Unique digital nomad travel adventures from around the U.S.
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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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!
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Or if you want to see all of our posts, visit Past Posts.
If you like camping in a campground and lake fishing, Henrys Lake State Park is the park for you. State Park Overview There is a lot to recommend Henrys Lake State Park. However, if I am being perfectly honest, this park was not my exact …
In between two small towns in Eastern Idaho, a no-longer-needed path has a new lease on life. Ride/bike/walk between two towns and enjoy epic scenery consisting of farms, creeks and the impressive Teton Mountain Range. The Ashton to Tetonia Trail covers the 30 miles between, …
Head to Land of the Yankee Fork State Park for a taste of Idaho’s mining history and a chance to explore some cool ghost towns.
If you enjoy history, mining, the great outdoors, or all of the above, this is the park for you. Land of the Yankee Fork State Park focuses on central Idaho’s mining history. There are three ghost towns you can explore: Custer, Bonanza and Bayhorse. You can also see the Yankee Fork Dredge. On top of that, the countryside is beautiful.
This park also has the best name of any state park. It’s really fun to say.
The interpretive center had some of the nicest restrooms of any state park we visited. For all of the specifics, check out the parks and rec’s website for Land of the Yankee Fork State Park.
You will run into a few people at some of the ghosts towns, but this is a remote area and the crowds will be sparse. In other words, we love the crowd situation at this park.
Pan for gold! This was actually closed while we were there, but it would have been something unique and fun to do. They let you keep two flecks of gold…assuming you can find those flecks amidst all of the sand and gravel.
The interpretive center has a nice gift shop and I was able to purchase a cute pair of earrings with some gold flecks in the design. I would have preferred to pan for my own gold, but a cute pair of earrings was a nice consolation prize.
Land of the Yankee Fork State Park was selected as Idaho’s Centennial Park in 1990, with the purchase of twenty acres two miles south of Challis, Idaho. The interpretive center is located on those twenty acres.
For the past 15 years, I have made the trek to Challis, Idaho, to attend a music festival in August. I feel like I have done everything Challis has to offer at least a dozen times. Ironically though, I had never visited the Land of Yankee Fork State Park interpretive center. So it was fun to find something new to do in Challis.
The center is nice and has very clean restrooms. It is a really good spot to stop, stretch your legs and learn a bit about the area. However, I will warn you that they have a museum and video that cost extra. Not a lot, but it is something to be aware of. The interpretive center also has a fun little gift shop.
I’m not going to lie, this site is not the most impressive thing you will see in the Land of the Yankee Fork State Park. There also seems to be some debate as to how often it was used. If you stop at the interpretive center, it is worth a look. There is a short path to the site and if you are really lucky, you may spot a bighorn sheep or two.
This road is beautiful. It is also rough. If you have a high-clearance vehicle, I recommend you take it and enjoy the views. If you are in your car, I recommend you think twice. I was very glad to be driving it in my truck. If you do drive the whole Custer Motorway, I recommend you have a copy of the Challis-Yankee Fork Ranger District – Custer Motorway Guide handy. The history and descriptions are great. The map is a little rough, but still helpful.
You can reach Custer and Bonanza using the Custer Motorway via Highway 75 near Sunbeam, or via Challis. These ghost towns are awesome! They are in great shape (for a ghost town) and provide a good look into mining life during that time. I believe they do reenactments sometimes, but that was not happening when we visited. We walked around and peaked into old buildings. It was all so fascinating.
The dredge is located between Custer and Bonanza. It is massive and quite a site to see in the middle of the mountains. You can tour the dredge, but I have not had a chance to do that yet.
Bayhorse is an old mining town located about 20 minutes from the interpretive center in Challis. The road is also a little rough, but you can get there in a car if you drive slowly. There is a nice parking lot and a ranger on duty. So you can ask questions or simply wander about and look at the old mining infrastructure. It is all rather fascinating.
Land of the Yankee Fork State Park is a unique park full of history and beautiful scenery. It is remote and requires a lot of driving, but the views and experiences are worth it. Just make sure to take your trip when the weather is warm. Most of the park is inaccessible when the snow flies.
Note: we visited Land of the Yankee Fork 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.
Thousand Springs State Park is big and geological in nature. That makes for some fun exploring and interesting photos. State Park Overview Overall, we give this park five stars (mostly because there is so much to do and it is so gosh darn beautiful). There …