Camping and Biking at Lake Coeur d'Alene

[lynneh]

On our way home from Yellowstone National Park, Peter and I wanted to ride our bikes on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes. This Rails-to-Trails bike path follows the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way from Mullan, a mountain mining town near the Montana border, to Plummer, a town on the prairie near the Washington border. The paved, nearly level path is 72 miles long and spans the entire width of the Idaho Panhandle.

Link to information about the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes:
http://friendsofcdatrails.org/CdA_Trail/index.html

For the eastern portion of our ride, we camped at Blue Anchor RV Park in Osburn, ID. The campground spaces were fairly tightly packed, but the hosts were very helpful, Wifi was available (and free) and the bike path was easily accessible less then 1/4 mile away.

For the western portion of our ride, the original plan was to stay at Heyburn State Park at the southern tip of Lake Coeur d'Alene. When we arrived at the main campground, we found signs posted that the campground well water was contaminated and could not be used. The park had a dry campground further on, but it was deeply shaded with poor views. We checked a third campground in the park and were not impressed. With a bit of frustration, we left Heyburn and headed up the eastern side of the lake toward the town of Harrison with the hope of finding a place better to our liking. By the time we got to Harrison the sun was setting and then (finally!) Peter spotted a small sign for the Harrison City RV Park & Marina. With nothing to lose, we turned around and went back to check it out. Down a steep hill we went and found an RV Park right on the lake's edge. Being September, the place was less than 1/4 full so we had our pick of sites. It was a bit pricey at $28 per night, but we had hookups, a premium view and only 50 feet from the bike path! We enjoyed this little park so much we extended our stay an additional night.

The western portion of the trail was a true gem. I'd like to go back some day to finish riding the sections that we did not get to on this trip.

--Lynne

[lynneh]

Here is our site at the Harrison City RV Park & Marina. The bike path runs by the edge of the lake here, about 50 feet to the left of the Scamp.

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Evening on the lake:

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[lynneh]

Picture of Peter on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes bike path

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[Morgan]

We stayed at Heyburn State Park on our tour of the northwest in 1999 and loved it. We had our Porta-bote and did a lot of sightseeing by boat. We went up the river as far as St. Maries. It was beautiful with eagles nesting along the shore.

[Adrian W]

For the report and photos, looks like you had a good time. We have never make it up to that part of the country, yet.

DesertHawk

[Charlene Urso]

Great photos and camping report! You have inspired us to perhaps add it to our travel plans for next year. Thanks for sharing.

Charlene

[David & Leslie]

Wow, what wonderful photos and a great report. We appreciate the info about Harrison City RV Park - we expect to be in the Idaho panhandle sometime next summer and it looks like a spot we'd like to visit. Isn't the "Rails to Trails" program super? Now ... if we could just figure out a way to pack 2 bikes with our small outfit ... Take care, L 'n D