What's Mountain Home Idaho

Last Updated on Sunday, 23 May 2010 09:53 Written by Tim Bondy Sunday, 23 May 2010 08:47

Map of Mountain Home and Souther Idaho

Mountain Home, Idaho is a city located roughly in the southwestern part of the State.  We are in a  geologically diverse region in that the Boise National Forest is located just to the north and the Owyhee Mountains, part of the Great Basin and Range are located to the south of us. Sitting at an elevation of just over 3,100 feet in the high desert our local ecosystem is considered a sagebrush steppe region.  To confuse matters even more, I'd consider Mountain Home to be located in the Snake River Valley.  

The population of Mountain Home is just under 12,000 with semi-stagnant growth the last 8 years.  We are also home to Mountain Home Air Force Base which is located about 12 miles south of the city.  The Base gives Mountain Home a much bigger economic impact than other cities of the same size.  Last time I looked there were about 445 civilians working on Mountain Home AFB and about 3,900 military folks.

The weather in Mountain Home is hard to describe.  There are definitely 4 seasons and you might be able to experience them all in one week and in rare circumstance all in one day.  But for the most part, we have a relatively dry climate with cold winters and hot summers.  Snowfall isn't usually a big problem in the city but go into the mountains to the north or south and you can expect heavy snowfall at almost any time of the year. 

People who come to Mountain Home either love the place or hate the place.  If you are use to big city life, then chances are you will be less than pleased living here.  Most people moving to Idaho looking for the big city experience live in Boise, Idaho.  Boise is located about 45 miles to the west of Mountain Home.  If you are the small town type of person, chances are you will love our city.  Crime isn't usually a problem and traffic jams are virtually non-existent.  

The housing market in Mountain Home went through some rough times as did most places in the US over the last few years.  You can easily find single family homes in the $125,000 - $350,000+ range and as of May 2010, there was a rather large inventory of homes for sale.  For a military town, I'd consider the apartment situation as “lacking somewhat” as far as sheer numbers of units available.  

What is in Mountain Home?
1.  We have a few hardware, lumber and plumbing stores to get you through your home improvement needs.
2.  We have a small Walmart Supercenter.
3.  There are 5 or 6 bars in town to keep you entertained at night.
4.  We have a number of restaurants to keep you happy.  But don't expect to see many “chain type” restaurants.  You'll find everything from Mexican to Italian and good old fashioned American food with a few Chinese places  for some variety.
5.  We are the proud home of the The Mountain Home Historical Museum (link)

Outdoors is “Where it's at”
I'd guess the happiest people in Mountain Home are the outdoorsy people.  My vision of our city is that we are the gateway to recreation in southern Idaho.  I might be alone in this thought, but we have road heading both north and south into vast areas of mountains and deserts.  For example you can be hiking in the Owyhee Mountains within about one hour.  Snow skiing and snowboarding can be reached within about 1.5 hours.  Fishing is pretty darn fun around Mountain Home with the Snake River just outside our backdoor.  And then there are three forks of the Boise River, the Queens River and numerous other reservoirs in the area for your worm drowning enjoyment.  Hunting around here might be described as “a way of life” during the Fall.  There are deer, pronghorn antelope, elk and a few moose living in our local mountain.  Don't forget there are also wolf, mountain lions and plenty of rattlesnakes to keep you on your toes.  The newest addition to the hunting scene is the feral hog but don't expect these animals to stick around long as they were brought in illegally and Idaho will likely make sure they don't survive.  For the boaters out there?  It's a rare day when you don't see a boat being pulled down the road.  ATV and motorcycles are big business in Idaho.  There are trails pretty much everywhere but it can get confusing where they are legal and where they have been outlawed.

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