Accounts differ regarding the name's origin.
One account credits Capt.
B.L.E. Bonneville of the U.S. Army as its source.
After trekking for weeks through dry and rough terrain, his exploration party reached an overlook with a view of the Boise River Valley.
The place where they stood is called Bonneville Point, located on the Oregon Trail east of the city.
According to the story, a French-speaking guide, overwhelmed by the sight of the verdant river, yelled "Les bois!
Les bois!" ("
The woods!
The woods!")—and the name stuck.

The name may also derive from earlier mountain men who named the river that flows through it.
In the 1820s, French Canadian fur trappers set trap lines in the vicinity.
Set in a high-desert area, the tree-lined valley of the Boise River became a distinct landmark, an oasis dominated by cottonwood trees.
They called this "La rivière boisée", which means "the wooded river."
Accounts differ regarding the name's origin. One account credits Capt. B.L.E. Bonneville of the U.S. Army as its source. After trekking for weeks through dry and rough terrain, his exploration party reached an overlook with a view of the Boise River Valley. The place where they stood is called Bonneville Point, located on the Oregon Trail east of the city. According to the story, a French-speaking guide, overwhelmed by the sight of the verdant river, yelled "Les bois! Les bois!" ("The woods! The woods!")—and the name stuck.
The name may also derive from earlier mountain men who named the river that flows through it. In the 1820s, French Canadian fur trappers set trap lines in the vicinity. Set in a high-desert area, the tree-lined valley of the Boise River became a distinct landmark, an oasis dominated by cottonwood trees. They called this "La rivière boisée", which means "the wooded river."
Boise, Idaho