Nature Walk in the Heart of Boise

Free Family Fun
If you like to feel as if you can slow down and just relax, if you like to go for gentle walks in nature, or if you feel the kids need a little mid-summer education try the MK Nature Center this week. The MK Nature is a 4 acre park on the east side of Boise, the Greenbelt runs beside, and the address is 600 S Walnut St.

The MK Nature Center is really easy to find. Take the #49 City Center Exit and keep left. That will take you all the way into down town Boise. Keep straight for 1.5 miles after I-184 turns into Myrtle St. and you will end up running right into it.

If it's hot out, duh, make sure to use your sun screen and maybe your hat. We also took our own water bottles, and we were glad we did. To get into the Nature Center, park in their lot and go into the Visitor Center Building. Inside the building are quite a few animal and fish exhibits and at the front desk you can get a map of the trails. After that you can wander around to your hearts content.

The MK Nature Center has a lot to offer for any nature enthusiast and there is a lot to see. My favorite part was the hummingbird and butterfly garden. It has a large pond with a fairy tale bridge spaning it. The trails are all connecting so that you can see everything and then come full cirlce back to you care. There are lots of plants and animals to see. Well, there aren't as many animals as there are plants, but we did see a raccoon, lots of birds and a few butterflies. I was actually very surprised to see a raccoon, I've never seen a raccoon in "real life" before. My kids really like this kind of stuff, so we had lots of fun. I would recommend not going in the heat of the day like we did. The Visitor Center closes at 5pm, but the nature walk is open until sunset, so go then.