Back when Boise had one small terminal and Sun Valley was still a few hours down the road. The gateway city has changed. The drive still delivers.
Boise is the gateway most people fly through on the way to Sun Valley — a small regional capital that’s grown into one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, sitting at the base of the foothills with the mountains as a backdrop from nearly every downtown street.
What Boise Actually Is
A walkable downtown, a fast-growing city, and the airport most people use to reach Sun Valley.
Boise Air Terminal (BOI)
The main gateway to Sun Valley and Ketchum — a short, easy connection point before the drive north.
Search HotelsDowntown Boise
Walkable, compact, close to 8th Street’s restaurants and bars — the right base whether you’re passing through or spending a night.
Search RentalsBoise to Sun Valley
About 2.5 hours on Highway 20 through a string of small, barely-there towns — the classic Idaho gateway drive.
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Read MoreThe Airport That Used to Be One Terminal
I flew into Boise in the 1980s, back when it was a small, single-terminal operation — nothing like the modern building that exists today. You landed, grabbed your bag, and got in a car for the drive north to Ketchum. It felt like the edge of somewhere, in the best way.
Boise Airport ran on its 1969 and 1979-era concourses throughout the 1980s and 1990s — a modest, easy-to-navigate operation compared to what exists now. The airport didn’t get its current terminal until a major expansion completed in 2004, which changed both the size and the look of the place entirely. If you flew into Boise in the ’80s or ’90s on your way to Sun Valley, the airport you remember and the one that exists today are essentially two different buildings.
Today Boise Airport (BOI) is a modern, single-terminal facility with two concourses — still easy to navigate, just considerably larger and busier than it used to be.
Living in Boise, Between Sun Valley Stints
Between stretches of living in Ketchum, Boise was where I’d end up for stints of ordinary life — groceries, yoga, a good meal downtown. I used to go to Iyengar yoga in Boise regularly, back before that kind of studio was standard in every city. It was a good counterbalance to the mountains: a slower, more deliberate practice in a city that was still finding its own pace.
Downtown Boise always had a good meal in it if you looked — a nice dinner somewhere walkable, the kind of evening that made the city feel like more than just a stop on the way to somewhere else. Boise’s downtown restaurant scene has only gotten more serious since — the city has developed a genuinely good dining reputation, with a strong Basque food tradition (Boise has one of the largest Basque communities in the country, a legacy of 19th-century sheepherders who settled the region) alongside a wave of newer upscale spots.
Where to Stay
Downtown Boise is compact and walkable — 8th Street and the surrounding blocks put restaurants, bars, and the general energy of the city within a few minutes on foot. For most visitors passing through on the way to Sun Valley, one night downtown is enough to get a feel for the city before the drive north.
Search Boise Hotels and Rentals
Downtown hotels and vacation rentals in Idaho’s capital — the easiest base before heading north to Sun Valley.
The Drive North: Boise to Sun Valley
The drive from Boise to Sun Valley takes about two and a half hours on Highway 20, through a string of small, barely-there towns — Mountain Home, Fairfield, Hill City, Carey. Somewhere along that stretch, in one of the blink-and-you-miss-it towns, there used to be a tiny café run by a husband-and-wife team — the kind of place you’d stop for a burger just because it was there and looked right. We never even caught the name, and decades later I still think about it.
That drive is part of what makes Sun Valley feel earned rather than convenient. It’s not a quick hop from an airport — it’s a real drive through real nowhere, and by the time the mountains start closing in around Ketchum, you feel like you’ve actually gone somewhere.
If Stanley and Redfish Lake are the goal rather than Sun Valley itself, there’s a second, more direct route: Highway 21, the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway, runs straight from Boise through Idaho City and Lowman to Stanley in about 3 hours — no detour through Ketchum required. It’s more direct but considerably curvier, and prone to winter closures near Idaho City and Lowman due to avalanche risk, so it’s best treated as a warm-weather route. Going through Sun Valley takes longer overall but lets you see both destinations on the same trip. Either way, Redfish Lake and Stanley are well worth the extra miles.
Quick Reference: Boise Idaho
| Category | The Answer |
|---|---|
| Airport code | BOI — Boise Air Terminal |
| Airport history | Single small terminal through the 1980s/90s; current terminal completed in 2004 |
| Drive to Sun Valley | About 2.5 hours via Highway 20 |
| Drive to Stanley (direct) | About 3 hours via Highway 21 — bypasses Sun Valley, curvier, winter closures possible |
| Best base downtown | Near 8th Street — walkable to restaurants and bars |
| Local specialty | Basque cuisine — Boise has one of the largest Basque communities in the US |
| Along the drive north | Mountain Home, Fairfield, Hill City, Carey — small towns, few services |
Frequently Asked Questions
How far is Boise from Sun Valley?
About 2.5 hours by car via Highway 20, passing through several small towns including Fairfield and Carey.
Was Boise Airport always this big?
No. Boise Airport operated on a much smaller terminal built in stages in 1969 and 1979 through the end of the 20th century. The current, larger terminal was completed in a major expansion finished in 2004.
Is Boise a good base before driving to Sun Valley?
Yes. Downtown Boise is walkable, has a strong restaurant scene, and puts you close to the airport for an easy start on the drive north the next morning.
What is Boise known for food-wise?
Boise has one of the largest Basque communities in the United States, a legacy of 19th-century Basque sheepherders who settled the region, and the city’s food scene reflects that heritage alongside a growing upscale dining reputation.
What towns are between Boise and Sun Valley?
Highway 20 passes through Mountain Home, Fairfield, Hill City, and Carey — small towns with limited services, part of what makes the drive feel remote.
The airport is bigger now, the terminal is unrecognizable, and Boise itself has grown into a real city. But the drive north still takes the same two and a half hours through the same string of small towns, and Sun Valley still feels like the reward at the end of it.