BOISE, Idaho — 2025 brought the powder, high water levels, a slew of adventures and even some natural phenomenons, that we showed you every Thursday as part of our Idaho Back Roads series.
Check out the video to see some of our favorite stories from 2025
Winter has gotten off to a slow start, and I haven't had a single day on the slopes so far, but that wasn't the case last winter, when Mother Nature delivered the goods in an epic ski season.
The snow allowed me to do several stories that I have never done before, from the uphill snowmobile race at Soldier Mountain, to snow kiting in the Camas Prairie, to skijoring in the Wood River Valley. It all culminated in the World Cup Finals at Sun Valley, where Mikaela Shiffrin won the gold in slalom in a magical moment.
"I could hear the crowd down here from the start, and this probably gave me the last bit of energy I needed to bring the intensity," said Shiffrin, who will compete in the Olympics this winter. "I feel like there is a lot of work to do, but I feel this race gave me energy to do it."
When spring rolled around, the snow melted, and the rivers ran high, gifting kayakers and rafters a high-water season on the various forks of the Payette River.
However, the big news came in August when it was announced that the North Fork Championship would return in 2026. This extreme kayaking race brings the best kayakers in the world to our backyard to race on Jacob's Ladder and the Golf Course on the North Fork of the Payette River. The upcoming North Fork Championship will be the first since 2022.
"I'm really excited and just to be here today when we made the announcement is really exciting," said Aaron Pruzan. "Just the electricity and the level of excitement, it has been infectious."
We also had our share of adventures from backpacking the Alice-Toxaway loop in the Sawtooths, backpacking in the Owyhees, extending ski season by skiing at the Bruneau Sand Dunes State Park and seeking out hot springs.
My favorite adventure included an 11-mile round-trip hike in the Payette National Forest to find a B-23 bomber that crashed in 1943. Most of the plane remains intact because of its location next to Loon Lake, and it was well worth it to see and learn this piece of history hidden in Idaho.
Fall seemed to last forever as winter still hasn't really shown up. We had a unique experience on November 13, hiking in the Sawtooths with very little snow and visiting Red Fish Lake with nobody around. However, the point of this trip was to go to the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve in an attempt to catch the Aurora Borealis, and it didn't disappoint.
I have to admit I'm a little nervous as we turn the page into 2026. I haven't hit the slopes once, but I remain hopeful that the snow will arrive. As you can see from this recap, the snow not only fuels recreation in the winter, but it carries over into the other seasons.
You can check out all of our Idaho Backroads stories on our website. If you have any adventures or things you think we should check out in 2026 send an email to me, Steve Dent, at steve.dent@kivitv.com.
