Boise Is Full of Surprises (Hidden hometown trivia)
Think you really know Boise? It’s a city with blue turf bold enough to confuse migrating ducks, Basque Block pintxos you have to try to understand, and foothills trails that double as a dirt runway for ultra-runners. Let’s dig into the facts, stats, and just the right amount of tater swagger that explain what gives Boise its City of Trees mystique.
Chandi, Our Local Expert Guiding Your Move
Chandi is Idaho born, raised, and still deeply obsessed with the Gem State, even though she now splits her time between here and South Carolina. With a mind-boggling 30 moves under her belt, she's amassed a library's worth of moving tips and tricks. She believes Idaho rewards curiosity, from small town events to overlooked trailheads and restaurants that haven't yet been popularized. She loves dinner at XVIII in Idaho Falls, welding junk into sculptures, and getting a little too excited about spiders, beetles, and other types of arthropods. At Snappy Scout, she brings sharp local instincts and hard earned insight from three decades of Idaho living.
Read moreWritten with local insight from Snappy Scout relocation experts
What Makes Boise Boise?
The weird, useful, and surprisingly relevant facts that shape everyday life here.
Common nicknames for Boise
City of Trees, B Town, The 208, Spud City.
Local reality check
Everyone thinks potato farms, but downtown has Basque Block, tech startups, and endless trails.
You're most likely moving from
California, Seattle, or Portland.
Strangely large concentration of
Basque Americans and a downtown fronton.
Music scene
Treefort Music Fest takes over downtown every spring, and Boise Music Festival at Expo Idaho every summer.
You'll have to see it to believe it
The giant glowing Idaho Potato Drop on New Year's Eve downtown.
Unique geography
Sagebrush foothills meet a cottonwood river corridor in high desert.
Boise is home to
Boise State's infamous blue turf at Albertsons Stadium.
Well known for its
25 mile Boise River Greenbelt.
Fun history fact
Idaho State Capitol has used geothermal heat since 1988.
Celebrity sightings
Aaron Paul, Kellen Moore, and Olympic champ Kristin Armstrong.
Noteworthy Census stat
2020 Census counted 235,684 Boise City residents.
Most interesting sub-culture within Boise
Disc golf diehards at Ann Morrison Park.
Population
1st largest city in ID, top 100 largest nationwide.
Boise is roughly the same geographic size as
Riverside, California.
A Local Event Worth Experiencing Once
To truly capture the flavor of Boise, you must see the fabulous ever-changing art in Freak Alley. Every summer, get tickets to the Boise Music Festival. It's multi-genre and multi-stage. This is a fantastic way to find some new music and soak up the energy of the city.
— Chandi Lyn
Idaho Local Expert
Ready to See If Boise Fits You?
Compare cities, check the routes, or head back to the full Boise guide for the bigger picture.