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Idaho with Kids
If you’re thinking about a ski trip to Idaho with kids, Sun Valley is the answer. We’d skied Park City, Whistler, and even Japan before we finally got there, and it lived up to the reputation of the resort that started destination skiing in America. Two mountains, a beginner hill built for kids, and a town you can walk with lots of Western charm. What’s not to love?
Idaho is more than skiing. Craters of the Moon National Monument, the Sawtooths, and Boise’s river are all on our list for a summer trip. The was part of a larger trip to Yellowstone and Jackson, WY, and while winter is fun, summer would be great also.
Destination guide · Updated November 2026 · Last visited December 2021
Best months
June–Sept, plus ski season
National parks
0 + 5 NPS sites
Fly into
BOI · SUN · IDA · GEG
How long
5 days, a week for a ski trip
Book ahead
Sun Valley holidays · Redfish Lake Lodge · Middle Fork permits
Our Idaho trip was a winter week at Sun Valley. The kids started on Dollar Mountain, a separate beginner hill with its own lifts and ski school. Once they were comfortable, Carrick took them over to Bald Mountain for the long groomed runs. Carrie took a day to shop in Ketchum and hit the spa. That split worked well for everyone.
Although we’ve only been once, we’d love to get back in the warmer months and see what Idaho has to offer.
Your Idaho guide
Enjoy exploring Idaho with kids!
Keep scrolling for the essentials, three road trips, and where to stay.
Essential Idaho
Why we love Idaho
We think you’ll love it too.
Idaho is where we’d send a family that wants a ski trip without the Colorado crowds. Sun Valley has the charm of an old-school ski town and short lift lines. Dollar Mountain is a whole beginner mountain of its own, which makes it a great place for kids to find their ski legs. Scroll down for Idaho’s essentials, from Sun Valley to Craters of the Moon.
Sun Valley Guide
Sun Valley is the original American ski resort and one of the best mountains we’ve skied with kids. One lift ticket covers both mountains.
Dollar Mountain Guide
Dollar Mountain is the beginner hill where the kids started, with its own lifts, ski school, and terrain park. It gets busier as the day goes on, so start early.
Bald Mountain Guide
Carrick took the kids up Bald Mountain once they could link their turns. The groomed runs are long, and there are almost no lift lines on weekdays.
And the rest we’d cross the state for
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
Craters of the Moon has lava caves you can walk into and a loop road that fits in half a day. It’s ninety minutes from Sun Valley and on our list. Are you looking for more national park sites? See our guide to Idaho national parks.
Stanley & the Sawtooths
Redfish Lake has a beach, boat rentals, and the jagged Sawtooth skyline. The lodge books a year ahead, so plan early.
Boise
Boise is the easiest big city in the Mountain West with kids. Float the river, bike the Greenbelt, and tour the Old Idaho Penitentiary.
Shoshone Falls
Shoshone Falls is higher than Niagara and right on the edge of Twin Falls. It’s best in spring when the snowmelt is running.
City of Rocks
Granite spires rise along the Utah line where California Trail wagons once rolled through. Kids can scramble on the easy rocks for hours.
Coeur d’Alene
Coeur d’Alene is a lake town in the north with a resort and a boardwalk. Silverwood theme park is thirty minutes up the road.
Island Park & the Yellowstone back door
Island Park has Henrys Lake and Mesa Falls, and the west entrance to Yellowstone, the first national park, is about forty minutes away. It’s cheaper than staying in West Yellowstone.
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Find your next adventure in Idaho
Tell us what you’re planning and we’ll match it up with some great trip ideas.
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Winter in Idaho: Skiing Sun Valley With Kids
Growing up in Oklahoma, we didn’t have the luxury of mountains nearby. A day’s drive to Colorado or New Mexico…
Routes
Three Idaho road trip itineraries
One state gives you three very different trips. Pick a Sun Valley ski week, Boise and the Sawtooth loop, or the eastern parks on the way to Yellowstone. See all the best stops on a map.
Home base
Sun Valley
Fly into SUN or drive from Boise. Our Sun Valley guide covers lift tickets, rentals, where we stayed, and the ski school on Dollar.
Then head to
Bald Mountain
Once the kids can link turns, take the gondola up Baldy. Long groomed runs and almost no lift lines on weekdays.
Add on
Ketchum
Dinner in town, the ice rink at the lodge, and a day off the slopes for whoever needs one.
Home base
Boise
Fly into BOI. Float the river from Barber Park, ride the Greenbelt, and visit the penitentiary and the Discovery Center.
Then head to
Stanley
It’s three hours northeast. Go to Redfish Lake for the beach and the boat shuttle across the lake.
Finish
Sun Valley & Craters of the Moon
Head an hour south to Ketchum for summer ice shows and bike paths. Then drive ninety minutes east to Craters of the Moon, where kids can explore the lava tubes, before looping back to Boise.
Start
Idaho Falls
Fly into IDA. Stroll the river walk downtown, then visit the Museum of Idaho on a rainy afternoon.
Then head to
Island Park & Mesa Falls
It’s ninety minutes north. Upper Mesa Falls has a boardwalk to the edge. Henrys Lake is the swimming and fishing stop.
Finish
West Yellowstone
It’s forty minutes on. Cross into Yellowstone for the geyser basins, and sleep back in Island Park to save money.
When to go
Time your visits with the weather and the region
We’ve only seen Idaho in winter, and Sun Valley’s season runs Thanksgiving to April. Summer is short and glorious. The mountain passes open in June, the rivers peak in May and June, and wildfire smoke can settle in during August.
Swipe the chart sideways to see the full year.
June – September
Redfish Lake is open, the Sawtooth passes are clear, and Boise’s river is floatable from late June. August can be smoky, so check air quality before a hiking trip.
October – November
Larches turn gold in the north and the crowds vanish. Many mountain lodges close after Labor Day, so confirm before you drive.
December – March
This is ski season, and it’s the only Idaho we know so far. Sun Valley is quieter than the Colorado resorts and every bit as good. Holiday weeks book a year ahead.
April – May
It’s mud season in the mountains and the best time for Shoshone Falls and the Snake River canyon. Boise is green and pleasant.
Where to stay
Pick a good base to start your Idaho adventure
Idaho is easier when you pick one region. Here’s where we’ve stayed and where we’d stay next.
Ski trips
Sun Valley & Ketchum
The Sun Valley Lodge and Inn are the classic pick and closest to Dollar Mountain. Ketchum has condos and a couple of points hotels a short shuttle from the lifts. Free resort shuttles mean no car once you arrive.
- Where we stayed at Sun Valley
- Ketchum condos for a kitchen
- Book holiday weeks a year out
Mountain trips
Stanley & Redfish Lake
Redfish Lake Lodge cabins are the hardest reservation in the state. Stanley has motels and a few cabins, and the Forest Service campgrounds fill on summer weekends.
- Redfish Lake Lodge if you can get it
- Stanley motels for a night or two
- Book campgrounds on recreation.gov six months out
City trips
Boise
Downtown Boise is compact and full of chain hotels, so points work well. Stay near the river and you can walk to most of it.
- Downtown near the Basque Block
- The Grove Hotel for a pool and a central location
- Boise as a base for Bruneau Dunes and Hagerman day trips
Good to know
Questions families ask us about Idaho
It’s one of the best places we’ve found. Dollar Mountain is a separate beginner hill with its own lifts, ski school, and terrain park, so new skiers aren’t sharing runs with experts. It does get busy as the day goes on, so get the kids on the hill early. Once they’re comfortable, Bald Mountain has long groomed runs that feel like a reward. We wrote up our whole week there, including lift tickets and rentals.
Fly into SUN for Sun Valley, though it’s small, weather-prone, and pricey. Boise (BOI) is two and a half hours away and often the better deal. Use IDA for eastern Idaho and Yellowstone. Spokane (GEG) is the airport for Coeur d’Alene.
You don’t need one for a Sun Valley ski week. The free shuttles cover the mountains and town. For everything else in Idaho, you do, and get all-wheel drive in winter.
Fewer people, shorter lift lines, and a town that feels like a town instead of a resort village. We’ve skied Winter Park, Purgatory, Park City, and Whistler. Sun Valley held its own with all of them. The trade-off is that it’s harder to get to.
Craters of the Moon is ninety minutes east and the Sawtooths are an hour north over Galena Summit. We haven’t done either yet, but they’re the reason we’d go back in summer.
Map
Essential Idaho, mapped
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Where to go next
