Although it may not seem like it at first glance, as far as activities in Rexburg, Idaho, there is a lot to do. With everything from indoor axe throwing to virtual reality locals, from trekking through sand dunes to timing geysers, there are all kinds of indoor and outdoor activities in Rexburg and Eastern Idaho. There's so much to do that even where you choose to live can determine what you see of life in Rexburg, and what surrounds your apartment can determine your activities in town.
Table of Contents and Links
Indoor Activities in Rexburg Idaho
There are many small businesses that come and go throughout Rexburg, particularly on the strips from Broulims to Walgreens and Walgreens to Walmart. In these popular areas, especially if you live just a walk away, it's good to go around and see what there is to see as the city grows and changes.
1 - Axe Throwing
Recently, an axe-throwing establishment has cropped up where people can go and get their Jason Mamoa on. The medieval weapon practice you always wondered about is now available to you, even in the town of Rexburg, Idaho.
2 - Escape Houses
Escape houses are becoming more popular in Rexburg and the surrounding area. Mostly in the heart of town, these let you try to solve a mystery and make your escape before time runs out. Many locations have multiple rooms or rotate through themes so that you can go back again and again for a new and different puzzle.
3 - Dances
If you look around in the evening, you might be able to see people heading to campus or around town for a dance. BYU-I offers a variety of styled dances with a tutorial class beforehand. Some businesses put their chairs to the walls and get the party started. Casa de Ochoa restaurant hosts weekly dances in the evenings; the back of Perf Scherf Parlour has its lights and music on almost every night.
4 - (Card)Games
As Magic the Gathering has increased in popularity, the gaming store on East main has been hosting tiered matches. A card game with a whole host of interesting character types, play styles, and team options, it is exciting to watch and exciting to play. The location also offers other tabletop games and even a computer gaming lounge you can rent a spot in.
5 - Wildlife Park
Just south of town, there is a bear park. Yes, a bear park, right by Rexburg, Idaho. And a petting zoo. In the spring, new cubs are born, and when they’re old enough, you might get the chance to hold them and play with them. Throughout the rest of the year, you can drive through the park and see bears and other animals, such as buffalo, elk, and deer in their natural habitats.
6 - Trampoline House
In the last few years, trampoline houses have been cropping up around the area. Both out in Idaho Falls and right up against the west side of Rexburg, these places have ropes courses, dodgeball, inflatable jousting, and of course, a whole array of trampolines and foam pits.
7 - Museums
This area has a lot of history, and there are many places to go to see it. Rexburg has a museum for its own history in an old-fashioned church in the center of town. On the west edge of Rexburg, there is an airplane museum showing how military and flight technology has changed over the years. Down south in Idaho Falls, there is a museum with a yearly exhibit, so far featuring everything from the sinking of the Titanic to animal anatomy to King Tut. Many of these locals even have a gift shop to purchase mementos of what you've experienced.
8 - Rock Climbing
South of BYU Rexburg Idaho campus, the university has a ropes course for students to use. Even more occurs on the west side of town. For those looking for an exciting workout, gyms involving rock climbing have made their way into Rexburg. With walls of all levels of difficulty, all heights, and even all materials, the rock climbing gym in Rexburg takes the cake for indoor climbing. The location also offers a summer class as well as yoga classes and Teton CrossFit programs.
9 - Paintball
Right in the heart of town, a paintball-eqsue art location has popped up to give you the opportunity to paint your friends. The location loans coveralls and goggles for you to throw paint at the wall, at a canvas, and at anyone with you, and even provides this with special glow paint for a little extra. They also offer painting classes for a more traditional painting experience.
Another way of painting your friends is offered by the several equipment rental locations in Rexburg. With paintball guns and colorful ammo, these locations can load you up for the chase and let you ink out your claim as best sharpshooter of the pack. These guns will take you to the wide outdoors in Idaho where you can even out the playing field.
10 - Movies
For the spring through the fall seasons, there is a drive-in movie theater to the north of town. It will show two movies a night after the sun goes down. Paid for by car, not per person, load up a van of your roommates or friends and head on in. You'll have to connect your car to the radio station of the drive-in to be able to have audio, so be careful that you don't empty your battery all the way.
The two local theaters play a variety of films. In the center of town, the theater occasionally does a week of themed films, such as Studio Ghibli week. Look out for special offers or events at these locations.
11 - Virtual Reality
Although a pretty recent development, VR is already offered in multiple locations in Rexburg, Idaho. Surprisingly enough, one of these places is a bank! What began as a marketing strategy became a part of the facility here in Rexburg. The other location is held in the movie-theater/ arcade to the north of town. Both places offer a variety of virtual reality games on their VR headsets and have a TV screen showing onlookers what you're playing.
12 - Arcades
Although there is now only one arcade in Rexburg itself, the surrounding areas also house arcades. Both in Idaho Falls, one is attached to the mall, the other is stand-alone. You can earn tickets to win prizes on the wall, although the winnings get counted on a card at each machine instead of coming out in paper strips. These locations have everything from the claw game to basketball, pinball to air hockey. One arcade even has laser tag and has playpens and ball pits for younger children .
Outdoor Activities in Rexburg Idaho and Nearby Areas
Just being in Rexburg, Idaho, surrounded by mountains and forest, begs for all kinds of outdoor activities. For many of these opportunities, you're going to want a car (or a roommate with one) to get to the perfect places Rexburg Idaho and its surrounding areas have to offer.
13 - Skiing and Snowboarding
In the winter, the school partners with Grand Targhee and Kelly Canyon ski resorts and offers current students and former students discounts to the slopes. The college and other locations around town sell and rent out equipment for outdoors activities, whether it be hiking, biking, skiing, or snowboarding.
14 - Hiking
There are several natural hiking trails in Rexburg, Idaho, especially with two national parks in the surrounding area. These trails go for miles around and have opportunities for individuals of all levels. Just southeast of town is a paved trail with wheelchair access for all individuals. Along the path, there are a variety of educational plaques and wildlife examples to enjoy. In the National Parks, designated trails are set for individuals to see all kinds of wildlife, amazing geysers and hot pools, and beautiful landscapes.
More intense hikes including mountain sides and caves occur naturally all over. There is a butte just west of Rexburg where the trail gets steeper the further up you go, although it's far from an advanced hike. Further out from the city, there are paths that take you back into the brush to the tops of waterfalls or the mouths of rivers.
15 - Local Parks
For outdoors activities in Rexburg Idaho itself, the city has three major parks with unique perks. On the northwest of town, a park with a tennis court, a pavilion, and covered tables and benches stretches in front of a duck pond. This location has a path threading through the trees surrounding the pond, and people can actually fish in the pond itself. On one side, there's a skate park to do everything that campus disallows as far as unmotorized wheels go. Further in, there is a small playground and an area for disc golf.
Just west of town, in front of the hospital, a park holds a wall for memorials and has a large statue of an old fashioned cannon walled off. This park has two (two) baseball courts, well used during the grade school season, and a basketball court and pavilion on opposite corners. The sloped sidewalk around this park is perfect just to get your steps in for your apple watch or Pokémon Go. A lot of people bring their dogs to get a run in or to fetch frisbees.
The park in the center of town has a basketball court, a tennis court, a kiddie water park, and a playground. For events, there is a stage and a set of long covered tables on the north and south park edges. In the summer, a merry-go-round goes round for a small fee. One side is dotted with trees for the perfect shaded studying areas, the other is an open for sunshine and sports. Many people bring their hammocks, their soccer balls, their guitars, and their spikeball sets to this center-town area. The walking path around this park is perfect to practice your longboarding or walk your pups.
16 - National Parks
Grand Teton National Park is a few hours east, Yellowstone National Park to the north-east, and even the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Reserve to the north. With all these locations, you can do intense hiking, rock climbing, and cave diving. You can also keep things more simple and take a seat to watch the geysers, walk on a board path through the landscape, or drive through slowly to see the wildlife.
Just over a half hour north of Rexburg, next to Saint Anthony, there is a huge expanse of sand dunes. Around the main area, there are fire pits for roasting marshmallows and telling scary stories. Many people come to stargaze and to camp at night or ride a four-wheeler or practice clay-pigeon shooting during the day. Beware of leftover campfire logs and clay pieces, but don’t be afraid to take a hike in this beautiful area
17 - Campgrounds
There are a few campgrounds in the area to go with your roommates on a summer getaway. Just ten minutes west of town, there is a historical fur trapper area by the unfortunate name of Beaver Dick Park. On the very edge of town to the northwest, there’s a secluded set of campgrounds in the trees just off from the duck pond.
Locations further away can be closer to beautiful views and waterfronts. The national parks and wildlife reserves in the area all have camping options surrounding them, but so do the smaller locations. The nearby dam located between mountains has a forested campground for all sizes of groups. Northeast of town, a hot spring by a river hosts campgrounds perfect for post-swim, hike, or travel places to crash.
Water Activities
Although it is technically a desert, the area surrounding Rexburg is full of water in rivers, hot springs, and lakes. There is so much to do for water-wise activities in and near Rexburg, Idaho.
18 - Canoeing/ Tubing
There are several locations around the area for white water rafting, or, for a calmer experience, canoeing or swimming. Henry’s Fork runs next to Island Park, just an hour north of Rexburg, Idaho. A mountain runoff location, you can rent inner tubes or canoes and get a ride up to the dock area, leaving your cars at the end of the ride. About an hour and a half of canoeing lets you see all kinds of environments, from the pine tree-lined shallows to the deep waters by the flat, grassy plains, always with a view of the mountains around.
These natural-based pools are often near a river also used particularly for floating. Be sure to check out or ask about the river paths before-hand so you can know when and where to get out.
19 - Hot Springs
The natural underground heating that makes Yellowstone so phenomenal also heats pools just enough to relax in. To the north and south of Rexburg are pools that make this work with them. Hot tubs of a variety of temperatures are heated using these natural pools. In some locations, you can find natural pools by yourself - but be careful, as these can be too hot for the human body.
20 - Swimming Pools
Aside from the rivers and the hot tubs in the area, activities in Rexburg Idaho include swimming and the well-known lazy river riding. In Rexburg, there is even a location with waterslides and a kiddie section. This outdoor paved area also has long tables and chairs for lunches and long lounging pool chairs for when you're out of the water and looking to tan.
Just southeast of Rexburg is another outdoor location with waterslides and a swimming pool, whereas to the north of Rexburg is an inside pool with diving boards and basketball hoops to play from the water. To the southwest, there is a city lake with man-made sand beaches for lounging and tanning, shallows for kids, deep water for canoeing and even boating, a dog free-range area, a wooden play set, a mile-walk path, and floating docs and a slide for water fun.
Check 'em Out!
In town, there used to be a karaoke bar, an arcade with laser tag, and a bowling alley, but unfortunately these businesses weren’t able to stay. Many businesses are seasonal due to the weather in Rexburg and don't have a replacement out of season, and several locations are squirrelled away between housing and bigger facilities. Be sure to check out some of the activities in Rexburg Idaho close to your housing to support local businesses and their fun options!