The Boise Snowmobile Club and Boise County Grooming 8A Idaho City were going to have their annual snowmobile fun run, but with not enough snow, they are putting together a different event to try and bring people to Idaho City.
On Saturday, these organizations are putting together a walkabout in an attempt to bring business to Idaho City. It has been a rough year economically because there hasn't been enough snow for people to recreate.
Click here to learn more about the walkabout and how businesses in Idaho City are faring this winter
"I’ve been coming up here for 40 years, and this is the worst I’ve seen it. 1978 was probably similar to this, but it has been that long," said Steve Shay of Boise County Grooming 8A Idaho City. "It has it has totally been a lost winter, but again we are trying to stay positive and do the best we can and help the community."
The walkabout begins with registration at Robison Hall from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. Then people will have a chance to walk about a mile doing something similar to a poker run where they collect stamps at businesses for a chance to win up to $500.
"We are going to paint a green path and have everybody walk through all the local stores," said Shay. "We are just trying to find a way to help the community and bring some business back up to Idaho City."
The winter season in Idaho City normally kicks off with Christmas tree season, but Bobby Mathews, who owns Idaho City Grocery, told us that not as many people came up as normal because of a lack of snow.
That continued in the next couple of months as Steamboat Gulch sledding hill never opened, and the conditions just weren't there for people to ski, snowshoe, or snowmobile.
"Business has been tough this year," said Mathews. "We rely on having tourist traffic that comes through, but it has just not been that way. We are doing ok, but we are not doing how we should be doing."
So the community of Idaho City invites people up for the family friendly walkabout on what should be a beautiful Saturday in the mountains. People will have the chance to win up to $10,000 of prizes in raffles, and they can eat at a local restaurant and enjoy the fresh air.
Mathews wants people to know that if they cruise through Idaho City on a Monday, and if they spend $30, they can get ribeye steaks for $11.99 a pound. He also wants people to know how thankful he is to the Boise Snowmobile Club and Boise County Grooming 8A Idaho City for putting this all together.
"It has been a godsend, we are very fortunate up here to have groups like this," said Mathews. "It's huge for our community right now."
