Boise is a top city in the U.S. for a ‘staycation,’ study says. What makes it special?

It’s no secret to locals that Boise is a great place for a staycation. Hotels in downtown and along the Boise river were booming last summer with people staying close to home for some leisure time.

But now, in the age of the coronavirus, the secret is out.

Boise came in at No. 2 on a new set of rankings from WalletHub, which looked at 182 U.S. cities to determine the best places to take a staycation — or vacation close to home.

“In order to determine the best staycation spots, WalletHub compared 182 U.S. cities — including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state — across two key dimensions: 1) recreation and 2) rest and relaxation,” the study said.

It appears Boise’s dozens of parks and the 25-mile-long Boise Greenbelt may have helped push the city into its position.

“To determine the best places for a fun-filled yet wallet-friendly staycation, WalletHub compared more than 180 cities across 15 key metrics,” the study said. “Our data set ranges from parks per capita to the average home square footage and the idealness of summer weather.”

The rankings looked at bike rental facilities per capita, running and walking trails per capita, miles of bicycle lanes and paths, and the strictness of shelter-in-place orders. It also looked at the average prices of pizza, burgers, beer and wine.

Plano, Texas — a suburb north of Dallas with a population of 288,000 — was No. 1, followed by Boise; Tampa, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; and Lincoln, Nebraska..

Boise is no stranger to making top-10 lists from different websites and studies. In February the city was ranked as a best city in the U.S. to “move to right now.” It’s also made the cut as one of “America’s Most Handsome Cities” and has historically been ranked one of the best cities for recreation.

This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Boise is a top city in the U.S. for a ‘staycation,’ study says. What makes it special?."