Access Boise Editorial Team

Boise is walkable in its center and in a handful of adjoining older neighborhoods, and not walkable across most of its metro area. Downtown, the Basque Block, the North End and the East End can be covered comfortably on foot. West Boise, most of the Bench, and the suburbs of Meridian and Eagle were built … Read more

Downtown Boise has so many one-way streets because its grid was platted in the 1860s for wagons and horses, then had to absorb 20th-century car volumes without widening. Converting parallel streets into one-way pairs — one carrying traffic east, the next carrying it west — let the existing narrow blocks move more vehicles without tearing … Read more

There is no year-round public bus to Bogus Basin. In winter, the ski area itself operates a seasonal shuttle from pickup points in Boise, run by Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area — a nonprofit that owns and operates the hill. Outside that shuttle’s schedule, the practical options are a rideshare, a carpool, or — for … Read more

The Connector is the local name for Interstate 184, a short spur highway that links Interstate 84 to downtown Boise. It runs a little over two miles, has no continuation on the far side of downtown, and simply ends by feeding traffic onto the surface street grid rather than passing through it as a freeway. … Read more

Boise Airport (code BOI) is the city’s commercial airport, owned and operated by the City of Boise’s Department of Aviation and located about three and a half miles south of downtown, off Vista Avenue. Into town, the practical options are rideshare, taxi, rental car, or a Valley Regional Transit bus — there is no rail … Read more

Cycling in Boise is good by American standards and unusually well-integrated into daily life: a paved riverside path connects most of the city end to end, a city-managed foothills trail network handles mountain biking a few minutes from downtown, and the League of American Bicyclists has recognized Boise as a Bicycle Friendly Community. It is … Read more

Yes. The Boise Greenbelt is a paved, mostly car-free path that runs along the Boise River through the center of the city, and a meaningful number of residents use it to get to work, to class or to downtown errands rather than to sightsee. It is not a novelty route — it functions as a … Read more

Downtown Boise parking is a mix of metered on-street spaces, city-owned parking garages, and a handful of private lots, all overseen by the City of Boise’s parking services division. Meters are enforced on weekdays during business hours; garages charge by time or offer monthly passes; enforcement eases on evenings, Sundays and some holidays. Rates and … Read more

Valley Regional Transit (VRT) is the public agency that runs the fixed-route buses, paratransit, and vanpool programs across Ada and Canyon counties — the region generally called the Treasure Valley. It is not a city department of Boise alone; it is a regional authority, and its buses connect Boise to Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, Garden City, … Read more

For a short downtown-and-North End trip, no — Boise’s core is compact enough to walk or cycle, and a paved river path connects several neighborhoods directly. For anything involving the foothills, the airport, or towns like Meridian and Eagle, a car or a planned transit trip becomes necessary, because Boise’s public transit network is real … Read more