Whether you call it digital nomading, location independent, extreme remote work or something else, this not-so-new lifestyle is something that a lot of new people are choosing. My best friend and I are two such people. We are living and working remotely from various places …
The Idaho State Parks Challenge consists of visiting all of Idaho’s state parks in one year. We made up this challenge to see a bit more of our beautiful state and help alleviate the restlessness caused by Covid-19 travel restrictions. It was maybe the best …
When B and I started our Idaho State Parks Challenge we were a little confused on how many state parks there actually are in Idaho. It seems like this should be pretty clear. So our first step was to get a list of all of the state parks. Imagine our confusion when we saw different numbers listed for the total number of Idaho State Parks in different publications! I reached out to the Idaho State Parks department to get to the bottom of the discrepancy. It turns out there are a few parks that have flip-flopped between being on the list and off the list over the years. If you look in Idaho State Code, you’ll see 30 parks listed. However, the Idaho Park and Recreation website lists the number at 27, which includes two trails.
Four “parks” you may see listed on literature but no longer make the cut are Veterans Memorial State Park, Mowry State Park, Glade Creek State Park, and Malad Gorge State Park.
The Parks
Veterans Memorial State Park: this park has been turned into a city park in Garden City/Boise. It is right on the Boise River and has access to the Greenbelt. There are playgrounds, bathrooms, picnic areas, and lots and lots of grass. In one area there is a tribute to veterans, and different vet’s names are written on bricks. I’m partial to this particular park because my dad’s name is on a brick (Go Pops!).
Mowry State Park: this teeny former state park is only accessible by a boat now. It is essentially a campground. We weren’t able to actually go there, but from where we stayed in Harrison we figured we could see it across the Lake Coeur d’Alene.
Glade Creek State Park: This former state park can be found on the stunning Highway 12 between Missoula, Montana, and Kooskia, Idaho. The park is now basically a campground. It will be pretty clear when you visit here why this area was a state park for a hot minute. The Lochsa River is one of Idaho’s prettiest, and that is a bold statement given Idaho’s stockpile of gorgeous rivers.
Malad Gorge State Park: this park got absorbed into the Thousand Springs State Park. If you are ever driving across southwest Idaho on I-84, you will drive over the gorge. However, you need to pop off the freeway and walk over to fully experience this deep canyon.
Conclusion
We’ve learned a lot about Idaho State Parks during 2020, and were able to see the great, not quite as great, and average parks throughout the state. While we didn’t physically step foot in every one of our four missing Idaho state parks, we can understand why they didn’t quite make the cut, mainly due to size. This is not to say you shouldn’t go visit! Like we learned at Harriman State Park (neighbor to Yellowstone National Park), sometimes it is better to be the unassuming neighbor with all the perks and not as many people.
Note: we visited Idaho State Parks as part of our Idaho State Parks Challenge. The challenge consists of visiting all of Idaho’s state parks in one year. We made up this challenge to see a bit more of our beautiful state and help alleviate the restlessness caused by Covid-19 travel restrictions. Feel free to join the challenge!
State Park Overview Ponderosa State Park is in McCall, Idaho, which is two and a half hours north of Boise. Boiseans enjoy this park in all seasons, with hiking, boating, cross country skiing and mountain biking accessible in a pretty area. Pros: Lots to do …
Learn a little history or ride a jet boat at the lowest point in Idaho (733 feet) when you visit Hells Gate State Park. The name sounds a lot less inviting than this park actually is. State Park Overview Hells Gate State Park is located …
Heyburn State Park is Idaho’s and the Pacific Northwest’s first state park. Created in 1908 (or 1911, depending on who you ask), this park on the banks of Lake Coeur d’Alene set a great example for parks to come.
State Park Overview
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Heyburn State Park is located at the southern end of Coeur d’Alene Lake, where the St. Joe River feeds into the lake. Technically, there are a lot of lakes merging in this area. But to a layman (me), it all seems like Coeur d’Alene Lake. You can relax and soak up the scenery of pines trees and idyllic lakefront property. Boating activities abound.
Pros:
Interesting history with the CCC
Nice lake activities
Chill swim areas
Cons:
Road construction (to be fair, this is only a problem in 2020 most likely)
Pretty crowded
If you live in Coeur d’Alene, you pass a lot of nice areas that look a lot like this on your way to this park
What To Do
Boat
Swim
Paddleboard
Amenities
The park and rec’s site lists the usual suspects for amenities in this park, but also has quite of variety for water activities, including non-motorized boat rentals and boat ramps. There is also a store with gasoline and some unusual lodging opportunities, including cottages and cabins.
Crowd situation
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
There are a few different places you can visit the park. We went with the Rocky Point area and there were not that many people at the beach. The other ones might be more popular.
Unique to Heyburn State Park
Being the first state park in Idaho is pretty cool. Only one park gets that distinction.
A little history about Heyburn State Park
In the early 1900s, Idaho’s congressional Senator Weldon Heyburn pushed real hard to get a national park in this area. His bill didn’t quite make it through Congress though. At the time, the feds were breaking up the Coeur d’Alene reservation and land that was a part of that would eventually be turned into Heyburn State Park. But don’t feel super sorry for Mr. Heyburn; he also got a mountain and town named after him.
In the 1930s and 1940s the Civilian Conservation Corps came to the area and built up the park. We saw the Rocky Point Lodge they built, which looks very good for its age.
We decided paddle boarding at Heyburn State Park would be a fun way to see this area and also get a little more experience on paddle boards. There are a few different places that have places that have beach areas that we could start at, but we decided to launch our boards at Rocky Point. Rocky Point Lodge was right next to the parking lot; we couldn’t go in, but we took a peak-see around and it was super cool.
We were both successful at not tipping our boards over and we were able to follow along the edge of the water. In the distance, we could see the Chatcolet Bridge, which we would ride our tandem bike over the following day as part of the Coeur d’Alene trail. The paddle boarding was very nice and a good place for beginners (which I am). I didn’t tip over once and there weren’t that many boats to send wakes that would threaten my balance too much. We saw a bunch of boat slips, so this place could probably get pretty busy, but we didn’t see that much traffic.
There was a nice grassy area where we could fill and empty our paddle boards (they are inflatable) that was close distance to the car and water, so we didn’t have to carry them far.
Conclusion
Heyburn State Park, on the opposite end of Coeur d’Alene Lake from Coeur d’Alene, is a nice alternative to hanging out in Coeur d’Alene. It is more secluded and has a more outdoorsy, camping feel while not being too far away from the city.
Note: we visited Heyburn State Park as part of our Idaho State Parks Challenge. The challenge consists of visiting all of Idaho’s state parks in one year. We made up this challenge to see a bit more of our beautiful state and help alleviate the restlessness caused by Covid-19 travel restrictions. Feel free to join the challenge!
Forces of nature (wind) tried to keep us away from Farragut State Park by knocking over trees and power lines, but we persevered and got to explore (some) of this beautiful park. State Park Overview Farragut State Park in northern Idaho is located on the …
State Park Overview Coeur d’Alene’s Old Mission State Park (that’s a mouthful so it will hereafter be known as Old Mission State Park) in northern Idaho celebrates the first building in all of Idaho: the Cataldo Mission. Priests came to this part of Idaho to …
Priest Lake State Park is the northernmost state park in Idaho. It is 15 miles from the Canadian border and a beautiful blue lake surrounded by mountains and pine trees. Less visited than its sister lakes (Coeur d’Alene and Pend Oreille), Priest Lake feels like a secret that you are lucky enough to be in on.
Pros:
Very, very pretty
Not as crowded as other lakes
Range of boating activities
Cons:
Cold water
Takes a long time to get to
Will want to come back again and again and again
What To Do at Priest Lake State Park
Boat
Fish
Camp
Paddleboard
Amenities
There are three units that comprise Priest Lake State Park: Lion Head, Indian Creek, and Dickensheet. Different amenities can be found in the different units. In the section we went to, Indian Creek, there is a small camp store, RV hookups and camp spots, and vault bathrooms. For all of the details about Priest Lake, visit the Department of Parks and Rec website.
Crowd situation
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Better than the other lakes in this area, but it can still get crowded. We went the day after Labor Day and didn’t have any problems, but we heard Labor Day weekend had no available campsites.
Unique to Priest Lake State Park
A silent movie film star in the 1920s, Nell Shipman, made Priest Lake her home and starred and produced several movies here. Shipman Point is named for this impressive woman who bucked the gender roles in the 20s. Hey girl hey….
A little history about Priest Lake State Park
One theory for the name Priest Lake is that the previous name for it, Kaniksu, meant black robe in the local native dialect. Get it? Black robe=priest. Logging was (and still is) big business in Northern Idaho. In an effort to protect the area’s resources in the 1900s, land around Priest Lake became national forest and then Idaho forest lands, eventually making its way to a state park.
We visited the eastern part of the park. When we arrived, we popped into the quaint camp store to see what they had to offer (an odd selection of camping supplies and lake merchandise). I ended up with a Priest Lake sweatshirt and B got a wall hanging. Go figure. We then made our way to the water after driving through the camp spots. Parking spots next to the water were starting to fill up, but we scored a close one and blew up our paddle boards. The water was a little choppy, but we managed to paddle around a segment of the lake that had cool lake houses for us to look at. The water was pretty chilly, so I was glad I didn’t fall off the board.
We talked to a few people and learned that most visitors to the park were from the area, not just in Idaho but in Washington also. It is pretty clear why, the scenery is hard to beat.
Conclusion
Priest Lake State Park is a long ways from Boise. But if you are into clear water and pine trees, and don’t want to be surrounded by very many Boiseans, this might be the park for you. Nell was on to something.
Note: we visited Priest Lake State Park as part of our Idaho State Parks Challenge. The challenge consists of visiting all of Idaho’s state parks in one year. We made up this challenge to see a bit more of our beautiful state and help alleviate the restlessness caused by Covid-19 travel restrictions. Feel free to join the challenge!
State Park Overview Massacre Rocks State Park can be found on the Snake River in southeastern Idaho. This dry stretch of land is full of sagebrush and rattlesnakes, but the Snake River adds variety to the landscape. History is the name of the game here, …