Northern Idaho has 2.5 million acres of old cedars, gem mines, and trails through mountain tunnels

Two and a half million acres of the real West

Northern Idaho doesn’t ease you in. The Idaho Panhandle National Forests stretch across 2.5 million acres, with elevations swinging from 2,100 feet to 7,600 feet and more than half of all surface water in the state running through the region.

Three national forests, the Kaniksu, Coeur d’Alene, and St. Joe, were merged into one unit in 1973.

What you get is ancient cedar groves, record-deep lakes, a bike trail through mountain tunnels, and a hillside where you can dig for gems found almost nowhere else on Earth.

Fur traders, gold rush miners, and the fire that changed everything

Long before the Forest Service drew a boundary here, the Kalispel and Coeur d’Alene peoples, also known as the Schitsu’umsh, called this land home.

French-Canadian fur traders moved through in the early 1800s and left their names on rivers, lakes, and towns still on the map today. Gold and silver strikes in the 1880s brought miners and settlers pouring in.

Then in 1910, a firestorm tore through more than three million acres across Idaho, Montana, and Washington. The Great Fire reshaped these forests and fundamentally changed how the U.S. Forest Service operated.

The forests are still working from that history.

Lake Pend Oreille goes down 1,150 feet

Glaciers moving south from Canada carved Lake Pend Oreille somewhere between 12,000 and 17,000 years ago, and they left behind something massive.

The lake runs 43 miles long with 111 miles of shoreline, and at 1,150 feet deep, it ranks as the fifth deepest lake in the country.

You can swim, boat, kayak, paddleboard, or fish it for trophy-size Kamloops rainbow trout, lake trout, and kokanee salmon.

The town of Sandpoint sits on the northern shore and makes a solid base if you want to stay a few days.

Bald eagles crowd Wolf Lodge Bay every winter

Lake Coeur d’Alene runs more than 26 miles with about 135 miles of shoreline, shaped by the same Ice Age floods that carved much of the Northwest.

Federal land agencies have called it one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, and in winter, the evidence is hard to argue with.

From November through February, migrating bald eagles pack Wolf Lodge Bay to feed on spawning kokanee salmon. The lake also supports one of the largest nesting osprey populations in the West.

More than a dozen boat ramps give you easy access to the water.

Priest Lake sits 30 miles from Canada with no crowds

At the very top of the Panhandle, Priest Lake runs 19 miles long and drops about 300 feet deep, fed by streams coming off the Selkirk Mountains.

The water is exceptionally clear, and the beaches are sandy.

A two-mile waterway called the Thoroughfare connects the main lake to Upper Priest Lake, which you can only reach on foot, by bike, or by boat.

The entire shoreline of Upper Priest Lake is publicly owned.

You can kayak, fish, camp, or sit still long enough to watch moose, black bears, deer, and eagles move through the surrounding forest.

Ride through 10 tunnels on a former railroad line

The Route of the Hiawatha follows a former Milwaukee Railroad line 15 miles through the Bitterroot Mountains, and it doesn’t feel like any bike trail you’ve done before.

You’ll pass through 10 tunnels and cross seven sky-high trestles. The longest tunnel, the St. Paul Pass, runs nearly 1.7 miles under the Idaho-Montana state line.

The whole route runs on a gentle 1.6 percent downhill grade, so riders of most skill levels can handle it. When you reach the bottom, shuttle buses carry you and your bike back to the top.

The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy put it in the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame, one of only about 30 trails in the country with that distinction.

A 73-mile paved trail through silver country

The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes runs 73 miles of paved path from the old mining town of Mullan all the way to Plummer.

It moves through the historic Silver Valley, follows the Coeur d’Alene River, passes small lakes and marshes, and comes out along the shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

The Chatcolet Bridge crosses the southern end of the lake and gives you a long view of the water in both directions.

The surface is flat and smooth, which means it works just as well for walkers, inline skaters, and wheelchair users as it does for cyclists.

The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy ranked it among the top 25 trails in the nation in 2010.

A ranger led 45 men into a mine to survive the 1910 fire

The Pulaski Tunnel Trail covers four miles round trip near Wallace, Idaho, and it traces part of the escape route ranger Edward Pulaski used the night the Great Fire closed in on his crew.

He led 45 men into an abandoned mine and held them there while the firestorm burned outside. Six of his men didn’t make it.

The rest survived. Pulaski later invented the Pulaski firefighting tool, which crews still use today.

The tunnel and escape route are on the National Register of Historic Places, and interpretive signs along the trail walk you through what happened that night.

These cedars were already old when Columbus sailed

Two groves of old-growth western red cedar grow in these forests, and walking into either one stops you in your tracks.

Settlers Grove near Murray holds trees estimated at more than 600 years old, with trunks up to seven feet across. Footbridges cross the West Fork of Eagle Creek through the grove.

Roosevelt Grove, accessible from the Priest Lake side, goes further back.

Some of those trees are estimated between 800 and 2,000-plus years old, up to 12 feet in diameter and 150 feet tall. Granite Falls sits inside the grove, where Granite Creek drops down a sheer rock wall.

Dig up star garnets at one of two places on Earth

The Emerald Creek Garnet Area near St. Maries is one of only two places on the planet where star garnets turn up in any quantity. The other is India.

These are Idaho’s official state gem, and they show a four- or six-pointed star pattern when cut and polished. The crystals range from tiny grains to stones the size of a golf ball.

The Forest Service sets you up with garnet-bearing gravel and sluice boxes so you can search without tearing up the site.

You’ll want to reserve your spot in advance since the area runs roughly Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Elk, wolves, grizzlies and 400 miles of snowmobile trails

The forests hold elk, white-tailed and mule deer, moose, black bears, grizzly bears, wolves, cougars, and wolverines. Bald eagles, golden eagles, osprey, wild turkeys, and several owl species move through the trees.

The rivers and lakes fish well for trout, bass, kokanee salmon, and northern pike. When the snow comes, the terrain shifts completely.

The Priest Lake area alone has more than 400 miles of groomed snowmobile trails, and there are hundreds more miles of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing routes throughout the forests.

Winter visitors also catch the bald eagle migration to Wolf Lodge Bay.

More than 1,400 miles of trails for every kind of traveler

Over 1,400 miles of hiking trails run through these forests, along with about 800 miles of ATV routes. The Mineral Ridge National Recreation Trail gives you views straight down to Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Mountain bikers have the Canfield Mountain Trail System and other forested routes to work through. The St. Joe River draws whitewater rafters and kayakers when the water is up.

Campgrounds range from developed sites with full facilities to remote backcountry spots where you’ll hear nothing but the forest.

Whether you come for a single afternoon or a full week, the terrain keeps changing enough that you won’t run out of reasons to stay.

Plan your visit to the Idaho Panhandle National Forests

The Forest Supervisor’s Office sits in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, with district offices spread across Bonners Ferry, Sandpoint, Priest River, Fernan, Smelterville, St. Maries, and Avery.

The nearest major airport is Spokane International, about 30 miles west of Coeur d’Alene in Washington. Most of the forests are accessed via Interstate 90, U.S. Highway 95, and State Highway 57.

You can book campground sites and the Emerald Creek Garnet Area through the Recreation. gov website.

Route of the Hiawatha trail passes and bike rentals are available at Lookout Pass Ski Area, with the trail open from Memorial Day weekend through early October.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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