Nampa: Nature, Parks and City History

When planning a stay in Nampa, you can shape your days around nature, parks and local history. Lakeview Park, Lake Lowell and the historic districts each offer a different focus.

Parks, Water and Trails

Lakeview Park is Nampa’s oldest park and covers more than 44 acres. Its landscape includes Lake Ethel, an artificial lake originally built to store irrigation water from Mason Creek. Lakeview Water Park offers a beach-style entry, water-spray areas and a two-story slide. Wilson Creek Park offers a different experience, with a walking path that provides access to the Wilson Creek Greenway Trail.

For nature outings, Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge offers additional options. It protects the Lake Lowell Unit and the Snake River Islands Unit. The refuge includes a lake of nearly 9,000 acres and more than 10 miles of trails. Fishing, boating and swimming are possible at Lake Lowell; in the uplands, you can hike, watch birds, picnic and enjoy sunsets. Hunting is also among the activities listed there. This gives you options ranging from activities on the water to wildlife watching and walks in the uplands.

The landscape and wildlife offer different perspectives, too: the refuge protects breeding colonies of Western and Clark’s grebes, as well as gatherings of migrating and wintering mallards and Canada geese. The Kingfisher Trail runs along the wooded shore of Lake Lowell and through sagebrush-covered uplands. The Observation Hill Trail is a dog-friendly loop that leads to an observation platform on Observation Hill. These descriptions can help you choose between a shoreline setting and a loop trail with a view; no walking time or difficulty level is specified.

Historic Districts and Nampa’s History

Historic Downtown Nampa is a well-preserved district that is easy to explore on foot, with Library Square at its center. The Nampa Historic District is a commercial historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its ten buildings represent a brief period of significant commercial development in Nampa between 1905 and 1920. Another distinct historic district is the Old Nampa Neighborhood Historic District: its listing on the register was approved on March 21, 2007, and it includes 243 homes.

The Nampa Arts & Historic Preservation Commission is responsible for a self-guided walking tour. The digital map is updated quarterly, and the flyer annually. Seasonal festivals, street fairs, art walks, historic tours, holiday markets and cultural events are also part of Historic Downtown Nampa’s offerings. Dates for individual events vary; check the dates if you want to plan your stay around a particular event.

Museums also offer different ways to explore local history. A new passenger train depot was completed in Nampa in September 1903; today, it houses the Canyon County Historical Society Museum. The Warhawk Air Museum was founded to preserve history and educate future generations about American veterans and their contributions to civil liberties. Group, club and educational tours must be arranged at least two weeks before the visit date. Plan these tours accordingly and check current visiting conditions in advance.

The Nampa History Collection features historical photographs, oral history interviews and curated exhibits about the people, businesses and development of the community. This can help you choose what interests you: explore Nampa’s past through its buildings and districts, through a museum, or through photographs and interviews.

More Activities and Events

The municipal park system includes 27 parks and 14 miles of walking paths. Nampa also has two StoryWalk® trails: one in Lakeview Park and one in the park at Harward Recreation Center. The StoryWalk® format combines reading stations with a walking path about half a mile long. Harward Recreation Center has a 140,000-square-foot indoor facility with numerous recreational activities open to the public. There is also a family scavenger hunt in the murals of Wall Street Alley.

The Nampa Festival of the Arts features about 200 participating artisans. The Nampa Farmer’s Market also has a regional connection: its products come from within a 100-mile radius. Ford Idaho Horse Park is the venue for the Snake River Stampede Rodeo. The Snake River Stampede is the rodeo portion of the former Harvest Festival and continues to this day; event dates vary. If a festival or rodeo is important to your trip, check the dates before planning your stay.

Discover more destinations: Parma, Caldwell

For the overview of the wider region: Canyon.