Adventures at Central Idaho Resorts

When most people think about skiing in Idaho, their thoughts usually settle on one big, upscale resort in the central part of the state.
But Idaho skiing is much more than Sun Valley, and there are three resorts within a two-hour drive of Boise — Bogus Basin, Brundage Mountain and Tamarack — that are low key, low cost (lift tickets range from $59 to $69) and thoroughly enjoyable. They range in size from modest (Tamarack has 1,000 skiable acres) to robust (2,600 acres at Bogus) with respectable vertical drops (1,800 at Bogus, 1,921 at Brundage and a whopping 2,800 at Tamarack).
And all are decent powder hills, with annual average snowfalls in the 250- to 350-inch range.
The following is a quick primer for skiing and riding at these three resorts.
Best tree runs:
The Triangle and Lucky Friday at Bogus; the woods between the North and Northwest Passage runs at Brundage, and the woods off Tamarack run at Tamarack.
Best glades:
Any spot skier’s left off the Wildcat traverse at Bogus; Meadow Bowl and Dixie at Brundage, and Mystery Glades at Tamarack.
Best groomers:
Upper Nugget and Paradise at Bogus; 45th Parallel and Engen at Brundage, and Bliss and Showtime at Tamarack.
Best apres:
The on-mountain Pioneer Lodge and Highland Hollow brew pub at the base of the access road at Bogus; Smokey’s at the Brundage day lodge and the McCall Brewing Company in nearby McCall, and Seven Devils at the Tamarack base.
Best eats:
For Bogus, your best bet is the restaurant row on 8th Street between Main and West State streets in Boise where you’ll find a wide variety of cuisines, and for both Brundage and Tamarack, it’s Rupert’s at the Hotel McCall in McCall.