Local Area & Community

Mountain Home

Located just 12 miles northeast of Mountain Home AFB, the city of Mountain Home is the largest city in and the county seat of Elmore County, Idaho. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,206.

Mountain Home began as a post office at Rattlesnake Station, about 7 miles east of the the present-day city. Rattlesnake Station was situated at the junction of the Oregon Trail and the old Kelton (Utah) Boise stage coach road. In 1883, when the Oregon Short Line Railroad arrived, the city center was moved from its original location to its current home.

More information about the city of Mountain Home can be found on the city's website: http://www.mountain-home.us/MTNHOME/Home.html.

Boise

Just a 60-minute drive from Mountain Home AFB is Boise, Idaho's largest city (with a population over 200,000) and state capital. Boise began was established as Fort Boise by the Hudson's Bay Company in the 1830s along the Snake River and was originally located about 40 miles west of its current position. In the 1860s, the Army re-established Fort Boise along the Oregon Trail during the U.S. Civil War. The fort grew rapidly and Boise was officially incorporated as a city in 1863.

Boise's main attractions are:

Boise River Walk - A series of riverside parks linked by paved paths for biking, running or walking.

Zoo Boise - Located in Julia Davis Park, the zoo is home to over 200 animals representing over 80 species from around the world.

Old Idaho Penitentiary - Visitors can walk through solitary confinement, cell blocks and gallows of this old 1870s territorial prison that was in use for more than 100 years.