By Amy Pence-Brown

        One of the best things about living in the Treasure Valley is our easy access to the natural wonders of outdoor Idaho. In the summer, the mountains are just a short drive away and offer some of the best camping, hiking, and fishing spots in the western U.S. And in the winter, we are lucky to have several winter wonderlands within close driving distance. According to Gretchen Anderson, spokesperson for Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area, 21 percent of Treasure Valley residents say they ski or snowboard, three times the national average of 7 percent. And since January is National Learn a New Snow Sport Month, Bogus Basin is the perfect family-friendly, affordable, and fun place for families to explore a new winter activity.

        Bogus Basin’s website offers great info on all their amenities and programs, so this is a good place to start preparing for your first trip. Children ages four months to five years are welcome at Bogus Basin’s daycare, which is open from 9:30am–4pm seven days a week, a nice alternative if you have kids of varying ages and young ones too tiny to ski. Kids must be potty-trained and at least three years old to be enrolled in Bogus’ ski school classes; call or check their website for times and availability to plan accordingly and enroll them in advance. There is an enormous variety of programs, some including daycare, and some beginner programs for older children and adults include rental equipment and a season pass at the course’s completion.

        Children must be at least 36 inches tall to ride on the very popular Pepsi GoldRush Tubing Hill and reservations are required in advance. Additionally, you’ll want to plan your arrival and departure times in advance.

        Jen Zrno, mom to Taylor, 9, and Aaron, 5, suggests keeping it to a half-day with little ones. “They get more tired and easily frustrated when they are just learning,” she says. “Also, the elements can be really hard on them. They can get cold very easily.”

        Getting advice from your friends with older kids about their first family experiences with winter sports is invaluable. They might also be willing to loan you some small-sized equipment to borrow for the day, or give you advice on where to rent, as buying can be quite expensive and kids outgrow their gear quickly. Because they ski so often, Boise mom Brooke Seidl leases ski equipment at the beginning of each season for her daughter Olivia, age ten. “At the end of the season I usually buy-out Olivia’s gear for her little sister, Ellie, who’s nine, to use the next year,” says Seidl.

        You’ll need to decide what type of gear you’ll need depending on what you plan to do—ski, snowboard, Nordic, snowshoe, or tube—they are all available to families at Bogus Basin. There are numerous businesses in the Treasure Valley that rent all the snow sports gear you’ll need for the day or the season, both new and used, and some allow you to buy out at the end of a season and return the following fall to be fitted with bigger gear. You can rent everything you need up at Bogus Basin as well.

        Both of Seidl’s girls started skiing when they were four years old, about the time when their musculature was ready for the sport and they were emotionally and mentally mature enough. “At the beginning, I considered it a success if they could even put their boots on and stand in the snow,” Seidl shares. Trying on the equipment beforehand is a helpful hint. If possible, have your little ones wear their boots or snowshoes around the backyard and even try out skis or snowboards on tiny hills in city parks before hitting the mountain.

        Make sure you have waterproof ski pants, mittens, and coats, and dressing in warm layers that allow your wee ones to move easily is also a must.

        Getting up the mountain is easy, as Bogus Basin is straight up the nicely paved Bogus Basin Road leading out of Boise’s North End. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to make the drive up the mountain and it’s quite curvy, so if you have any carsickness in your family, be sure to bring a bag (in case they get sick) and hard candies to suck on. There is a rest stop (no bathrooms) about halfway up the hill on the right-hand side of the road, should you need to make an emergency pit stop.

        Be sure to call the Bogus Snow Phone or check the website before heading up to see how full the parking lots are (there’s also a large electronic billboard with the same info on Bogus Basin Road just as you leave Boise). Print out a map of the numerous parking lots at Bogus Basin and bring it with you; this will be helpful once you arrive. Bogus Basin also offers a valley-wide bus on weekends and holidays. For $13 roundtrip, the bus picks up and drops off at various locations around the Treasure Valley.

        Once you arrive, there are nine different parking lots at Bogus Basin, so use your map and don’t despair if some of the first lots you come upon are full. “There are four ski in/ski out lots, which are fabulous for parents with older kids and equipment,” explains Anderson. “You can have your car be the base where you all meet back at certain times to check in or tailgate for lunch.” There are also lots that offer shuttles every twenty minutes and both lodges, the J.R. Simplot Lodge and Pioneer Lodge, offer small lockers for keeping personal items safe if you chose not to leave them in your car.

        The lodges also have restaurants, so you can buy lunch, dinner, or snacks once there. Families are also welcome to bring their own food. “We always try to pack our lunches and take them with us, but it’s fun to treat the kids to hot cocoa and a snack in the lodge,” says Zrno.

        “We pride ourselves at Bogus Basin on being a family mountain getaway,” shares Anderson. “We especially love making snow sports fun for kids and helping them get comfortable outdoors in the winter.”

Amy Pence-Brown and her two daughters, Lucy, age 7, and Alice, age 3, are so excited to try out Bogus Basin’s tubing and bunny hills for the first time this winter. And, of course, to warm up with hot cocoa at Pioneer Lodge.

Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area
2600 Bogus Basin Rd., Boise
332-5100
www.bogusbasin.org or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Bus Information
Caldwell Transportation Company
459-6612
www.ctcbus.com