Twin Falls, Idaho, Offers the Best of Both Worlds: Urban + Alpine

Courtesy of Mandi Thompson

Mandi Thompson, community relations and grant director for the City of Twin Falls, is an expert on the region’s unique qualities. 

She and her family moved from Boise for her husband’s job over 20 years ago and have called Southern Idaho home ever since. 

How would you describe the unique lifestyle balance the city offers? 

It’s fairly unique because we’re close to so many things. My family spends a lot of time outdoors, and within a five-minute drive, you can get to the bottom of a river canyon to do a variety of water sports. Within 30 minutes, you can find skiing, whitewater rafting, paddle boarding, kayaking, rock climbing; there are just so many options. It’s a perfect place to live in a small city and still be really close to the outdoors. 

What downtown events do you look forward to most each year? 

There’s a beer festival every August that is sponsored by one of our local Rotary clubs. It’s a fun opportunity to sample beer and cider from around the Pacific Northwest, and we look forward to that every summer. 

We have a concert series downtown every Wednesday in the summer, which is on the commons across from City Hall, that features a local band. It’s a fun opportunity to come and enjoy the downtown area. There are food trucks, and it’s a festive atmosphere. 

What are your favorite spots in downtown Twin Falls? 

In the summertime, any place that has a patio where you can sit out and enjoy the weather is great. I love to support local restaurants in the downtown area like the Twin Falls Sandwich Company and Milner’s Gate, a craft brewery. 

We have a food hall called 2nd South Market, which has a variety of different options and is perfect for families or a group of friends because they have sushi, pizza, barbecue and coffee. They also have a great outdoor area where they have concerts. 

Rudy’s is another long-established business that caters to the home chef. They have new owners who have made some amazing changes and breathed new life into it. 

What’s your go-to activity for a quick outdoor escape when you don’t have a lot of time? 

We’re pretty avid whitewater rafters in my family, so we like to go out on a certain stretch of the river in Hagerman. We can do that in a few hours’ time. In the winter, my middle son goes to an indoor climbing gym that lets him scratch that itch of wanting to climb and not being able to go out in the cold. We are members of the Blue Lakes Country Club; we enjoy golfing there, and it’s right at the bottom of the Snake River Canyon. 

We love that Twin Falls has a great community of people and that we have easy access to the activities we truly enjoy. It’s a big reason we are here. 

Are there any lesser-known outdoor spots near Twin Falls that you think more people should explore? 

Snake River Canyon offers some amazing hidden gems that people might know about but don’t always seek out. Places like Pillar Falls, Shoshone Falls and Dierkes Lake are almost within the city limits. Box Canyon Springs is a great hike that we love to do. You can get away and enjoy nature and the outdoors and it’s right in our backyard.