North Idaho -- The Land of Lakes

By Brent Clark Photojournalist

The Inland Northwest definitely offers local residents and visitors the chance to beat the summer heat. The region offers: the largest lake in Idaho, Pend Oreille Lake, a recently-constructed water park; Boulder Beach Water Park, which cools you off with a wave pool, high-speed slides and a tubin’ creek; or find retreat on an island camping trip on Priest Lake.

Oh, and of course, don’t forget the phenomenal white-water rafting and kayaking on the St. Joe, Spokane, Moyie and Priest River. It will be kind of hard to forget the mossy cedar forest on the banks of the Joe and the crashing waves that splash your expression into exhilarating facial contortions on the Moyie. Guided trips are available from ROW and other guide companies if you want to venture out with friends and family.

And if the wild side isn’t for you, then there is always a leisurely stroll around the boardwalk at The Coeur d’Alene Resort, which lays the claim to fame as being the longest floating boardwalk in the world at 3,300 feet long. Check the boardwalk out at dusk and search out the chance to watch an out-of-this-world sunset or an electrically-charged thunderstorm blow in.

Another trip might be offered on a lazy float trip in a drift boat casting a fly rod to biting cutthroat trout in the eddies and pools on the Joe or Coeur d’Alene River. If 12-15-inch fish aren’t large enough for you, then take a chance at trying to reel in a kamploops on Pend Oreille Lake on a chartered boat. Maybe, you will break the state record.

With cascading streams, Class III-IV rapid-filled rivers, 110,000 acres of surface water on the region’s lakes to throttle the jet ski and jump the boat-generated wave on water skis or wake board – it is easy to see why the Best of the Inland Northwest offers manyh forms of superlative aquatic entertainment to the summer crowd.

With many riverside campgrounds and dispersed camping up the Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe River, you can find hiking, biking, and fishing just a few steps away from your tent or RV door. Of course, you will want to abide by all Washington or Idaho fishing regulations or potentially have to face talking to the uniformed conservation officer and a hefty fine.

Eagles arrive along the banks of the Coeur d’Alene Lake starting in November and Lake Coeur d’Alene Cruises from the The Coeur d’Alene Resort docks to view the birds that take flight in January to better feeding grounds.

Your best bet on ground to spot a feeding eagle is to travel east from Coeur d’Alene on I-90 to the exit for Highway 97; then proceed south toward Harrison and Beauty Bay. Keep out a keen eye with a pair of binoculars and stop at various locations to search out the perched or soaring birds, which tend to feed in the morning and evening.

For others, a cedar-lined trail and hike to search out a waterfall to feel the misting water strike them in the face may be the ticket to aquatic bliss in the summer heat. While there are many dramatic cascading drop offs,

Inset + background of 30-percent granite falls shot
:
Clark’s Top Misty Waterfalls in the Best of the Inland Northwest

• Moyie River Falls east of Bonners Ferry
• Granite Falls and American Falls north of Nordman, Idaho
• American Falls near the Canadian Border and north of Priest Lake
• Copper and Snow Creek Falls near Bonners Ferry
• Fern Falls on Yellow Dog Creek in the Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District

Visit either the Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District office on Sherman Avenue, Priest Lake Ranger District on Highway 57, Sandpoint Ranger District, or Bonners Ferry Ranger District for more information.

And if you don’t like to, or can’t swim, then come watch over 1,400 Ironman athletes take to the waters of Coeur d’Alene Lake each year to battle it out for a chance at the world championships in June.

So, you’ve seen the mystifying waterscapes above ground, well you can always head underwater to visit the site of the Georgie Oaks or the Idaho steamboats that once were the hub of passenger traffic from and to the Coeur d’Alene Mining District. Professional dive companies in Coeur d’Alene and Spokane can provide lessons for SCUBA certification or equipment and information to get your way to submerged explorations.

And the region is so rich in water molecules from each winter snow that provides powder turns each year to boarders and skiers at the five ski resorts in the Inland Northwest Ski Association. They include:

• Lookout Pass, powder-rich ski area on the Idaho-Montana border east of CDA
• Silver Mountain which offers the world’s longest single-stage gondola in Kellogg, Idaho
• Mount Spokane, only minutes away from a major metropolitan city
• Schweitzer Mountain Resort, northwest of Sandpoint offers new terrain from 2006
• 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort, near Newport, Washington has additional expansion plans

And, don’t forget the world-class snowmobiling and skiing that the Best of the Inland Northwest region offers after you have recovered from your aquatic escapades in Eastern Washington and North Idaho.

 

	If your reading this , . . . the secrets out. Coeur d'Alene, Idaho featured on ABC's The View as the countries #1 up-and-coming communities and your top real estate buy. Sandpoint, crowns the majestic 43-mile-long Lake Pend Oreille and sits at the base of Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort— truly a community that has it all. Simply put, Priest Lake is paradise. The place where the locals go to experience the true splendor of North Idaho.