The first of September my husband and I are flying into Seattle for a 2 week trip to explore Washington, Idaho and Oregon. The first 2 days and nights will be spent in Seattle and that is all I have planned so far! After Seattle we will rent a car and head towards the Coeur d’Alene area. We want to rent bikes and ride the Hiawatha Trail and are open to day bike rides also on the Trail of the Coeur d’ Alenes etc. We are not mountain bikers, but rather leisurely bikers usually riding 30-40 miles a day, preferably on terrains that are not drastic inclines. I would love to find a B%26amp;B and/or Inn to set up as a base camp while we are in the area. Any suggestions on what would be a nice area and place to stay? What would be a good 4 day itinerary for this area that would include biking and other natural beauties?
Once we leave this area we plan to drive along and explore the Columbia River Gorge, as we head back towards Seattle for our flight back home. I am also looking for suggestions on this part of our trip.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Itinerary for Coeur d' Alenes area including biking.
This is noidahodave%26#39;s (the other ';destination expert';) expertise -- I know he loves biking the trails and knows more about North Idaho than anyone, so I%26#39;ll make sure he sees this and responds as soon as he can.
Sounds like a wonderful trip.
Itinerary for Coeur d' Alenes area including biking.
I would say if you like flat and leisure to try out centennial trail headed East around Lake Coeur d%26#39;Alene, it%26#39;s a beautiful trip.
There are a lot of really cool bed and breakfasts in Coeur d%26#39;Alene, they just had their semi-annual tour not too long ago and I was able to see most of them, and they are all pretty nice the website for the B%26amp;B Association is http://www.bb-northidaho.com/
I haven%26#39;t had a chance to make it to Columbia Gorge yet so hopefully someone else can come along and give you advice on that.
Can%26#39;t add much on the B%26amp;B%26#39;s in the Coeur d%26#39; Alene area but here are my thoughts on bike trips.
My preference in order is Hiawatha, Trail of Coeur d%26#39; Alenes, and the Centennial Trail. Hiawatha is hard to beat, a very unique experience with the tunnels, trestles and mountain scenery, its an abandoned railroad so its a moderate grade and if you use the shuttle bus its all downhill. Lookout Ski Area is the summer manager and has a good web site with info (www.skilookout.com). You buy tickets, shuttle bus passes and rent bikes at the ski area located at Lookout Pass on Interstate 90 at the Idaho/Montana border. The Hiawatha actually starts in Montana, you exit the freeway several miles into Montana and travel on a very good gravel road to the parking area and beginning of the trail. Couple of tips for riding the Hiawatha: 1. Lookout Pass rents fully equipped bikes including the lights needed to go through the tunnel 2) bring a long sleeve shirt or light jacket because the tunnels can be cool and wet 3) start as early as possible to avoid crowds at parking lot and shuttle bus, Lookout ski area opens at 8AM 4) allow a full day to do the ride. Lookout Ski Area and the Hiawatha are about a 45 minute to 1 hour drive from Coeur d%26#39; Alene, its a great ride, my 80 year old father has done three times and is ready to go back. Trail of the Coeur d%26#39; Alene%26#39;s offers more of a river / lake ride. Currently the section from Bull Run Lake to Harrison is under repair but may be finished by September. My favorite two sections are from Enaville to Bull Run Lake along the Coeur d%26#39; Alene River, and the section from Harrison to Plummer along the lake and up Plummer Creek Canyon. The trail is paved, mostly flat except the section up Plummer Creek Canyon which isn%26#39;t too bad due to being an old railroad. Plummer is about a 45 minute drive south of Coeur d%26#39; Alene, Enaville is about a 30 minute drive east of Coeur d%26#39; Alene. These two sections require at least a half day to do. Lastly the Centennial Trail has two nice sections one along Lake Coeur d%26#39; Alene from the city of Coeur d%26#39; Alene and another from the city of Post Falls towards Spokane along the Spokane River.
Thank you for the feedback. It is all very helpful.
If you need a place to stay during your return drive along the Columbia River, look into the Columbia Gorge Hotel. You would not expect to find a little gem like this in that area.
It can break up an otherwise long drive back to Seattle. There are some beautiful waterfalls in the area. And the ';World Famous Farm Breakfast'; alone is worth the stay!
It is a little costly, but will be memorable!
I hope that you will be exploring the historic Columbia Gorge highway as well! This is an incredibly scenic drive, and it took us the better part of a day to travel from The Dalles to Portland via this highway. We *really* took our time, but we just couldn%26#39;t get enough of the scenery! (In our own defence, we did spend about 2 hours touring the Bonneville Dam!)
Don%26#39;t know much about the biking, or the bed and breakfasts... but, I would definitely second the Columbia River Gorge hotel stop. Hood River would be a nice stop for lunch as well.
When you leave Seattle, the drive from Seattle to about Wenatchee/Moses Lake is gorgeous, then it turns rather deserty and ho-hum. It turns back into beautiful forested land after Spokane. When you head back towards Portland along the Columbia River Gorge, the best part is from about John Day to Portland. There is a loop of ';old highway'; you can take which is very scenic. I would make sure you can do that during daylight hours.
If you have any time available for the Oregon Coast, Cannon Beach is definitely the best choice.
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