Kids from all over the valley (not just Eagle) have been using the park. That's the beauty of it. It's 8 miles from downtown Boise. And you don't have to spend 45 min. driving up winding, slippery roads to get there. At Gateway, parents can drop their kids off for a couple hours after school or sit at the fire pits & watch. Good article on the cover of the local paper.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/12/05/3524915_making-it-snow-in-eagle.html?sp=/99/1687/&rh=1
Eagle's Mayor says Gateway will introduce snow sports to a new generation, due to the easy access & affordability. I agree. We bundled up our kids & took them up to Bogus/Sun Valley/Brundage every weekend until they could drive, but only cuz we are ski bums (in our hearts). Even after they could drive, many parents wouldn't let their teens drive up the mountain. We did (cuz...ski bums). Most parents wouldn't even let their kids ride in the car with my kid driving. So all their friends would load into my van & I would drive them up to Bogus if it was a week night & to Sun Valley on weekends. But it would have been awesome if they had a place close by that they could go during the week, on safe roads, for just a few hours & still get homework done & get sleep.
To be honest, the terrain park at Bogus usually wasn't worth the drive. It was often not even open. The Bogus park crew had to build features with shovels cuz they didn't have a cat driver who knew how to build park features. Everyone loves Bogus on pow days & for the stashes in the trees. But young people who want to ski a real terrain park (with well-built & well-maintained jumps & rails) had to find their way to Sun Valley, and that was possible only on weekends. The awesome features at Gateway are forcing Bogus to step up their game. Bogus FINALLY made the terrain park it's own department & hired a guy who knows what he's doing to run it. We are all hopeful that Bogus's park will improve. If it does, that's awesome for everyone & I am STOKED! And I think we have Gateway to thank for that, too!