The Boise Farmers Market opened its 2026 Winter Market last Saturday at the Idaho Botanical Garden, and it isn't leaving when the season ends. The Garden is the market's permanent home now, with an annual season that runs April through December. For anyone living along Warm Springs Avenue or below Table Rock, 2355 Old Penitentiary Road becomes a regular Saturday stop for most of the year. From late November it also has evening hours, because Winter Garden aGlow, the Old Idaho Penitentiary and the Table Rock trailheads all sit on the same short stretch of road.
From Shoreline Drive to the Garden Gate
The market spent its regular April through October season on Shoreline Drive starting in 2019. Its winter market moved among several locations over the years, as KIVI reported on Nov. 5. According to the Idaho Press, downtown sites had become harder to secure, so the market went looking for somewhere it could stay. The paper quotes the market's board president calling the Garden's offer "phenomenal."
Amber Beierle, the market's executive director, told KIVI what the move gives the organization: "Now, we don't have to move around, be afraid that things will move around us, not a ton of construction around us. We're finally home, home."
The new site is also getting its own look. Local artist Bobby Gaytan is painting a mural at the market space, and Beierle described it to KIVI as a picture of food traveling "from farm to market, right to your table."
What a Winter Saturday at the Garden Looks Like
Six Saturdays are left. The Winter Market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 14, 21 and 28 and on Dec. 5, 12 and 19. Admission is free. You can park free in the Garden's Parking Garden or anywhere in the Old Penitentiary Historic District.
The market lists more than 70 vendors for the winter. More than 40 of them are under a large canopy and more than 20 are outdoors. Expect seasonal produce, meats, baked goods, pasta and other local goods. On a cold December morning, the canopy is where most of the shopping happens, and the outdoor stalls are the ones you'll want a warmer coat for.
This winter's setup is temporary. The Garden's Community Grows Here expansion adds 10 acres, and a permanent indoor market building is planned for a later phase. The Garden and the market are working together to fund it. For now, the canopy and the open-air stalls are the market.
Starting Nov. 27, the Same Address Is Busy Day and Night
The expansion matters again after dark. Winter Garden aGlow runs Nov. 27 through Dec. 30 with 900,000 lights. This year's new feature is the Lake of Lights, which spreads into the expanded part of the Garden across Outlaw Field. This December, aGlow uses some of the same new acreage that the expansion plan is built around.
The practical details:
- Hours: They vary by night, generally between 5 and 9 p.m. The last four nights of the run are listed as 6 to 8 p.m.
- Tickets: Standard nights are $20 for adults and $16 for youth. Discount nights are $16 and $11. Members pay $15 and $11 on standard nights and $11 and $6 on discount nights. Kids under 3 get in free.
- Entry: Tickets are timed, but you can stay until closing. The Garden says popular nights can sell out and suggests booking ahead.
- Parking: Parking is free in the new Parking Garden, and a shuttle can drop guests at the ticket kiosks. On busy nights, give yourself extra time to arrive.
Four Saturdays have both events: Nov. 28, Dec. 5, Dec. 12 and Dec. 19. On those days the Parking Garden serves market shoppers in the morning and aGlow visitors in the evening. Here is how the next seven weeks on Old Penitentiary Road line up:
| Date | Day | What's happening on Old Penitentiary Road |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 13 | Friday | Old Pen Night Tours, 6 to 10 p.m. |
| Nov. 14 | Saturday | Winter Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
| Nov. 20 | Friday | Old Pen Night Tours, 6 to 10 p.m. |
| Nov. 21 | Saturday | Winter Market |
| Nov. 27 | Friday | aGlow opening night |
| Nov. 28 | Saturday | Winter Market, then aGlow |
| Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 | Monday, Tuesday | aGlow closed |
| Dec. 5 | Saturday | Winter Market, then aGlow |
| Dec. 7, 8, 9 | Monday to Wednesday | aGlow closed |
| Dec. 12 | Saturday | Winter Market, then aGlow |
| Dec. 14 | Monday | aGlow closed |
| Dec. 19 | Saturday | Last Winter Market of 2026, then aGlow |
| Dec. 30 | Wednesday | Last night of aGlow |
The Old Pen Picks Up the Afternoon
The market closes at 1 p.m., and the Old Idaho Penitentiary is already open by then. Its winter hours, listed by the Idaho State Historical Society, are noon to 5 p.m. daily, with last admission at 4 p.m. It closes on major state holidays. That makes it easy to buy groceries in the morning and spend the early afternoon next door, all on one parking spot in the historic district.
There are two November evenings at the Old Pen as well. Night Tours run Friday, Nov. 13 and Friday, Nov. 20, from 6 to 10 p.m., with last admission at 9. Tickets are $16 per person or two for $25, and Historical Society members get in free.
Up the Hill, Table Rock in Mud Season
The same road leads to the Table Rock trailheads, and the trails there behave differently in winter. Table Rock trails and trailheads are open to walkers and bikes from sunrise to sunset, and the summit is still closed to vehicles. Ridge to Rivers says to skip the area's high-clay trails in wet winter weather. It names the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Trail #19A and the lower part of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes Loop #19 as all-weather options.
For a morning hike before the market, those two routes are the ones to plan around after a storm. Ridge to Rivers' Nov. 6 weekend report found foothills trails firm and tacky after rain. That was one weekend's reading, though, and conditions change from week to week. The general rule from Ridge to Rivers is to stay off muddy trails and go out when the ground is frozen or dry. If you hit a short muddy stretch, walk or ride straight through it instead of stepping off the trail.
A little farther north, lower Military Reserve has a change too. A riparian restoration area along Freestone Creek was scheduled to be fenced starting Oct. 8. Trail users are being routed to the Freestone Creek and Mountain Cove trails by way of Toll Road Trail.
One more change comes Dec. 3. Boise Parks and Recreation will stop sending Ridge to Rivers trail-condition text alerts through the RainoutLine app. The department suggests bookmarking ridgetorivers.org or following Ridge to Rivers on Facebook. The same page still lists a recorded conditions line at 208-231-0001, extension 11. If you've been relying on the texts to decide whether Table Rock is dry enough on a Saturday morning, set up one of those other options before December.
If having the market on Old Penitentiary Road nine months a year makes you wonder how close your own street is to it, or which parts of the East End are within walking distance of the Garden, I'm happy to walk through it with you. Stephen Sawyer works with East Boise neighbors on questions like that every week. Schedule a free consultation.
