centre of Boise. It’s a beautiful boutique hotel with views over the city and mountains behind, and they provide complimentary drinks and snacks!
It’s also dog-friendly if you’re travelling with a furry friend. I stayed in the Celebration Suite and was blown away by how incredible it was, but even the normal rooms look lovely.
Read my full review of Inn at 500 Capitol Boise!
Day 1 in Boise Idaho
09:00 – Breakfast at Bacon!
Yes, the restaurant is actually called ‘Bacon!’, and yes, they specialize in bacon (they offer five different types of bacon, and dishes include Bacon Cinnamon Rolls and Bacon Bloody Mary’s).
I chose the Brioche Frenchy (with fresh berries, maple syrup, powdered sugar, crème) and added a side of Mary Rosemary bacon to it as I love sweet&savory together, and it was probably the best bacon I’ve had. It was just like nothing I’ve ever tasted before. All of their bacon is local Berryhill Bacon, which has apparently been a Boisefavorite for over 30 years.
10:00 Freak Alley Gallery
You can’t leave Boise without experiencing the local art! Visit Freak Alley Gallery, an open-air street art gallery that rivals Melbourne’s Hosier Lane. Started in 2002, the open-air, multi-artist mural gallery is free to visit and located between 8th and 9th street and Bannock and Idaho in Downtown Boise.
10:30 – Tour the Idaho State Capitol
Take a free 1.5 hour tour of the Idaho State Capitol! You can choose to either go on a guided walk-in tour, or you can book a guided tour in advance if there are at least 5 people attendees in the group.
Guided tours, on a walk-in basis, are available Mondays and Fridays at 10:30 am from 17th June 17 through 13th September, 2024. Tours last until approximately noon and meet on the Garden Level of the Capitol building.
Alternatively, you can pre-book a tour at least two weeks in advance. These ones begin at 10am and run Mon-Fri, so just factor this in to your schedule if you chose this option!
If you’d rather not attend a guided tour, you can choose to do a self-guided tour. The self-guided tour booklets can be found on the Garden Level at the Visitor’s Information Desk or in the Capitol Gift Shop!
Alternative: Idaho Botanical Garden
If you don’t fancy a tour of the Idaho State Capitol, get an Uber up to the Idaho Botanical Garden, which is opposite your next stop (the Old Idaho State Penitentiary).
The Idaho Botanical Garden was established in 1984 on a 32-acre site of old prison grounds leased from the Idaho State Historical Society and the State of Idaho.
The Garden founders and board built an irrigation system and nature trails and planted two acres, including the Meditation, Rose, and Herb Gardens. Since then, the Garden has gradually expanded to become the awe-inspiring destination it is today.
12:00 – Old Idaho State Penitentiary
After visiting the Idaho State Captiol, get an Uber up to the Old Idaho State Penitentiary, where tours are operated each day from 12noon.
Known for being the location of strange paranormal activity, two of my grandfather’s cousins were in this penitentiary in the 1920s and 30s, and seeing the conditions the men were incarcarated in was certainly an eye-opener.
It’s a really fascinating place to visit and well-worth the stop. There are a variety of cell-blocks to visit, as well as the old shirt factory, the women’s prison house, ‘Siberia’ (solitary confinement). Each stopping point has information boards to look at and read as well – there’s sooo much information here to learn!
14:00 – Late Lunch at The Wylder
I popped along to The Wylder for lunch after visiting the Old Idaho State Pen, and I really recommend coming here! With its stylish, contemporary eatery offering slow batch pizza, veggies & salads, the food was just delicious (and looked beautiful too).
I had the most incredible salad, with the cookie and ice-cream for dessert.
15:30 – Idaho State Museum
In the afternoon you can visit the Idaho State Museum. It closes at 5pm so you won’t have a huge amount of time there, but it isn’t overly large and an hour or so is the perfect amount of time.
The Idaho State Museum features over 80,000 square feet of exhibit space with over 500 artifacts combined with immersive, innovative technology to tell the story of Idaho. The Museum’s two rotating galleries, Syringa and Treasures, provide spaces to expand on themes within the exhibits by highlighting additional artifacts from the collection and sourcing national exhibits for display.
19:00 – Dinner at Fork
With its farm-to-table American dishes and a fabulous selection of cocktails, I was really impressed with Fork. I had a really amazing meal there and loved the vibe of the restaurant.
Drink at Press & Pony
don’t miss a drink at Press & Pony, where they serve classic craft cocktails at a wood-paneled bar in this buzzy locale with a vintage vibe. I went after dinner at Fork and the cocktails were great!
Day 2 in Boise Idaho
08:00 – Pick up a Hire Car
Head to Avis inside Boise airport and pick up a hire car for your day trip out to Shoshone Falls!
08:30 – iHop Breakfast
Stop off at the iHop on South Federal Way for a quick breakfast on your way out of Boise (because come on, everyone loves an iHop, and it’s right by the highway) to fuel yourself up before the drive.
09:30 – Drive to Shoshone Falls
Shoshone Falls is a beautiful and huge waterfall right by Twin Falls. It’s about a two-hour drive from Boise and well worth the trip – the drive itself through Idaho’s plains is beautiful, but it was much flatter and less mountainous than my drive through Montana just a couple days earlier!
You can also stop off and visit the Evel Knievel Snake River Canyon Jump Site, where Evel Knievel launched himself from over the Snake River.
You can hike around Shoshone Falls, and then drive into Twin Falls for lunch after. I mean look how beautiful it is!?
13:00 – Lunch at Depot Grill, Twin Falls
Depot Grill is a classic old American diner full of men in trucker caps and local families. You’ll get a classic good value diner lunch, and it was honestly such a good experience for this Brit from London.
14:00 Explore Twin Falls
There isn’t too much to do in Twin Falls itself, but it has some interesting buildings. You can park up and have a wander around the central area – the intersection of Shoshone St N and 2nd Ave E is where you’ll find little shops and cafes, and you can walk down towards the City Park and see the beautiful Twin Falls Court House.
If you have some extra time, you can visit the The Herrett Center for Arts and Science, a museum of anthropology, natural history, astronomy, and art.
15:30 – Drive Back to Boise
You can drive back to Boise whenever you feel like it really. It’s a very easy drive and I didn’t come across any traffic at all.
I drove back quite early though as I wanted to stop off in Middleton to visit the old bank my grandad’s cousins robbed in 1926 haha. It’s now a bar so it was really cool having a drink in there!
The Avis in Boise airport is open until 1am, so drop the car back and then Uber it back to the hotel to get freshened up and changed for dinner.
19:30 Dinner at Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar
Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar is another popular spot in Boise. Located on the second floor of Main + Marketplace in downtown Boise, they serve scratch-made & responsibly sourced Southern food for brunch, lunch, and dinner. Their bar also offers an extensive list of hand-crafted cocktails, wines, and local craft beers.
My Ancestral Adventure
I had the most amazing time in Boise because I found out so much about my family! After my tour at the Old Idaho State Pen, they told me to visit the State Archives down the road as they had records on the two brothers.
After waiting 15-minutes or so for them to pull the files out, I was able to sit down and spend hours reading through all the files they had on Walter & Arthur! They even had letters from the FBI and J Edgar Hoover before he started the FBI.
It was incredible.
The most special item though was the letter from their sister, Vivian, whose grave I’d visited the day before. Holding a letter she had written in my hands was a really emotional moment and I’m so grateful to the Old Idaho staff for telling me to visit the archives!
Check out my 8-day Rocky Mountain States itinerary!
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Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of Content Marketing at Amazon by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.
