As a child, Boise was an excellent place to have fun. There are so many parks, programs, activities, things to do, and the games of your youth, like hide and seek and tag, have not lost their luster yet. However, as a teenager the things to do in Boise become much more limited. Other than a few music festivals a couple times a year, downtown can be a hard place for teens to navigate and find things to do. While places like Rhodes and JUMP have some options, they are not for everyone, and the vast majority of kids are reduced to a limited amount of activities. 

My friend group is very bad about this because it’s hard for us to all get together and do an activity that we’ve done a million times before, or one that costs money. On most days we usually just lie around at my friend Aidan’s house, play video games or do nothing. We all want to do something, but nothing to us seems more engaging than just enjoying each other’s presence and making stupid jokes.

The stimulation that teenagers need is not available in Boise and the repetition of, “what do you wanna do” being said over and over again amongst my friends is something that burns me to my very core. Boise can be mind-numbingly boring and seems inescapable. The only solution I can offer is to drive around, but even that comes with cons. High gas prices, bad drivers, and only a beige landscape to follow you around. 

The stuff to do in Boise is so expensive. If you want to do eight laps around a go-kart track, it’s fifty dollars per person. If you want to go skiing and not everyone has a pass, that will cost you a minimum of sixty dollars. You can definitely do these things once in a couple months but after that, the money runs out quickly. Everyone in my friend group owes someone money, and there’s not even money to spend. 

But what really killed the things to do is Covid and the cold weather. No one wants to go outside when it’s 30-40 degrees and overcast for weeks at a time. The weather is doom and gloom and the activities are few and far between, making wintertime an especially drab and dreary time. I have seasonal depression disorder, so winter’s end up being extremely rough for me. 

Ultimately, Boise is a great city if you are in your 20’s and 30’s or if you are a young child, other than that, there are not many activities for you to do. As Boise grows, new things will come and hangout plans will come easier, but until then, and that’s a long then, teens will be relegated into their solitary, difficult cycles.