Bogus Basin Mountain Resort

This review is based off of night skiing, I was very impressed.
I grew up skiing Jackson and Targhee since I was two. Both of the mountains are very different but my favorite out of both was Targhee. The feeling I get when skiing Bogus is the same feeling I got with Targhee. I enjoy «ma and pop» hills and although Bogus is far larger than a «ma and pop» hill it still feels small. I love it. There are some slow oldie but goody lifts while there are high speed quads. There are short runs and then there are longer runs. I am slow and I enjoy my turns so all my runs are long. :) I win!
Bogus has an older foundation. Meaning it isn’t all glitzed out like that of other ski resorts. Their locker rooms and bathrooms are older, their snack bar and bar are not fancy but they are perfect and rustic.
We stopped at the upper lodge for a burger and beers and I was surprised that we could actually afford to eat. A burger was $ 6.50. Most resorts now are overpriced and it costs about the same amount to eat as it does for a lift ticket. Way to go Bogus, trying to keep it affordable.
Overall, I am excited to experience more of my town hill under the shiny sun. My first impression was off the charts positive. We are so lucky to have a place to take some turn. I went to Jackson’s for three Aquafina waters and received $ 10.00 off each of our lift tickets. Great deal! Snow was great!
The lifts had music pumping and I thoroughly enjoyed the energy that was flowing through the loud speakers!

We live in Northern California and were visiting family in Eastern Oregon. We haven’t been skiing in a few years and thought it would be a great family outing.
We found the road groomed well, the staff were nice and helpful. We had to rent skis for our son since he had outgrown his. The check-​in process was about 15 minutes total.
The lift lines were surprisingly short given its Christmas week. The snow was good and overall we had a nice time.
Sure it’s not Mt. Bachelor or Tahoe, but it is a great place to get in some runs. Access is easy, peole were nice and it was a fun time in the hill.
The price is reasonable and for our family of 3 we spent $ 100 on lift tickets. Go to Bachelor or Tahoe and you can easily triple the cost.

Had a wonderful time tubing. Had the 9 am appointment and there were hardly anybody out. Made trips quickly and then more people came to join the fun. A longer line and wait but the people were friendly. Awesome working staff. Hope to come back for more fun.

Not a lot of lines which is nice, almost no at the slope accommodations which is not. The road up is a little squirrely, but the back side of the mountain is amazing. Really amazing. Don’t waste time on the front of the mountain!

My husband and I came out to Boise to escape the midwest and hopefully find some places to ski. Unfortunately, as most people know, this past winter was pretty bad for the northwest in terms of precipitation. Luckily, there was still enough snow on the ground when we came a few weeks ago to go skiing at Bogus.
An important point to note is I’m not sure the address for Bogus is entirely accurate. We entered it into our gps and realized only later that the address to Bogus is about 30 minutes further on a windy road.
I’ll agree with previous reviewers that the pricing does seem to be a little steep IF you’re looking at some of the prices. $ 47 for a day pass isn’t too bad, but $ 42 for a night pass that only includes half the mountain is a little steep. I will say that their season passes seem really cheap as they are only $ 230-​$ 300 if you buy them before October (and $ 390-​$ 430 if you buy them when the season starts).
We were lucky in that we came on a day when Toyota was offering a free lift ticket if you drove up on a Toyota. Furthermore, my husband got a military ticket for $ 25…so we were extremely lucky in that both of us got to ski for $ 25 when we visited.
In terms of the terrain, I thought there was a pretty good selection of runs along with several fast lifts (which was nice). They also have a terrain park, which is great. I will say that when we went, they probably should have closed off some of the runs given how much the snow was melting. We went down a few runs where it was pretty awful… we were sliding all over the place and felt lucky we made it down without wiping out. The only other downside is that their cat walks are ridiculously long. They can get really icy in the shade and really wet out in the sun, making it difficult when traveling from run to run. Other than that, we were pretty pleased and look forward to visiting Bogus in the future.

Great place for the price. I wish they got more snow.

Great local ski resort just 16 miles up the hill from Boise. Has quite a variety of terrain to offer from conveyer belt bunny hill to black diamonds on the back side. The two lodges are acceptable with one at the top and one at the bottom. They are more cafeterias and bars then lodge really. The daily ticket is a bit spendy at just under $ 50 but you can get a coupon from the local gas station for $ 20 off for up to 3 passes. They do a great lesson, rental and pass deal if you are looking to go that route. With Presidents day coming up they will start selling next seasons passes at a super low starter price, this also gives you the rest of the current season too. All in all it’s a great little local ski hill that you just can’t beat.

My normal ski mtn is Lake Tahoe and Mammoth so this resort is small but it did not lack in nice long runs, areas to get away from crowds, gorgeous views and super affordable tickets! $ 49 for the whole day and one lift says it closes at 10:30pm! It got busy in the afternoon with loads of lessons (I’m here on a Sat) but there was still more mtn left than my 50-​somethimg legs could handle. The annual pass price was low enough that I am working out how to fly here from CA and it’ll still work out great.

We were visiting my in-​laws for the holidays and scheduled a private ski lesson for my oldest daughter. A day before her lesson I received a call that my grandmother had a brain aneurysm and was not going to make it. Of course, my family and I packed up and returned to California before she could use her scheduled lesson. On the way home (the day before the lesson) we called the ski hill and told them the situation. They then proceeded to tell us their policy is they can give us credit only after we provide the death certificate. We explained we don’t know when we will make it up to Idaho and would like a full refund. My husband spoke to the manager and they stood firm on only a credit. I feel they were heartless and did not handle this situation with class or sympathy. I understand there are policies but this was an unfortunate situation and we don’t make a trip to Idaho often.
If you are planning a trip to this ski hill, think twice about scheduling a lesson until that day! Things do happen in life and it is a bunch of bull they won’t give us our refund. Maybe you need to hire some people with a caring soul to help ease a grieving family as well!!!

I am speaking from an expert skier point of view, and that is who I am talking to in this post. For what it is, which is a local ski hill just 16 miles from downtown, it is a hidden gem of a ski hill! I have spent years skiing all over Colorado with season passes to multiple resorts. If you are a good skier and you know how to find lines, Bogus has them for you. You can watch the ski report and be there in about 40 minutes. You can wake up at 10am in Boise and still cram in a very worthwhile day. All you need is a sprinkle of fresh to have a great day. There are 3 high speed quads and the mountain offers quite a bit of variable terrain with a respectable amount of vertical on the back side. The vertical and the terrain off the Pine Creek chair are a ton of fun and there are hidden lines that remain untouched all day. The quads make it easy to squeeze in a tremendous amount of skiing in a short time. I went every Saturday and Sunday and I never really had a bad day, even without the fresh snow. Maybe 1 out of 10 days felt bad. The best part is that you can ski for 2 hours and leave without feeling guilty. The drive is nothing, It is also open until 10pm. You can watch the report all day and go after work if it snows. Start at 6pm and you are wiped out by 10pm. Skiing under the Superior chair at night with a few inches of fresh is one of my fondest ski memories. I miss this mountain a lot. More than many of the places in Colorado, because the drive to Bogus just makes the day so easy and the terrain never disappoints.

I probably would have given the runs and lodge a 3 – 4 star review had it not been for the business practices of Bogus. Basically, I spent $ 1K on the end of year lessons, plus season lift tickets for the following year. However, after getting orders to an overseas base (yep, in the military) I tried my best to either recoup some $ or at least transfer my lift tickets to someone who can enjoy them. After multiple e-​mails and a final phone call that all stated my lift tickets were «complimentary» I gave up.
It just seems strange that Bogus wouldn’t let me transfer the tickets to someone in need. Regardless of them stating my tickets were «complimentary» it still feels like I paid $ 1K for them (my bank account also feels that way)!
The individual I spoke to and communicated with was pretty nice, I believe they thanked me for my service mulitiple times, however, as the old saying goes, «Actions speak louder than words».

I way here today, unfortunately it was raining all day today, to see ended the season the snows getting really mushy. This place is huge, you can easily spend two days here.
The only downside is that their prices are a little steep. Place opens at 9 AM-​4pm $ 47 for a day pass, $ 42 for half day!!! Not a big difference in price, half-​day doesn’t really seem worth it. Plus a class is an additional $ 30, Night skiing is $ 20 but less than half the mountain it’s open for night skiing.
The ticket guy in the front, I wish I got his name, description of stubbly beard, about 6 foot one, probably in his mid-​to-​late 20s, he was not very friendly, we were asking him questions about the runs, like which ones are open for nights, and if all the slips for open and he didn’t know anything, he was very rude a sarcastic douche– bag. It’s a real shame because all he does is sit there and sell tickets all day. This guy kind of put me in a bad mood and made me want to leave and not come back the next day. Which is what we ended up doing.
But I’m sure in prime season, this place is awesome.

Our family has been coming here since the late 80’s. It’s pretty much where I’ve spent the bulk of my skiing.
What I especially enjoy here is the unpretentious family feel and the reasonable prices for ski lift and rentals. We always stay at the Pioneer Condos where you can literally ski in/​out and viola, you’re on the lift.
The runs are great (when there’s snow) and there are a variety of intermediate runs. All this time and my brother and I just discovered the Good Enough run.
We almost always never stay over a weekend, so during the week we have the place to ourselves and try and cram in as many runs before some lifts close at 4:15.
There’s two lodges that you can chill at and enjoy a bite to eat or have a liquid lunch at the bar.
Love this place and can’t wait to return. Just hope it’s not in another six years.

The fact that Bogus Basin is only 16 miles from Boise is amazing, not many cities can boast to having this type of accessibility to a mountain. It’s also an amazing drive with some pretty views of the valley, surrounding foothills and hairpin turns the entire way. It’s not for profit run off of donations and may not be the largest ski area and it may not receive all of the snow in Idaho but for a small local ski & snowboarding area its perfect. I am relatively new to Boise and for the majority of my life I have lived in the midwest, so when I wanted to ski it entailed a 10hr+ drive to the Colorado Rockies and more than an afternoon had to be dedicated to this endeavor. So I’m stoked that I can hit the mountain and ski whenever I want.
Another great factor, they have night skiing until 10pm seven days a week. You can get off work at 5pm be on the mountain before 6pm and still get in 10 or 11 runs. You can’t do that in Denver, now can you. The only downside is that it doesn’t get as much snow as the other ski resorts in Idaho, its at a lower elevation varying at around 6800 — 7500 feet and there are limited water resources on the mountain so there is not a lot of snow making to be had. But in reality when you ski or board you want the real stuff right. My only complaint is that the majority of the runs are pretty short, you don’t have 2000 feet of vertical to ski down like some of the larger mountains, but there are some fun runs as well, Wildcat is a nice black diamond and Upper Nugget is a fun and easy blue that you can work on your form.
If skiing is not your thing, they also have a tubing hill and a small lodge where you can sit and wait for you loved ones while they rage on the mountain. The lodge has a very retro vibe, your typical food offerings, chili a semi decent pretzel and a bar with some local and not so local beers.
So cross your fingers for a huge snow tonight and hope for a calm & crisp bluebird tomorrow.

The proximity of Bogus Basin to Boise is fantastic and the facilities are great. It’s unfortunate that their business practices are, well frankly — bogus. I reserved the yurt to spend an evening watching a meteor shower with friends. I received a confirmation email that the transaction was approved and they charged my credit card $ 125 for the transaction. In the email — they said I would receive a separate email with a code that would allow me to open the door to the yurt. I replied and asked them to please send it as I was concerned about cell phone coverage. No reply. I never received any email from them at all. That day I went up — figuring someone at the lodge would know how to get in. There was no one at the lodge — just a phone that went to an answering machine. I left a message and was never called back. We started driving around and found a house that looked like it belonged to the caretaker — so I went up and rang the doorbell. I knew somebody was there as Ted Nugent was blaring on the stereo and I could heard loud voices inside. After 10 minutes of ringing, knocking, and shouting I finally got the attention of the caretaker. He was a nice enough dude who tried to help us out. But — he didn’t even know they had a yurt and had no idea how to get in! We went up t the office and he started trying to call the Bogus Basin people to find out about the yurt while some other friends started driving around trying to find any maintenance people who knew about the yurt. They finally found one — long before the caretaker was able to do anything and were given a code. It didn’t work. We then found out about the ‘secret’ hiding location of the key and after nearly 3 hours of trying were able to get into the yurt. Again — the yurt is nice and we had a great evening watching the stars. I sent Bogus an email about the incident and asked them to respond so that I knew they had received it. It’s been a week — no reply. There are way to many recreation opportunities in Idaho to have this kind of disregard for your customers. My recommendation is to take advantage of any of them — except for this one.

Growing up in Sacramento, I would ride big mountain ‘s in south lake Tahoe like heavenly and Kirkwood so bogus is a lot smaller then I’m used to. But it is very close an super cheep. Expecially the season pass. I plan on spending a lot of time here.

I’m an experienced snowboard and I went night boarding. Nice little mountain. Snow was decent that night. My only complain was my snowboard rental. The board was not waxed at all. Super slow.

I was so delighted to ski the new high-​speed quad Chair 3! It’s sooo much faster and you can get a lot more runs in. On an apres ski note, the lower lodge has [relatively] cheap pitchers and free popcorn!

Great community ski hill with very good snow most of the season, a variety of terrain, and friendly, helpful staff. Since it’s owned by a non-​profit org, the prices are quite cheap for what you get. Elevation, total area, vertical drop, season length… none of these are very large at Bogus, but there is plenty to make up for it.
If you want super-​long runs and a resort atmosphere, go to Sun Valley, Jackson Hole, or Whistler (and be prepared to pay out the nose). If you want to ski outside the «normal» Dec-​Mar season, go to Mt. Hood (and be prepared for icy snow that has earned the nickname Cascade Concrete). But if you want to ski at an inexpensive area that is a little more than a half hour drive from Boise, with a wide range of available terrain and powder during the heart of winter, then Bogus Basin is the place for you.
I learned how to ski at the age of 13 at Bogus, so I may be biased because it holds a lot of good memories for me. But as a «somewhat» older snowboarder who lives in western Oregon, I really appreciate the quality of snow and openness of the runs. Also, I went up yesterday (a Saturday) and all the lift lines were quite short… something you will never see on Hood during the season unless the weather is nasty.
Except for the replacement of the rickety old «double» chairs with new high speed quads, Bogus hasn’t changed much since I was a kid. And that’s a good thing.

My GPS could not find this place. We get there an hour later and it was full but not packed to the gills. I hadn’t skied in about 10 years so I took a lesson. My almost 5 year old daughter also took a class and had a really good time and was pizza-​ing down the bunny slope in no time at all. I plan to go back the next 4 days, while we are in Idaho.
It is a little pricey. We paid over $ 220 for 3 lessons, lift passes and equipment rental. But today with no lessons, it should be $ 150 for the 3 of us. I will post an update after we get done with our ski/​board vacation.