Take an Idaho vacation trip in the winter and enjoy the snow in this vintage home downtown.
{This post is sponsored by HomeAway}
It’s my son’s senior year and I’m feeling all nostalgic about family trips. Back in September when I was making plans, I knew I wanted to go somewhere with SNOW. And since us Texans rarely see it, it had to be a guarantee. My kids think it’s so fun to play in the snow. We went to Taos, New Mexico two years ago, and got some snow sports in, but I wanted to go somewhere different.
We often go to Utah because my 94 year old grandparents live there, and I guess I just wanted something different, but still be able to see them. I actually invited them to come to Idaho with us and rented a HomeAway home specifically to accommodate them, but they ended up not feeling up to the drive and 3 day stay away, so we played with them before and after we went to Idaho.
I actually lived in Idaho for 2 years right after high school for college, and I had not been back since I left in 1998, literally 20 years almost to the DAY we went back in December.
Idaho Home Rental
We found a home in Idaho Falls (the big city) on HomeAway. This is my favorite way to find a place to stay. I’ve written before why I love homes over hotels, but here are my thoughts in a nutshell:
- Kitchen accommodations
- Cozy couches
- Space to relax
- Movie Nights
- Games around the family table
The home we stayed in, right in the heart of downtown Idaho Falls was a vintage home, modernized on the inside. It was very cold and snowy outside, but it was warm and cozy inside.
This charming bathroom caught my eye while I was perusing the HomeAway website months in advance.
This cozy family room is where we watched movies at night after our daily adventures
Here is a video tour of the house:
To look at booking this exact house, or just peruse HomeAway, click on that link!
BYU Idaho
It was really fun to show my family my old stomping grounds in Rexburg, home to the BYU Idaho campus (it was Ricks College when I attended). The campus has grown SO much!!! I really had a hard time getting my bearings, and only could envision just one spot that looked the same, the dorms I lived in, which are now office buildings. I seriously had all kinds of warm fuzzies (and teary eyes) as we walked around, seeing the amazing things they’ve done with the campus.
Besides wanting to SEE SNOW, I really wanted my kids to tour BYU Idaho. It is a place I went reluctantly at first myself, because it seems to be known as the “leftovers” those that don’t get into the original BYU in Utah, but I wanted them to see that it is so much more, and that many people actually CHOOSE to go there because it’s a smaller campus. It’s true, I didn’t get into BYU (Provo) at first, and went to Ricks College because of that, but I am so so grateful for my experience at this campus, and feel so grateful I got to go to both campuses.
We had a nice girl drive us around on a giant golf cart with clear vinyl draping over it so we could see on our tour around campus. SO many new buildings! The campus was amazing, even in the dead of winter the week between Christmas and New Years. I left hoping one of my kids might attend there, I felt such a calm and peace on the campus.
Harriman State Park
We rented snow shoes in Idaho Falls, and then drove up to Harriman State Park to go on a snowshoeing adventure. We got there later than planned and really only had a solid hour to adventure. But that was sorta ok with me. It was COLD outside and it had been a long day. While inside the car, we read a book as a family, taking turns. I love to optimize time in the car as discussion time, making it family productive. Of course they always have downtown to do their own thing (read, devices, nap, snack) but I like to take at least and hour of a long drive as family discussion.
After our outdoor adventure, I took my family to Big Jud’s! The only cool place I remember eating out at during my time living there. They have a 1 pound hamburgers, and we had to get one! The boys split the big guy while the rest of us got the smaller versions.
All in all, we had a great trip to Idaho! Have you been before?
Check out our other vacations with home rentals that we love:
