Unique digital nomad travel adventures from around the U.S.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Being the first state park in Idaho is pretty cool. Only one park gets that distinction.
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.
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!
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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.
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.
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.
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….
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.
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!
Related posts you might like:
Or if you want to see all of our posts, visit Past Posts.
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, …
Along the western side of Dworshak Reservoir sits Dworshak State Park. Our visit to this park was fraught with challenges thanks to a wildfire (keep reading to learn more about that experience). Since we did not visit the park under the best of circumstances, I …
Round Lake State Park is small but mighty. It is a hidden gem in the Idaho panhandle and a great stop if you are exploring this area. We found it an excellent location to try out geocaching for the first time (without an experienced cacher).
“As the surrounding area is starting to fill up with housing developments, the park provides a corridor for wildlife and helps preserve the natural areas for visitors to learn, appreciate and make memories.”
Mary McGraw
Mary McGraw is the Park Manager at Round Lake State Park and she has been working at the park for 24 years. We were there for much less time, but we can attest to Round Lake being a great place to make memories.
The park has a nice visitor center and all of the usual picnic tables and such. For all of the specifics, check out the parks and rec’s website for Round Lake State Park.
We visited the Round Lake State Park at the end of the day on Labor Day weekend. There were others enjoying the park as well, but it was not too busy. I imagine if we had visited earlier in the day, there would have been a bigger crowd to contend with. But in general, it sounds like this is a quiet park when it comes to crowds.
Because this state park is small (by Idaho standards), there are limited camping options. This is not a bad thing. Apparently, the camping atmosphere is reminiscent of camping in the 1950s. The only campground loop is occupied by smaller units which, along with the tents and the campfires, provide an intimate and nostalgic experience…even for one who never camped in the 1950s.
The visitor center at Round Lake State Park is actually an old family home. When the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation purchased the 143 acres around Round Lake in 1973, the house came with it. It was then renovated and turned into the visitor center. Unfortunately, we arrived too late to visit the inside of the visitor center. But we saw the outside and we exclaimed out loud, “It’s adorable!”
We picked up a pizza in Sandpoint and headed south. I would provide the name of the pizza place, but we did not have that great of an experience. However, there are plenty of places to grab some food in Sandpoint. When we arrived at Round Lake State Park, the first thing we noticed were a couple of empty picnic tables with a view of the lake. It was dusk and lovely. I wanted to eat, but I also wanted to take some photos. It was a tough choice. Once the pizza was eaten and the photos were taken, we headed out on the Trapper Trail.
For some reason, we decided to try our hand at geocaching while visiting Round Lake State Park. We had done it one other time with a group of friends (although, to be honest, we didn’t pay much attention to the particulars). I reached out to my cousin to figure out where to start. Turns out an app is a good idea. So I downloaded a geocache app and looked for options at Round Lake. Surprisingly, they were quite a few. We picked an easy one and headed toward the cache. We had no clue what we were doing, but somehow, we managed to find that cache. I don’t know that I am a geocache convert, but I know I felt a sense of accomplishment after we found it. Plus, it made for a good memory of Round Lake State Park.
Trapper Trail circles Round Lake and is 1.8 miles long. We figured we would complete it easily. And I suppose we did, but it was little too dark by the time we finished. I do think it was worth our effort to see the sunset the way we did, but it would have been a good idea to bring a flashlight. As someone who does not enjoy hiking very much, I can recommend this trail.
I will conclude my post about this park with a few more words from Mary McGraw (since she knows a lot more than I do):
“After being at Round Lake State Park for 24 years, one of the things that sticks with me is the family atmosphere of the park. Families come here and enjoy the Park by swimming, hiking and fishing, sometimes for the first time. Kids can explore the outdoors with their Mom and Dad or Grandma and Grandpa, in a safe, relatively small area. There are very diverse habitats within the park, with a lot of wildlife and different plants. We encourage the exploration of the park by providing interpretative programs, interpretive signs and self-exploration with our loaner backpacks that are chucked full of activities. The park visitor center and many of the programs we present are geared to the kids to help create stewardship of our natural resources.”
Note: we visited Round 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!
Related posts you might like:
Or if you want to see all of our posts, visit Past Posts.
If you have got good clearance on your car, the views in Mary McCroskey State Park are well worth a visit. State Park Overview Each state park is unique. But some are more unique than others. Mary McCroskey State Park is one of the more …