Zimo: Give your sweetie the great outdoors for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day can be an outdoorsy celebration, even in February, and even if it falls on a weekday.

You can still get out close to home, get some fresh air, enjoy a romantic dinner and share some outdoorsy gifts.

ROMANTIC RENDEZVOUS

There’s not much time to do a lot of planning, but here are some quick ideas from an outdoors romantic:

• Night skiing at Bogus Basin comes to mind right off the bat.

Why not make a few runs, have dinner and drinks at the J.R. Simplot Lodge. How about chili dogs and beer? OK, make it a little more upscale with an order of chicken strips with a honey mustard sauce paired with a nice wine from the bar at the lodge.

Or, for better views, stop by the Pioneer Lodge for dinner. Then make a few more runs.

• Nordic skiers are in luck. Bogus Basin’s Nordic trails are open until 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday nights. Do a little cross-country skiing or snowshoeing under the lights along 7 kilometers of trails. The views of the Valley at sunset are breathtaking if the weather’s nice.

Then, settle by the fireplace at the Frontier Point Lodge and have your brown-bag picnic dinner. Frontier Point Lodge is a pretty romantic place.

• If you can get off work a little earlier in the day, plan a sunset hike and picnic on Bruneau Dunes.

The state park is magical at sunset. Bundle up, though, because it can get chilly at dusk.

It’s south of Mountain Home and about an hour from Boise.

• How about an early evening run, walk or bike ride along Boise’s Greenbelt and then dinner at one of the many restaurants close to the river pathway? There’s a lot of variety, including brew pub burgers, pizza and baked brie.

• Take a bird-watching stroll hand in hand with your sweetie in Kathryn Albertson Park. The lighting at sunset in the natural areas of the park is pretty dramatic.

Restaurants are nearby for a treat after your walk.

• One of the most romantic places in Boise is Camel’s Back Hill at sunset. Really.

Bundle up, sit back and have a picnic dinner and watch the sunset and city lights.

Or, you can go to one of the restaurants in Hyde Park or off Bogus Basin Road after sunset.

• You can hold off on gift buying until the evening of Valentine’s Day.

Go out to dinner and then go shopping at an outdoors store together. How romantic can it be to be gear heads together.

Let your significant other pick out his or her own Valentine’s gift. Plan this ahead of time with your partner so they don’t think you forgot to get something.

• You also can get take out and just relax at home watching Outdoor Idaho videos available from Idaho Public Television. See idahoptv.org/outdoors.

Videos are available at IPTV’s studio at 1455 N. Orchard St.

I like “The Whitewater State,” “Owyhee Canyonlands,” “River of No Return,” and “Idaho’s Centennial Trail,” to name a few.

You can see a library of videos on the PBS website.

OUTDOORSY GIFTS

Forget a dozen roses. How about a dozen red carabiners?

Choosing the right outdoorsy Valentine’s gift isn’t that difficult.

How do you define lingerie? Well, nothing says “I love you” like a pair of lightweight synthetic or merino wool longjohns.

A new life jacket will show your concern for your partner and how much you love him or her.

Do you know how romantic a hot-red headlamp is?

Make sure your valentine is safe on the road while cycling with an neon yellow cycling jacket. Concern for safety is a way of showing your love.

Happy Valentine’s Day.