Free & Cheap Things to Do in Idaho Falls

Parks & Nature

The city's signature attraction: a five-mile paved loop hugging both banks of the Snake River, past the 600-foot-wide falls that gave Idaho Falls its name. The path links downtown, Freeman Park, and Snake River Landing, with the falls thundering loudest in spring and early summer.

Address: Memorial Dr & Broadway, Idaho Falls, ID 83402

Tip: Park free near Memorial Drive and walk the downtown stretch first — that's where the falls views are. The floating bridge section typically opens the first week of June and closes for winter in early November.

Parks & Nature

A volunteer-built Japanese garden on a rocky Snake River island off the River Walk — the site of the first bridge to span the Snake in eastern Idaho. A traditional garden gate, koi pond water features, a stepping-stone Dragon's Path, and a stone lantern gifted by sister city Tokai-Mura.

Address: 520 Memorial Dr, Idaho Falls, ID 83402

Tip: Open around the clock year-round with no reservations needed. Prettiest at golden hour, and a two-minute detour off the River Walk loop. Volunteers maintain it — stay on the paths and tread lightly.

Museums

Eastern Idaho's premier history-and-science center pairs permanent Idaho and Intermountain West exhibits with the kind of blockbuster traveling shows — Genghis Khan, deep-sea dinosaurs, Toytopia — that normally skip cities this size. Kids get a hands-on Discovery Room and STEM stations throughout.

Address: 200 N Eastern Ave, Idaho Falls, ID 83402

Tip: At $20 it's the splurge pick in town, but Idaho residents pay $15 with ID and the changing headline exhibit makes it repeat-worthy. Downtown, two blocks from the River Walk — plan 2–3 hours.

Arts & Culture

An interactive art playhouse for kids in downtown Idaho Falls, run by the Idaho Falls Arts Council — green-screen and animation stations, hands-on art-making, a theater stage, and a rotating monthly theme. One of the cheapest rainy-day saves in eastern Idaho at $5 a head.

Address: 271 W Broadway St, Idaho Falls, ID 83402

Tip: Admission is good all day — leave for lunch and come back. Mondays it doesn't open until 4:30pm, and school-year field trips can make mornings hectic; check the field trip calendar on the site.

Family & Kids

Billed as the Best Little Zoo in the West, with about 130 species organized into Asia, Africa, Patagonia, Australia, and penguin zones, plus a children's zoo where kids can brush and feed the goats. Compact enough to cover thoroughly in a half day.

Address: 2725 Carnival Way, Idaho Falls, ID 83402

Tip: Bring quarters for the goat-feed dispensers. The zoo is seasonal — open spring through early fall — and the restored vintage Funland amusement park next door runs cheap rides all summer.

Family & Kids

A hands-on nonprofit aquarium where the interactive bits are the whole point: walk into the bird cage to hand-feed parakeets, touch and feed stingrays, and toss food to river-giant sturgeon and trout. More than 35 exhibits spanning ocean, freshwater, and Idaho native fish.

Address: 570 E Anderson St, Idaho Falls, ID 83401

Tip: The aquarium doesn't publish admission prices online — call (208) 569-2996 before you go. Feeding tokens cost extra, so budget a few more dollars; the stingray and bird feedings are what kids remember.

Arts & Culture

A riverside art museum right on the greenbelt south of downtown, with rotating regional and national exhibitions plus a hands-on children's art studio. Small enough to pair with a River Walk stroll, and the free-admission first Saturdays make it a genuine budget pick.

Address: 300 S Capital Ave, Idaho Falls, ID 83402

Tip: Time your visit for the first Saturday of the month and admission is free for everyone; kids 5 and under are always free and a $20 family rate caps costs for bigger crews.

Town & Shops

More than 130 vendors set up Saturday mornings on Memorial Drive along the Snake River, May through October — produce, baked goods, crafts, coffee, and food trucks a few steps from the River Walk. A first-Saturday indoor market keeps it going November through April.

Address: Memorial Dr, Idaho Falls, ID 83402

Tip: Go early for the best produce or late morning for the busker-and-brunch atmosphere; it makes a perfect free pairing with a River Walk loop and the Japanese Friendship Garden next door.

Town & Shops

The walkable historic core sits a block off the river: indie shops, bookstores, and coffeehouses in century-old buildings, an expanding collection of public art and murals, and self-guided walking tours of the historic architecture. Browsing the whole district costs nothing.

Address: Park Ave & Broadway, Idaho Falls, ID 83402

Tip: Grab the walking-tour and public-art guides from the Downtown Development site before you wander. Saturdays are ideal — the farmers market, River Walk, and downtown shops all sit within three blocks.

Parks & Nature

BLM trails cross a 222-square-mile lava flow that erupted just 4,100 years ago, twenty minutes southwest of town. A half-mile interpretive loop marked with blue-topped poles gives families the highlights; a 4.5-mile red-pole route crosses the flow to the source vent. A National Natural Landmark, completely free.

Address: US-20 mile marker 287, Idaho Falls, ID 83402

Tip: Wear sturdy shoes — lava rock shreds thin soles — and carry water; there's zero shade out on the flow. The blue-pole loop is the family pick, and spring wildflowers in the lava cracks are a surprise highlight.