Best Parks in Boise and the Treasure Valley

Boise

Boise has the longest list, so pick by what the kids want. For climbing, Camel's Back Park has a climbing wall and a playground with swings, slides and spring riders on about 11 acres, and the Camelsback Trails connect to it. A grill and picnic tables make lunch easy, and a bike repair station waits for riders coming off the trails.

When it's hot out, Ivywild Park pairs a swimming pool with a skate park on about 17 acres, plus a tennis court and a playground. Borah Park has a pool too, along with the Borah Community Garden and a water feature on about 12 acres. Kids on bikes can pick between the bike park at Charles F. McDevitt Youth Sports Complex, which adds a skate park and fishing on about 39 acres, and the one at Willow Lane Athletic Complex, where BMX riding shares the park with ball fields and access to the Boise River Greenbelt.

The big riverside parks are worth a day of their own. Ann Morrison Memorial Park covers nearly 145 acres with disc golf, bocce, cricket and a playground, and Julia Davis Park holds a rose garden and an amphitheater on about 94 acres. For a slower walk, Kathryn Albertson Park is about 40 acres of walking trail and creek, good for birding, and Platt Gardens has a winding path past its ponds.

Meridian

Meridian's biggest parks run about 60 acres each. Discovery Park has its own bike park, plus a skate park, a splash pad, a dog park and tennis and pickleball courts. Julius M. Kleiner Park is set up for a long afternoon, with an amphitheater, bocce, a splash pad and concessions, and the South Slough runs by.

Close behind at about 58 acres, Settlers Park adds horseshoes and cornhole to a splash pad, a ball field and tennis and pickleball courts. Skaters can head to Tully Park, where the Meridian Greenbelt and the H. R. Bud Porter Pathway run past the skate park. Fuller Park sits on Ten Mile Creek, with walking and bike paths across about 22 acres.

Eagle, Garden City and Star

Eagle's big draw for older kids is the BMX track at the Eagle Sports Complex, which shares about 58 acres with a skate park, street hockey and the Snoop Loop. With little ones, try Reid Merrill Park instead, where a pond sits alongside the splash pad, the playground and courts for volleyball and basketball. Arboretum Park on East State Street suits an easy stroll, with paths, benches and picnic tables on just over an acre.

In Garden City, Riverfront Park has a playground, a pavilion and a shade structure on about 2 acres, and Lady Bird Park covers nearly 18 acres with a walking trail along the Thurman Mill Canal. Out in Star, little kids head to Pavilion Park for its splash pad and playground, and Hunters Creek Sports Complex adds a skate park and a walking path along the Middleton Canal.

Kuna

Nicholson Park is the one to know in Kuna, because it covers the whole year: summer brings the beach and fishing along Indian Creek, winter brings the sledding hill, and the playground and a pavilion with picnic tables work in any season. Greenbelt Park follows the same creek for about 19 acres, with a skate park, a ball field and the Indian Creek Pathway for a walk or a ride. For a cookout, Col. Bernie Fisher Park on West Main Street has a pavilion with a grill, horseshoes and a playground.

Nampa

Nampa's all-rounder is Lakeview Park, about 42 acres with a rose garden, a community garden and a pond, plus an amphitheater, a playground and a pavilion with a grill. Mason Creek runs by, and there are walking and bike trails. West Park has its own pond and community garden on about 36 acres, with a disc golf course and a ball field with bleachers.

For a swim, Lions Park has a swimming pool along with tennis, basketball and volleyball courts on about 21 acres. Disc golfers can also try Lake Lowell Park, a Canyon County park with a story trail, picnic tables and grills. Skaters have Stampede Park, where the skate park shares about 11 acres with a ball field and a playground.

Caldwell

In Caldwell, Rotary Pond Park is the summer pick, with fishing docks and a sandy beach on its pond, plus an archery range and a paved path across about 38 acres. The Caldwell Greenbelt passes by too. Memorial Park has an amphitheater and a skate park on about 21 acres, with a ball field, a tennis court and a playground. BMX riders should try Pipe Dream Park, where a skate park shares about 20 acres with a playground and a shade structure.

Middleton, Parma and Melba

In Middleton, the splash pad and skate park at Piccadilly Park can keep a mixed-age group busy, with Willow Creek running alongside. Middleton Place Park has tennis, basketball and volleyball courts plus a grill and a playground by the Mill Slough. Parma's Old Fort Boise Park has RV and tent camping on about 8 acres, and day visitors get a playground with swings and slides, horseshoe pits and a pavilion. Melba has Celebration Park, a Canyon County park with a walking trail across about 68 acres.