Unique digital nomad travel adventures from around the U.S.
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). …
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 …
Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes State Park provides 73 miles of scenic views and a smooth ride. It is touted as one of the most spectacular trails in the western United States and I have to say, I agree.
For the most part, Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes State Park is an old rail line converted into a bike path. Because it is an old rail line, it has a gentle grade making it a 73-mile smooth, paved trail through the Idaho wilderness. What could be better than that?
Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes State Park is one of three trails in the Idaho State Parks system. At 73 miles, it is certainly the longest. There are three main sections:
No matter which section of the trail you decide to explore, the views will be stunning. There are twenty trailheads and various access points as well as towns all along the trail. But mostly, you will find scenic views and Idaho wildlife. This trail is a wonderful way to explore a unique part of Idaho.
This is a trail so amenities will be limited and spread out. There are picnic tables and restrooms along the route, but there may not be one when you need it. For all of the specifics as well as maps, check out the parks and rec’s website for Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes State Park.
The crowd situation will depend on what part of the trail you are on and what time of year you visit. There will naturally be more open spaces the further you get from access points and major towns. We started at one of the main towns on Labor Day Weekend. We also rode a popular section of the trail. Naturally, we saw a lot of people. However, we were still able to ride comfortably at our own pace. Avoid popular areas on popular weekends and you will avoid the crowds altogether.
The range of birds you can see from the trail is quite impressive. From the Idaho Department of Parks and Rec: “The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes passes through a diverse landscape with numerous habitats making it one of the best birding locales in North Idaho….According to the Coeur d’Alene Audubon, the Trail bisects all the major low-elevation habitat types found in North Idaho. This habitat profile yields a potential list of 189 species, plus an additional 48 very rare species.” Don’t forget your binoculars!
The trail is mostly an old rail line that was built to support mining (primarily silver), timber and other supply industries. The history of building rail lines is rarely pretty. When the rail line that makes up the majority of this trail was built in 1884, waste rock and tailings containing heavy metals were used and there were accidental spills of contaminated ore. All of this made for an environmentally-unfriendly, manmade structure.
One thing I find exciting about the trail is that the Union Pacific Railroad, the U.S. Government, the State of Idaho and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe partnered together to clean it up. So it is not just a beautiful trail, it is an environmental cleanup effort as well. Win-win!
Where you are at on the trail depends on how close you are to the locations listed below–the trail is 73 miles long after all.
We stayed in an Airbnb in Harrison, Idaho. We were delighted to learn that Harrison is home to a bike shop that rents since we did not bring our own bikes on this road trip. Since we did not make any reservations because we were not sure when we wanted to hit the trail, we ended up in the bike shop at an inconvenient time. Basically, every working, normal bike they had available was out for rent. We had two options: wait a couple of hours for some rentals to come back or rent a tandem bike. Now, R and I are close. But a tandem bike experience has never been on our bucket list. The idea of waiting around for a couple of hours turned out to be the greater of two evils…so we rented ourselves a tandem bike and headed down the trail.
The first thing we noticed on our bicycle built for two were all the grins, smirks and smiles. People cannot help but give you one when they see you on a tandem bike. I probably do it too, but I never realized. There is nothing inconspicuous about tandem bikes and while everyone is out there enjoying the scenery, they got an extra kick out of us. It was so weird.
The second thing we noticed is that it didn’t take us any longer to get to our destination (the historic and very cool Chatcolet Bridge) and back. We made excellent time! I don’t know that we will be renting a tandem bike again anytime soon, but it made for a very interesting experience.
If you want to have a similar experience (with or without the tandem bike–no judging), the bike shop we rented from was called The Cycle Haus. There are other places to rent bicycles as well, but you will not be flush with options. It really just depends on where you plan to hit the trail.
The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes State Park is a wonderful trail and a fantastic way to see northern Idaho. We are very lucky to have it as part of our state parks system.
Note: we visited the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes 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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Lake Cascade State Park is a large park located on a large lake. If you want to camp and/or get out on the water, this park is a good option for you. If you want to be able to find things easily, this park is …
Winchester Lake State Park is a hidden gem in the middle of Idaho. Peaceful, beautiful, and the perfect place to stay for a night. State Park Overview Winchester Lake State Park is not large. But what it lacks in size it makes up for in …
If you visit Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in the summertime and are looking for a place away from the crowds, head to Coeur d’Alene Parkway State Park. You will find a lakeside trail with lovely views and few people.
About 15 minutes south of Coeur d’Alene (CDA) is a paved trail known as Coeur d’Alene Parkway State Park. This trail is one of three trails in the Idaho State Parks system. At 5.7 miles, it is the shortest. However, it is part of the North Idaho Centennial Trail, which consists of 24 miles between Higgens Point and the Idaho-Washington border. This trail then joins the Liberty Lake Stateline Trail. So really, Coeur d’Alene Parkway State Park is the beginning (or end) of a long, scenic trail through CDA and along the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene and parts of the Spokane River. This trail is also part of the Millennium Legacy trail system.
There is a fair amount of parking. However, it may fill up on busy summer days. They have restroom facilities and the usual picnic tables and such. For all of the specifics, check out the parks and rec’s website for Coeur d’Alene Parkway State Park.
We visited the Parkway right at sunset. There were a couple of other people enjoying the beautiful sight, but we had plenty of room to maneuver. I am sure it gets busier during a warm summer day. But everything I have read says this is a good place to avoid the usual CDA crowds.
This park is an excellent place to spot bald eagles. Note: this is a wintertime activity. From November to February, bald eagles descend on the area. Why? Well, Kokanee, a landlocked small sockeye salmon, come to the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene to spawn and die. The eagles come to feast. Apparently, it is not uncommon to count 200+ eagles. Wow.
We can thank Washington State for this little trail and state park. It was their state parks system that started planning a trail along the Spokane River. They wanted to create a trail to celebrate Washington state’s centennial in 1989. As neighbors sometimes do, they started coordinating with Idaho to extend the trail in celebration of Idaho’s centennial in 1990.
Before heading to the park, we swung by Pilgrim’s Market in CDA to pick up some food. That ended up being a really good choice and we arrived at the park just as the sun was beginning to set. There were plenty of parking spaces so we grabbed one and made our way to one of the empty picnic tables. We then enjoyed our food while watching the sun set on Lake Coeur d’Alene. It really was lovely and very peaceful.
After dinner, we took a stroll on the Parkway. We walked a mile or so before it started to get dark and we decided to turn around. It was fun to see the houses along the water as well as the private docks. It was not so fun hearing the traffic. The trail runs alongside a busy road and it made for a less-than-peaceful experience. I’m not saying you shouldn’t take a stroll, but be prepared for your stroll to be a little noisy.
To be honest, we were a little let down by this park. It didn’t feel like it had as much to offer as some of the other parks and trails. Plus, the noise from the traffic was not enjoyable. However, that being said, we did not experience everything this park has to offer. Perhaps we will give it another shot the next time we are in town.
Coeur d’Alene Parkway State Park is an interesting addition to the Idaho State Parks system. As a trail, it pales in comparison to its neighbors. However, its connection to the North Idaho Centennial Trail makes it worthy of a ride. It is not a big park, but it does provide access to Lake Coeur d’Alene and is a good place to get away from CDA’s summertime crowds.
Note: we visited Coeur d’Alene Parkway 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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Or if you want to see all of our posts, visit Past Posts.
If you enjoy ranching history, beautiful views and/or recreational activities, Harriman State Park in Idaho will not disappoint. State Park Overview Harriman State Park can be credited with helping to launch Idaho’s official state park system. There is a lot of history at this park. …
If you love rock climbing, you are probably already very familiar with City of Rocks National Reserve. If you are not a rock climber, City of Rocks still has a lot to offer for those who love to explore and hike. State Park Overview City …
Off the beaten path in southern Idaho is a playground of rock formations. Castle Rocks State Park is weird and wonderful. Go here to explore Idaho geology at its finest.
In addition to very cool geology, you can see remnants of Native American pictographs, the California National Historic Trail and 20th century ranching at Castle Rocks State Park. But mostly, people come here to rock climb, hike and explore.
The park is located near City of Rocks National Reserve. You might ask yourself why this is a separate park (we certainly did), and I do not know the answer. I can tell you that Castle Rocks State Park is a smaller park, which means less to explore. But it also means that there are less crowds, so I prefer it over its larger neighbor. If you are in the area, you might as well visit both parks.
They have restrooms (no flush toilets, unfortunately) and the usual picnic tables and such. For all of the specifics, check out the parks and rec’s website for Castle Rocks State Park.
Welcome to the land of limited crowds. Unlike City of Rocks National Reserve down the road, you will see few people. You may have to fight for good climbing spots, I don’t know. But I know there were a lot less people here, which made exploring relaxing.
Native American pictographs. I’m going to be honest, the pictographs are not all that impressive. But they are unique and worth a quick look. They were identified in 2003 by a park ranger and have been professionally documented. At this time, the originators, age and materials used are still unknown.
The state park itself is not very old. However, the dramatic geological features date back 2.5 million years. We do not have a lot of manmade history in Idaho, but we are rich with natural history.
The Castle Rock Ranch Acquisition Act was passed in 2000 and a private ranch at Castle Rocks was purchased by the National Park Service. The lands were then exchanged with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation for some other lands and in 2003, Castle Rocks State Park was born. In 2007, the park was expanded by 200 acres.
The first thing we did at the park was get lost when we accidently blew past the actual entrance to the park. In our defense, we found the sign to be a bit confusing. Basically, it states that the geology portion of the park (a.k.a. park entrance) is one direction and the visitors center is the other direction. We unintentionally headed to the visitors center. This was not necessarily a bad idea, but it meant we had to backtrack to the actual park.
The visitors center is located on the southern edge of the tiny town of Almo. It acts as the visitors center for both Castle Rocks State Park and City of Rocks National Reserve. There is a restroom and helpful rangers about. The geology part of the park IS the park and this is where you will want to spend your time (no offense to the visitors center).
R and I explored different trails at Castle Rocks State Park. She went on an official trail, the Backyard Boulders trail. I opted to wander freestyle-like and take whatever path suited my fancy. I was less interested in a hike (as usual) and more interested in trying to capture the unique rock formations with my camera. I’m not sure a picture will ever do this place justice. It is definitely the kind of place you have to see in real life to understand and appreciate. So you should do that! Plan a trip and head to this unique part of Southern Idaho.
We very much enjoyed our time at Castle Rocks and would recommend you make the effort to visit, especially if you like geology and rock climbing. And be sure to check out City of Rocks National Reserve while you are there. Between the two, you will have your fill of places to explore.
Note: we visited Castle Rocks 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.
Utah and Idaho share a lot in common, one thing being the beautiful turquoise blue waters of Bear Lake. Bear Lake State Park is on Idaho’s side of the lake and boasts one of the finest beaches in the admittedly land-locked Idaho. Bear Lake State …