After visiting Idaho Falls and Boise, our final week in Idaho was spent in Coeur d’Alene. Coeur d’Alene is a city in northern Idaho, about 100 miles south of the Canadian border.
I’d heard great things about the city from people who’d visited there and raved about its beauty. It is indeed a very scenic area, located on the north end of Lake Coeur d’Alene, with mountains all around. We were a little unfortunate with the weather during our time there though. After mostly lovely weather while we were in Boise, Coeur d’Alene was mostly cloudy and rainy which affected our motivation to get out and explore the area.
Here’s a roundup of everything we did in Coeur d’Alene.
Where We Stayed In Coeur d’Alene
We stayed all week at the MainStay Suites Couer d’Alene which is one of Choice Hotels’ brands. It was only three miles from downtown and the lake and was close to grocery stores and restaurants, so it was a convenient location to be in.
MainStay Suites is an extended stay brand and I believe all of their suites include a full kitchen with a fridge-freezer, stove top, dishwasher, etc.
Overall, it was a very good stay. The hotel was quiet, has good amenities like a guest laundry area, indoor swimming pool, whirlpool and fitness room and even has a small fenced-in dog area at the back of the property.
We booked our stay using 12,000 Choice Privileges points per night. The cash rate was $140.46 per night including tax, so we got 1.17cpp (cents per point) of value which is very good for Choice as we’d bought the points last year when they were on sale for 0.52cpp, so we got more than double the value we paid for the points.
What We Did In Coeur d’Alene
Drive To Coeur d’Alene
We don’t normally include the drive to a city in these roundups, but the drive up there is definitely worth highlighting. We’d driven from Boise to Coeur d’Alene, stopping in McCall overnight along the way as the 7 hour drive would’ve been too long to do in one day due to work commitments.
The whole drive had beautiful scenery, but particularly so the second day as we drove from McCall to Coeur d’Alene. We took US-95 pretty much all the way, with a large portion of the journey running alongside the Salmon River. It reminded me of driving through Vermont where there always seemed to be a river or stream running alongside the road wherever you drive, with mountains in the distance.
The photo below doesn’t do justice to how stunning it was, but it was one of the most scenic drives we’ve had the entire road trip.
Hiking At Tubbs Hill
One of the best ways to view a lake is from up above, so I looked for hikes near Lake Coeur d’Alene and came across Tubbs Hill. The main trail there is a loop trail around the base of the mountain, but with a bit of elevation to get some good views. Along the route, there was a side trail listed as the Summit Trail, so Truffles and I decided to make the more strenuous journey uphill.
If what you’re after is views, it might be best to give the Summit Trail a miss and stick with the main loop trail. That’s because tall trees block the view of the lake from the summit.
From the summit, you have a couple of options. You can take the trail back that you’d taken up, or the Summit Trail continues down on the other side of the mountain. I decided to take the latter option which, in hindsight, might’ve been a mistake because it meant we missed more than half of the loop trail. The route down did give the opportunity to see some deer though, with Truffles thankfully not noticing them.
Once back on the main trail, the views of the lake improved as there were fewer trees blocking the view.
We returned to Tubbs Hill with Shae the next day so that she could enjoy it too. We only walked some of the main trail and took a side trail down to a beach area where we sat for a while and listened to the gentle waves lapping against the shore.
Falls Park In Post Falls
About 10 miles west of Coeur d’Alene is the city of Post Falls. We had some time to kill on our way from Coeur d’Alene to Spokane, WA, so we stopped at Falls Park to check it out.
The park has quite the contrast because if you look in one direction there’s the Spokane River which looks almost lake-like…
…while in the other direction the river rages through the Post Falls North Dam which generates a lot of electricity for the area.
Falls Park has a paved trail winding through it with information boards about its different features and offering lovely views.
Treaty Rock Park
Whenever relations between the indigenous populations of an area and the colonizers that moved into the area come up, it’s always tough to know what to believe. Our history is full of European and American colonizers settling throughout the US and what’s often shared is a level of “both-sidesism” that is disingenuous to the true history, which is full of systematic and government sanctioned racism and genocide against the indigenous populations.
Treaty Rock in Post Falls seems to be one of those places that there was a genuine agreement reached that would benefit both sides. Moses Seltice of the Coeur d’Alene tribe and Frederick Post came together to sign over 200 acres of land of the Coeur d’Alene people to Post for a lumber mill, with the indigenous population receiving lumber in return.
The agreement was signed at Treaty Rock and the information around it seems to suggest that the Coeur d’Alene people are involved in the accurate telling of this historic event. It’s unknown whether the rock featuring their names was the actual treaty agreement, or if that came later.
Where We Ate & Drank In Coeur d’Alene
Seeing as we had a kitchen in our suite, we didn’t really eat out while in Coeur d’Alene. There’s therefore only one entry for this section – a rare situation for us!
Trails End Brewery
Just up the road from our hotel was Trails End Brewery, so we went for a drink there one afternoon.
Service was very good and the beer was decent but not life-changing. Trails End has a pet-friendly patio, so you can bring your pup for a drink too.
Things We Missed In Coeur d’Alene
The bad weather meant we didn’t make much effort to do many outdoor activities or explore a little further afield. Here’s what we missed out on in Coeur d’Alene and the surrounding area as a result:
- Nez Perce National Historical Park
- Hells Gate State Park
- Seven Stars Alpaca Ranch
- Riverstone Dog Park
- Museum of North Idaho
- Farragut State Park
- Scotchman Peak
- Round Lake State Park – has Swamp Tromp trail
- Maiden Rock Trail
- Priest Lake
- Kaniksu National Forest
- Mickinnick Trail Head 13
- Laughing Dog Brewing
- Sandpoint
- Matchwood Brewing Company
- MickDuff’s Brewing Company – Brewpub
- Utara Brewing Co
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