Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area

Bogus Basin is a community-owned ski area 16 miles north of downtown Boise, operated as a nonprofit since 1942 and the closest thing Idaho has to a locals' mountain. It rises to 7,590 feet on the edge of the Boise National Forest and receives around 200 inches of snow in a good year. The lift network covers a useful range of terrain, from gentle beginner runs to double-blacks in the Deer Point area.

In summer, Bogus Basin pivots to mountain biking and hiking. Trails connect to the Boise National Forest network, and the lift operates for bikes on summer weekends. The road up from Boise climbs through ponderosa pine and offers views back over the city that improve with every switchback.

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A story
The name "Bogus Basin" comes from a gold rush-era mining fraud. In the 1860s, a group of miners salted a worthless claim with gold dust and sold it to a group of California investors. When the investors arrived to mine their purchase, they found nothing. The basin where this happened became known as Bogus Basin, and the name stuck when the ski area opened in 1942.

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