One of my absolute favorite parks in the treasure valley. I love that they also have the seasonal…read morecoffee/ice cream cart to get an affogato while the kiddos are playing and running around. I highly recommend!!

Nice sized playground that also has a splash pad! Visited here in the spring before the splash pad…read morewas available. Greenbelt area is beautiful with a ton of green and bathrooms are near the park area. Great place to picnic and enjoy being outside with kiddos

For much of the year, the Optimist Youth Sports Complex functions as the name implies--as a sports…read morecomplex. This makes sense--wide expanses of green grass and great parking make for an ideal spot for recreational teams to play. During the off season, however, it functions as an off leash dog area (June-early September, and again November 1-end of February). Huge fields for your doggie pals to run in make this a favorite spot for locals and their puppy pals. I bring my English Setter, Liesel, here because she needs space that will allow her to all out run and their fields provide just such a place (without ever getting too near any streets or parking areas). There are two ponds on the site. I've actually seen people fishing in one of the ponds. The ponds often have ducks in them, so if your dog is interested in birds at all, you may have a hard time keeping them out of the water (Liesel ends up sneaking in nearly every time). There are also paved pathways for strolling as well as tennis courts and picnic areas (both covered and uncovered). I love any area where I can bring my dogs off-leash and this provides a good one. I will say that though many people do bring their dogs here, it's so large that it provides less of a socialization setting and more of a space to run off some energy, which works out quite well for my girl. Get to it!

This is a really great public space that straddles the line between Boise and Meridian. It is…read moretucked back from all main road traffic and located right next to a school. My oldest, "Hungry" was SO excited that there was a bonus playground. The farther you get from Boise's downtown epicenter, the harder it is to find parks with decent shade. This park proves that wrong. The whole playground is surrounded by large trees which provide much needed shade for the fiery playground equipment on a Boise July afternoon. They have 4 bucket swims and 4 "big kid" swings, plenty of climbing structures, slides and room to run. The shaded grass goes right up to the play structures, which is ideal for the parent who wants to park the "Hurricane" baby on a blanket in the shade and still (loosely) monitor the other kid. This park also backs up the West YMCA, so expect to see day camp kiddos running around doing science-y, athletic-y, hilarious things in the park as well. When I was there, a whole horde of them were playing Harry Potter, complete with robes, twig wands and "Eat SLUGS Malfoy!" They were so entertaining, I didn't even bury my face in my phone.

This is a quiet, hidden place for a nature walk off Maple Grove and McMillan Rd. Lots of ducks,…read morewater views, Mountain View's and well established paths to walk on. They also have some benches and clean accessible bathrooms. No dogs allowed unless they are service dogs.

Boise has more than 90 developed parks. Last week I visited Hyatt Hidden Lakes Reserve. It's a 53…read moreacre park that serves as a sanctuary for birds, bats, and animals. If I had known about the bats, I would've visited sooner. This park has stocked ponds and fishing. I was there for almost 2 hours. All of these photos are taken in sequence with the intention of giving you a sense of what it's like to walk through the park and loop around to the sidewalk that runs down Maple, then re-enter the park and exit. I've included a couple of short videos for your Moment of Zen. Enjoy!

I've been coming to Settlers Park for more than 20 years. When the kids were young, they used to…read morecall it "Pirate Park" and sometimes we still refer it as that. There's quite a lot to do but be mindful of all the activities that may be going on from soccer, flag football, tennis, softball, and baseball. My son when he was little even fished here with Mrs. Idaho one year. I have the picture and if I can find it, I'll upload it. Many many memories and sometimes lately it's just a nice getaway from all the emails, Teams calls, and crazy noise of the world.

Love this park wish there was a basketball court instead of an extra soccer field and more…read morepickleball courts instead of tennis courts. But we love this park . The little duck pond is so cute too.

Indigo and I were lucky enough to discover this park when friends invited us to a play date…read more This immaculate gem of a park is nestled in a subdivision and has walking paths, a volleyball net, basketball court, playground, plenty of grass, and a duck pond. There are bathrooms, water fountains, a small parking lot and picnic tables. I almost wish I lived in the subdivision just to have convenient and quick access! The best part about this park is the ducks who live there. There are many, they are not shy, and if you walk up with snacks in hand, prepare to be surrounded! Please be advised if you have small kiddos, there is a duck pond and an irrigation canal/stream that runs along the back of the park. Indigo gives DeMeyer Park 50 stars for those creatures that go quack!

A great neighborhood park, with a big play area for kids. Large shelter with many picnic tables, as…read morewell as many benches covered by the shade of large trees. It was pretty clean, and the grounds crew does a nice job keeping up with the park. The play structure is larger than most parks, and it has something for both smaller and larger kids. My only issue was the temperate of the playground gets pretty hot, as the shade from the trees don't really cover the playground much.

This park is one of my favorites and one of lil mans favorites too! Then again, I think most parks…read moreare loved by dogs, haha This one is located kinda far from my house. I used to live about 5 minutes from it. Now that I moved to Northside of Boise, they only time we go here is if...1) its SUPER nice out and traffic doesn't blow! (It usually does lol) or 2) I go to any of the stores on Milwaukee....Natural Grocers, the malls, etc. Frankie boy goes everywhere with me...so yeah, if we are in the area, we will stop here. Just a super pleasant park. Always clean af, great views of the foothills, happy people and even happier doggies!....which makes it even better :) Big open fields for soccer and whatnot. We see soccer tournaments there a lot. So with them, it gets crowded as hell...otherwise, it's a park you should check out.. Oh, the "walking path" is basically a dirt running track...so it's an ideal spot for joggers :) Cheers!