Treasured Valley

While I’d prefer to hibernate all winter indoors, wearing my favorite gray sweats curled up next to our 1970s wood burning stove with my book and my cat Zooey, my kids will have none of it.  They’ve got cabin fever after an afternoon putting together puzzles and playing with their Barbies and have got to get out of the house.  Luckily, my husband was born and raised a snow bunny, so he’s all for experiencing the joys of winter, read: SNOW.  And since Boise doesn’t get nearly enough of the white stuff, we try to celebrate it during its short stay.

Since we have tiny girls and are also on a tiny budget, skiing is out of the question for us at this point in our lives.  We do, however, have several cheap plastic sleds we’ve picked up at thrift shops over the years – a toboggan one, a disc one, and one that buckles our baby into it.  Luckily, January has afforded us several opportunities to check out some local favorites.  One afternoon, after a snowstorm of a morning, we visited the hills at Camel’s Back Park near Boise’s Hyde Park District.  There were lots of kids and plenty of short and not-so-steep areas to sled.  This is ideal for families with younguns, as Lucy, my 5-year-old, was able to “hike up the hill” herself and tote her own sled.  She could also glide right down, having more fun than fear in her little heart.  Just to be safe, though, someone has kindly tied haybales to the trees at the end of the sledding hills.

Our other favorite spot has become the self-made sledding hill just beyond Lucky Peak State Park on Highway 21.  I don’t know if it has a name, but it’s on your left just off the highway before you hit Hilltop Café/Donn’s Kodiak Grill (which, by the way, is an incredible pit stop for some delicious comfort food while you’re up there).  This is an enormous, steep sledding hill of Olympic proportions, but luckily there are some safer, smaller offshoots that are more kid-friendly.  It’s a well-loved spot with the locals, so the hill can be a bit icy and busy on the weekends.  The short and scenic drive takes around twenty minutes, but you feel like you’re far from the city.  There are no bathrooms up there, though, so make sure everyone’s pottied before you leave the house.  And don’t forget the thermos full of hot cocoa.  Or the mini marshmallows.

Amy Pence-Brown hasn’t decided if she wants to see any more snow this season…