NW Getaway: Coeur d’Alene

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho has long been a vacation retreat for individuals and families from all over the Pacific Northwest. The town seems to strike a perfect harmony between small town charm, lakeside resort and recreational haven. Though I’ve been to the area in Northern Idaho a couple of times over the years, my family and I went full tourist mode in June to get the complete “CDA” experience.

We took our daughter’s friend (and soon-to-be college roommate) with us, making it a nice celebration trip for both of them, since they had both graduated high school just days before we hit the road for the 6-hour drive. When we arrived in town, we found a huge event in progress: “CAR d’Alene” gives classic and unique automobile enthusiasts the chance to “drag the gut” through Coeur d’Alene’s Main Street equivalent (Sherman Avenue). We couldn’t help but join the crowd and watch the unique and pumped-up vehicles show off their stuff. Small town charm, check.

The girls and I walked along Sherman Avenue watching the cars, then turned south to explore McEuen Park, a huge, beautifully maintained public space off the shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene. The park features lake views, a large playground, wide open grassy spaces, a dog park, a pavilion, a military/police memorial and more, all adjacent to Tubbs Hill scenic area (more on that later).

With the sun starting to set, we checked into our lake view hotel room at The Coeur d’Alene Resort. The resort rises over Coeur d’Alene as the tallest building in town, presiding over the waterfront, the marina and one of the longest floating boardwalks in the world. Lakeside resort, check.

The resort is also home to Beverly’s, an upscale restaurant on the hotel’s seventh floor that features floor-to-ceiling windows looking out across the lake, and which hosted our dinner our first night in town. What an introduction to dining in CDA! My goat cheese gnocchi was delicious, served in a skillet with grilled veggies. We had fun with the digital menus that are loaded onto individual iPads for each guest.

On Saturday morning, we headed 30 minutes north to the area’s largest family attraction: Silverwood Theme Park. While Silverwood is fairly far flung from any Pacific Northwest metro areas, many families make long drives to visit, as it’s the largest theme park in the region. And it’s definitely worth the drive if your family loves roller coasters and water slides.

The summers in northern Idaho are typically sunny and hot, but our visit must have fallen on the stormiest of the season. We got just enough sunshine to enjoy the park’s fun “train robbery”-themed train ride through the park and surrounding woodland (actors play out an interactive scene where funds are “stolen”/donated to give to charity) before being pelted on and off with rain and hail the rest of the day.

But that didn’t stop our girls from riding the coasters multiple times. Outfitted with ponchos purchased at one of the park’s gift shops, they went on the park’s most intense rides: Tremors, Stunt Pilot, Timber Terror and Panic Plunge, most of them multiple times (they understandably declined to ride the Spincycle, a duplicate of the Oaks Park ride that had made the news by malfunctioning just the day before our visit to Silverwood).

In the afternoon, we took a break from the rain at the Phantasm magic show inside the Theater of Illusion, which doubles as a pizza parlor where guests can dine on food available for purchase while watching a surprisingly well done 30-minute magic show. Boulder Beach, Silverwood’s water park, is included with ticket purchase, but we weren’t brave enough to swim or slide in 50-degree weather.

Next time we visit, though, we hope to check out the wave pool, lazy river and slides—especially the Eagle Hunt, which is new for the 2024 season and is purported to be the “first dueling water coaster in the west and the longest dueling water coaster in the United States,” according to Silverwood’s website.

On Sunday morning, the weather cleared up enough for me to enjoy a beautiful solo morning hike at Tubbs Hill Trail, a 165-acre peninsula and nature area located just steps away from The Coeur d’Alene Resort. The main trail is an easy, well-marked, two-mile loop that allows views of the lake for almost the entire track, with spurs leading down to the water or up to the hill’s summit. Though I’m sure I missed out on some even more incredible views, I opted not to summit this time because I had to get back to the hotel in time for our final planned activity of the trip: a Sunday brunch cruise.

With a variety of cruise lengths and themes to choose from, Lake Coeur d’Alene Cruises offers private events, brunch and dinner cruises, a “Bands on Boats” summer concert series, seasonal themed events like the “Moonlit Monster” cruise in October and more, all on board a large vessel with indoor and outdoor seating. With our tickets booked ahead of time, we boarded early for the 11 am sail time at the marina just outside the hotel and found our seats inside.

As in all boats, big or small, space was sparse, especially since it was too cold that day for most attendees to enjoy the outdoor deck seating, but we boarded early enough to find good seats right next to the buffet tables. When the boat shoved off and brunch was served, we were delighted to find the food was delicious, and apparently prepared at Coeur d’Alene Resort’s central kitchen, since we recognized several specialty menu items from Beverly’s and Dockside (CDA Resort’s on-site casual dining restaurant where we had eaten breakfast the day before).

We ate and enjoyed the scenery as the ship’s captain shared on the PA system about the region’s history and pointed out landmarks, including some incredible homes, some of which are only accessible by boat, along the shoreline.

A big highlight was cruising by the pristine and world-famous Golf Course at the Coeur d’Alene Resort (located about 2.5 miles away from the actual hotel) and its Floating Green, a tiny manmade island on the lake that holds the course’s 14th hole. If golfers are skilled enough to make it from the tee onto the Floating Green, a small boat takes them to the island to finish the hole, then back to shore. If not, their ball joins the thousands of golf balls that divers regularly fish out of the lake surrounding the green.

The brunch cruise was 90 minutes—just long enough to enjoy a wonderful meal and beautiful views before saying goodbye to Coeur d’Alene. Recreational haven, check.

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