Top 40 Southern Idaho Summer Date Ideas

Whether you're going on a date with your significant other or just trying to find something fun to do with friends, here is a list of our top 40 Southern Idaho summer date ideas.

1. Follow the Buhl Antique Trail. - Pick something special you like to collect and search these amazing antique stores: Granny's Drawers, Treasure Hunt Antiques and Collectables, Rivers Edge Antiques and Collectibles, Buhl Winkles, The Nehemian, Fikstad Jewelers.

2. Eat a "small" ice cream cone at Shoshone Snack Bar. - The Shoshone Snack Bar, located on South Greenwood has ice cream cones that are piled a mile high. Order a large cone...I dare you.

3. Watch a free movie in the park - Popcorn, snacks, lawn chairs and a free movie on a big screen in your local park, sounds like a great night! The College of Southern Idaho offers free movies at the tower every other Friday night. Most city parks in our area offer a free movie in the summer, call your local Chamber of Commerce to get information or to get it started in your town!

Movie Night at CSI Tower

4. Play a round of Disc Golf  - Southern Idaho is full of great disc golf courses that can be played by those who are serious about their par or who just want to get some exercise. Among the many great courses a few of our favorites are the College of Southern Idaho course, O'Leary Junior High in Twin and Lake Walcott State Park course in Rupert.

5. Take a tour of the Stricker Ranch in Hansen - The Friends of Stricker is a diverse group of volunteers dedicated to local history concerning the Oregon Trail. Built in 1865, the Rock Creek Station & Stricker Ranch was the first stage post on the Oregon Trail west of Fort Hall. Learn a little about our Southern Idaho history!

6. Walk the Snake River Canyon Trail - What better way to watch the sun set than over our beautiful Snake River. Get out and get a little exercise while enjoying a view unique to southern Idaho.

Sunset over Centennial Park in Twin Falls

7. Hike to Vineyard Lake - Vineyard Lake near Twin Falls is one of Southern Idaho's hidden gems. It's a bit of an adventure to find but it's well worth the effort. Remember to pack out what you pack in!

8. Tour Ritter Island at Thousand Springs State Park  - Purchased in 1918, Ritter Island was a state-of-the-art dairy and visitors to the island can now tour the milking parlor and dairy facility. Don't forget to use your Idaho State Parks Passport!

9. Kayaking the Snake River - The Snake River in southern Idaho boasts a ton of great kayaking and canoeing areas that are easily accessible and most with boat rentals on site. A few of our favorite set in points are from Centennial Park and Twin Falls (Idaho Power) Park in Twin and at Thousand Springs State Park in Hagerman.

Kayaking the Snake River in Twin Falls

10. Mountain bike the Auger Falls Bike Trail - For those who are coordinated on a mountain bike Auger Falls is a great place for good to extreme bikers to have some fun and see the beauty that the Snake River Canyon has the offer.

11. Visit Malad Gorge State Park -  If you've ever traveled up I-84 from Southern Idaho chances are you've driven right over the top of the breath-taking Malad Gorge State Park and never even noticed it. Take a pit stop and see the stunning view you've been missing. Don't forget to use your Idaho State Parks Passport!

12. Visit a local farmers market - What could be better than locally grown produce and hand crafted breads? Check out the Idaho Preferred website to find a farmers market near you and support your local small business owners!

Fresh bread at a farmers market

13. Enjoy a free concert in the park - The Twin Falls Municipal Band has a free concert every Thursday night all summer long in the band shell at Twin Falls City Park. The band has been doing the concert series for 109 years! Grab your lawn chair and something cold to drink and enjoy a lovely Idaho summer night.

14. Pick locally grown produce - Many community gardens and greenhouses provide a U-pick option for fresh produce. The College of Southern Idaho has a U-pick garden. Apple Creek Farm in Jerome offers fresh apples, apricots and more. Tubb's Berry Farm in Twin Falls has U-pick berries and pumpkins.

15. Go to the Drive-In movies - Did you know that there are less than 400 running drive-in theaters in America? Two of them are right here in Southern Idaho! Grab some blankets, sit out on the bed of your truck and enjoy!

16. Take a cooking class - Looking for something fun, educational and practical to do? Why not take a cooking class? Rudy's in Down Town Twin Falls offers cooking classes and wine events.

17. Ice Skating in Sun Valley - Ice skating at the Sun Valley Ice Rink can be a super fun and sometimes embarrassing way to spend the evening! The summer indoor rink is a great way to beat the heat.

18. Learn to ride a horse - Across The River Horse Ranch in Bliss is a family-friendly horse ranch where you can learn to ride, groom or just be around horses. They offer guided trail rides, lessons, wagon rides and more.

19. Choose your favorite ice cream at Cloverleaf - Buhl is home to one of the best ice cream shops in the world (my opinion, of course). Cloverleaf Creamery offers hand scooped ice cream and other fresh dairy products like milk, chocolate milk and butter. Which flavor of ice cream is your favorite?

Ice Cream cooler at Cloverleaf Creamery in Buhl

20. Have a picnic at Balanced Rock - Balanced Rock State Park is the home of the world-famous balancing rock. It is over 48 feet tall and 40 feet wide. This wind carved beauty sits above a beautiful, well kept park nearly 200 feet below. Grab your lunch box and have a picnic below one of Idaho's famous landmarks!

21. Spend the afternoon watching B.A.S.E. jumpers - The Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls is one of the few places in the U.S. where B.A.S.E. (buildings antennas, spans and Earth objects) jumpers can jump without a permit. The 486 foot drop to the Snake River below has attracted many adrenaline junkies like Idaho's famous Miles Daisher.

B.A.S.E. jumper water landing

22. Hike the trail around Dierkes Lakes - A great summer activity is hiking and climbing around Dierkes Lake in Twin Falls. The park has plenty of great spots to practice rock climbing, take a leisurely walk, swim, fish or just sun bathe.

23. Float the Snake River in Burley - Ready for a lazy summer afternoon? Grab some sun block, bottled water and an inner tube and head on over to the Snake River in Burley. Set your tube in the river at the Burley Golf Course Docks and float on down to Tom's Marina. The smooth sailing float takes about 40 minutes.

24. Enjoy a discount movie theater - Looking for an inexpensive way to beat the heat? Find out what's playing at your local discount movie theater. You can watch movies for as low as $2.00 at places like The Orpheum in Twin, the Burley Theatre in Burley and the Shoshone Showhouse in Shoshone.

25. Create custom pottery - Get a little creative - Check out Hands On in Down Town Twin Falls. Pick the pottery piece you want and paint away! The crew at Hands On will do the rest of the work and you get to pick up your fired, ready to use pottery in as little as a week. Check their Facebook page for specials and event nights. Look out what we made!

Adorable plate painted at Hands On in Twin Falls

26. Take a tour at a local winery - Southern Idaho is home to some very successful wineries. Call ahead and make an appointment to take a tour of their facility and do a wine tasting. The best of the best: Snyders Winery and Holesinsky’s Vineyard and Winery in Buhl, Thousand Springs Winery in Hagerman.

27. Take a "stay-cation" at a bed and breakfast - Who says vacation has to happen far from home? One of our best memories is from an adorable bed and breakfast, the Blue Lakes Inn in Twin, less than a mile from our house. Sometimes a break from the normal routine is just what you need.

Beautiful room at the Blue Lakes Inn in Twin Falls

28. Hit a bucket of golf balls - No matter your skill level, hitting a bucket of golf balls can be fun. Whether you have a whole set of expensive clubs or you just bought one from a thrift store it doesn't matter. You can get a large bucket of balls at Pebble Pond in Filer for just $9.00. Make a little wager to add some excitement!

29. Take the Hagerman Valley Scenic Dinner Cruise - The Hagerman Valley Dinner Cruise is a 2 hour scenic tour of the Thousand Springs area that covers 12 miles and includes a dinner catered by the Snake River Grill.

30. Find a fishing hole - The Magic Valley is spotted with great fishing locations. Some of the best places to take children fishing where recently highlighted in this Times News article. Among those highlighted were Riley Pond, Filer Ponds and Magic Reservoir.

31. Visit a greenhouse - Stop by your local greenhouse and find something special to take home. Most greenhouses like Moss Greenhouse in Jerome offer group tours, ladies night and exceptional deals on seasonal plants! Keep an eye on Moss Greenhouse's Facebook page for fun events.

32. Go glamping (glamorous camping) - Don't feel like completely roughing it? Try glamping! One of the coolest places to go glamping is Miracle Hot Springs. They offer RV sites with electricity and water as well as camping domes. Depending on the size of dome you rent there are sleeping pads, a queen bed or even a king bed inside. The best part? Domes start at only $39.00 a night!

Camping Dome at Miracle Hot Springs in Buhl

33. Plant a garden - Southern Idaho's agricultural roots make finding gardening resources incredibly easy. Don't have space for a garden? Try planting in a soil pot at home or rent a spot in a community garden. The College of Southern Idaho has community garden spots for rent.

34. Watch a race at Magic Valley Speedway - The Magic Valley Speedway in Twin Falls is Idaho's only NASCAR-sanctioned race track. Their schedule is impressive, offering races almost every weekend through the summer. You won't want to miss their famous "trailer race of destruction" night!

35.  Visit your favorite candy shop - Sometime searching for a perfect piece of candy can be a grand adventure. Visit your local candy shop and get a variety and do a taste test! Our favorite sweets shop is Frederickson's Fine Candy in Twin Falls.

Delicious candy at Frederickson's Fine Candy in Twin Falls

36. Find some fossils at the Hagerman Fossil Beds - The Hagerman Fossil Beds Visitor Center is open all summer long from 9am - 5pm and offer seasonal ranger programs that allow visitors to get up close to the fossils and learn more about their history.

37. Watch a meteor shower - The second Saturday of each month from sunset to midnight the Herrett Center Observatory offers a free Star Party. Idaho is in prime placement to see many night-time sky beauties. For more information check out this great article written by Chris Anderson.

38. Visit some fish - The free visitor's center at Clear Springs Foods is home of the beautiful clear pond with an underwater viewing area where you can get a great view of sturgeon and other fish. The visitor's center also has a lovely picnic area and small stream. It's a great place to spend the afternoon!

Giant sturgeon at the Clear Springs Foods Visitors Center in Buhl

39. Take a walk underground - The Shoshone Indian Ice Caves, 17 miles north of Shoshone, is the perfect place to get out of the summer sun. The constant below freezing temperatures make for a chilly site, even in the summer. Take a tour to learn more about the volcanic and historical background of this area.

40. Pull out the swimming trunks - If swimming in a lake or river isn't your thing check out some of southern Idaho's great swimming facilities. Banbury Hot Springs in Buhl has hot springs and a cool pool as well as Nat-Soo-Pah is Hollister.

Of course there isn't enough room to list all of the amazing things you can do here in Southern Idaho this summer but we hope this list will help get you started with some fun ideas.

What's on your Idaho Bucket List? Let us know on our Facebook Page with #IdahoBucketList