A Snake Pit, A Moose, and Bordellos: Cycling the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes

We’ve always wanted to bike the renown Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. This 73-mile paved—and mostly flat—pathway pretty much spans the Idaho panhandle. It’s spectacular. And since our daughter and her husband now live in CDA, this was our chance to visit with them and get a beautiful ride in!

Definitely need to invest in a hitch.

In the hopes of beating the heat, we hit the trail at 8AM. Our goal was to ride the roughly 58 miles from Heyburn State Park to Wallace where we’d camp for a couple of nights.

Starting our slow roll from the Heyburn trailhead.
Gorgeous lake views on the Chatcolet Bridge.
Smooth lakeside rolling.
A turtle hanging out on the trail.
The trail passes through a collection of chain lakes and farmland.
Saw of few of these guys.
One of many bridges that crosses the beautiful Coeur d’Alene River.
G’s homemade gluten-free banana zucchini muffin was the best muffin I ever had. (Thank you, G!)
A quick hydration stop at Idaho’s oldest restaurant—The Snake Pit.

About 40 miles in, The Snake Pit beckoned. We’ve heard about this place, and were curious, naturally. I mean, it’s called “The Snake Pit.” Besides, proper electrolyte-filled hydration and nutrition is critical to every successful slow-ride.

Our waitress filled up our bottles with ice water, which was super nice of her. She also brought us beer!

I don’t regret stopping at that watering hole, but it would’ve been better if we hadn’t stayed so long. We still had about 20 miles left to get to camp, and it was getting hot. The headwind had picked up and our pedaling slowed down as we went through small Silver Valley towns of Smelterville and Kellogg. At least it was flat!

It doesn’t look like it, but Cort is running out of gas.

Wallace was a welcome sight. The distance we covered was respectable and it was Cort’s longest daytrip ever. There aren’t too many places for tent campers along the trail, so we grabbed a “cabin” at the Wallace RV Park. It was perfect.

A nice place to hang your hat for a couple of nights.

We weren’t in a rush so we took an extra day to rest up and explore historical Wallace. Plus, the campground had a brewery and pub on site. How genius is that?

Gourmet livin’ with beans, rice, avocado, and hot sauce for dinner.
Day 2 was our rest day and we had a nice walkabout in historic downtown Wallace.
Downtown Wallace is full of cool, old “hotels” that back in the day were “hardly places to rest!”
Cool street view with more “rooms” for rent.
Cort and I stopped in for coffee and a pastry at the Blackboard Market.
A lot of the homes in Wallace are built on steep hillsides, so there are tons of steep stairwells like these.
A gentle reminder at the top of the stairs.
Blossoms.
Truly embracing the rich mining & bordello history at Wallace Brewing Company.
Happy Birthday, America!
Loaded up early on the 4th of July, heading back to Heyburn.
Our Wallace departure.
We saw a moose and her calf shortly after taking this photo.
Getting closer and Cort is leading the way.
You can barely see the Chatcolet Bridge in the distance. Maybe.
A quick post-ride dip in Chatcolet Lake.

The Trail de Coeur d’Alenes is a truly special resource. ln short, it’s fabulous. The trail was amazingly well maintained. And with all the great places to picnic and rest areas—and views and wildlife—it’s gives riders of all ages and skills a premium bike experience. It’s also a field day for photographers and history buffs.

Next time, we’re going to take the path a little further to Mullan where it hooks up with the legendary Hiawatha. (How awesome would that be?)

-Erik

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