My wife and I just got back from a two day trip on this trail. We got a ride (John at Bike Peddlers in Harrison hauled us up to the top. He runs the only transport service that I could find. Talking to him for an hour and a half was worth the price!!!) up to Mullan, so the first 20 miles was downhill. The scenery was beautiful. The trail is paved the entire route. That makes for an incredibly smooth ride. We hit two minor bumps in 73 miles. We rode 57 miles to Harrison the first day and stayed in a motel with a balcony looking out over Lake Coeur d'Alene. The next day we did 31 miles up to Plummer and back. The only uphill was the 6 miles climbing up out of the lake basin to Plummer. The return trip was a rush, coasting the first 6 miles. We didn't see a moose, but several were seen on the day we were on the trail, just not by us.

The only problem on the trail is water. None of the trail heads have water because of the fear of lead pollution from the old mine at Kellogg and the fact that the railroad used mine waste to build the track on. Therefore, either carry it with you (we both had 100 oz Camelbaks and did fine). You can get water in any of the small towns that you go thru. From Enaville to Harrison, though, there are no towns. NOT allowed because the scenery is too beautiful!!

Great ride for mountain, street, or hybrid bikes. We have a hybrid Trek tandom that was really fun to ride on this trail. Wish I lived closer so could do this ride often. The best trail that I have ever been on overall.

A cycle vacation on the 72-mile paved Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes in North Idaho is a great way to discover the beauty, rich history, culture, people, and ambiance of the seven mountain communities the trail touches. You can easily spend a whole week exploring everything there is to do. There is a handy list of FAQs at www.southlakecda.com/trail.htm, and the Idaho State Parks and Recreation Dept. provides updates on trail conditions at 208-682-3814.

Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation and Heyburn State Park

Start at Plummer, Idaho, on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation by checking out the new metal sculpture and memorial wall at the trailhead to honor the tribe's veterans. The modern and spacious tribal Wellness Center just south of the trailhead welcomes day visitors for $5. There are no water fountains at any of the trailheads or wayside stops along the trail, except here, so get water at the stores in the towns along the way.

From Plummer, there's a nice seven-mile ride, mostly downhill, through a forested canyon. There are a couple of rest areas along the way before reaching Heyburn State Park on the south end of Lake Coeur d'Alene. Camping along the trail is prohibited, except at developed sites, and Heyburn has lots of them. The three-mile hike at Indian Cliffs Trailhead is a great place to get an overview of the surrounding mountains and waters. The trail crosses to the east side of the lake in the park over Chatcolet Bridge, which once swung open to let steamboats through on their way up the St. Joe River. It was retrofitted as part of the rails-to-trails conversion with a kind of stairstep design that offers a bit of respite from the climb up and lots of woop-de-doos on the way down. The first 15 miles of the trail are on the Indian reservation so the rest stops are named in the Coeur d'Alene language and the interpretive signs point out places of significance to the tribe. Find information about the tribe's involvement with the trail at: http://www.cdatribe-nsn.gov/Departments/LakeMngmt/CDATrailProject.aspx.

Harrison to Cataldo

On the edge of the rez is the quaint town of Harrison, with restaurants, an art gallery that features regional talent, historical museum, shops, live music, wine tasting, cycle rentals, flat water kayaking, a public beach, and a variety of lodgings, including a campground right on the water. There are bike racks
all over town to welcome cyclists and a lot of riders can be found parked in front of the Creamery and Gig's Landing enjoying ice cream treats.

After Harrison, there is a 25-mile stretch through a remote area with no services, other than the wayside rest areas, some of which have restrooms, so you will definitely want to make sure your water containers are full. Keep your eye out for osprey and eagles as you ride through the Thompson Lake Wildlife Management Area along the Coeur d'Alene River. You'll come out at the Cataldo Trailhead on the western edge of Idaho's historic Silver Valley. There is a spacious campground here along the river and a homey inn where you can get a bite to eat. The Coeur d'Alenes Old Mission Park is an easy three mile side trip and well worth the detour. It features Idaho's oldest existing building, a rustic, but elegant cathedral constructed by Coeur d'Alene Indians and Jesuit Priests in the mid 1800. It may be the only place you'll ever see a ceiling stained with huckleberry juice.

The North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River

Cycle on to Kellogg and Wallace in the heart of the Silver Valley for more adventures. A favorite stop along the way is the historic Snake Pit restaurant and bar where the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River flows into the main stem. There's another tempting detour here, six miles upriver to the Country Lane Resort, where guests can enjoy a fully outfitted float down the North Fork or a fishing trip to a backwoods pond stocked with trout.

Kellogg and Silver Mountain

In Kellogg, ride the gondola to mountaintop activities at Silver Mountain. Pick huckleberries, play Frisbee golf, hunt for geocaches, or trade your trail bike for mountain bike and zoom down 4,000 vertical feet back to Gondola Village. One of my favorite tours in the Valley is the Crystal Gold Mine. There is even free camping for self-contained RVs here. This is the "metro" section of the trail, in other words, you'll be riding in proximity to traffic on I-90 and have access to lots of goods and services. Don't miss the Staff House Mining Museum at the Silver Mountain Trailhead for a historical ground truthing on the area you are riding through.

Step Back in Time in Wallace

Further east in Wallace you will discover a veritable collector's paradise with shop after shop packed with fascinating antiques and one-of-a-kind finds. Is that a spaceship in front of the Red Light Garage restaurant? There is a lively theater troop here, so take in a rollicking show at the Sixth Street
Theater, check out the Northern Pacific Railway Museum, take historic tours on trolleys with guides dressed in period costumes, or just relax at a sidewalk table at one of Wallace's great restaurants and admire the Bitterroot Mountains that circle the town. A mile out of Wallace, you can hike on the Pulaski Trail along Placer Creek. This two-mile trail ends at an old mine tunnel where 45 firefighters and two horses sought refuge from the Great Fire of 1910, which burned a whopping three million acres in the Bitterroots during one horrible weekend 100 years ago. Oh, did I mention that Wallace is the alleged "Center of the Universe?" You'll just have to check this one out for yourselves.

Mullan and Backroads to the Route of the Hiawatha

The last stop on the trail is the old mining town of Mullan six miles shy of the Montana border. Add your name to the guest book of trail riders from around the world at the Bitterroot Coffee house. The Captain John Mullan Museum is the cultural highlight here, but it's only open on weekdays. Some travelers continue on to Lookout Pass and the Route of the Hiawatha through backcountry trails from Mullan. Directions on how to do this are provided by volunteers of the Friends of the Coeur d'Alene Trails at: http://friendsofcdatrails.org/mullan2hiawatha07.html. This group of trail supporters also publishes a fine trail map, so check out their website. The Friends promote the 300k Bitterroot Loop, which includes the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes, the Route of the Hiawatha, and the multi use Milwaukee Scenic Route back towards St. Maries, near Heyburn State Park.

Everyone is saying great things about the Trail of the Coeur d'Alene's, and these are just some of the gems to discover along the way.

We have ridden this trail twice, first in 2008 and then again in 2010. I have described both approaches below.

The 72 mile paved trail extends from Plummer, Idaho to Mullan, Idaho. The natural scenery is wonderful and osprey, eagles and moose sitings are common. A trail map is available on the Friends of Trail of the Couer d'Alene website and a free trail map which includes mileage between trailheads and an overall trail elevation picture can be requested from the same website. The trail is located in Idaho's Silver Valley from which the largest amount of silver has been extracted in the world. The original rail line was built on contaminated silver mine trailings and later capped with the asphalt trail used today. Because of the contamination that is under the trail, trail users are encouraged to stay on the trail and to not drink the water. The trail itself is smooth and meticulously maintained by the Couer d'Alene tribe and the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.

Sure, one can ride the entire trail from start to finish in one day but consider riding this trail over two or three days and take in some local activities on each day.

2008 APPROACH
Our original intent was to park at the Plummer trail head (mile 0) and ride the entire trail out and back with an overnight stay in Kellogg (mile 53.8). We changed our approach after learning that a 230 foot section of the trail had washout in 2008 which we would not be able to bypass. Our new approach ended up being a great way to ride the trail.

Our new plan was to stay in Harrison (mile 15.3) the night before our ride began. Harrison has a beautiful view of Lake Couer d'Alene. Lodging options include an RV / tent site, the Lakeview lodge motel, the Osprey B&B and the Wild Boar B&B.

Day 1: We rode from Harrison (mile 15.3) to the Plummer trail head (mile 0), then returned through Harrison and onto the washed out trail section (approximately the Springston Trailhead mile 18.4) and back to Harrison.
Mileage: 39.4 miles.

We drove to Kellogg, checked into our hotel and explored Kellogg. Kellogg lodging options include the Silver Mountain resort and also the Guest Inn (other options are also available, check those out, too!). Kellogg has a ski resort and access to the world's longest gondola is literally at the front door of either of these lodging facilities listed. The gondola runs in the summer so one can ride to the top for the view or take a mountain bike up and ride down. The Couer d'Alene trail runs past these facilities.

Day 2: We road from Kellogg (mile 53.1) to Mullen (mile 71.4) then back to Kellogg (mile 53.1).
Approximate mileage: 36.6.

On our return bike ride, we stopped in Wallace (mile 64.6) and had lunch. We also took the town trolley tour and silver mine tour. The silver mine tour is lead by a miner, who operated equipment for us, and told us about the Sunshine mining disaster in the area.

We spent another night the night in Kellogg.

Day 3: We road from Kellogg (mile 53.1) to the washout (approximately Springston trailhead mile 18.4) and back to Kellogg (mile 53.1). We saw a moose enjoying the water this day.
Mileage: 69.4


2010 APPROACH
The 2008 washout section was fixed in 2008 so we did not need to consider a work around in 2010. The night before we began our ride, we stayed in Harrison. We had a non-riding member who ferried us to the Plummer trailhead in the morning. The roadway to Plummer does not parallel the trail so it was a little out of the way to drive to the trail head. If we were to do this approach again, we would ride our bikes to the Plummer trail head for an additional 15.3 miles that day.

Day 1: We rode from Plummer (mile 0) to Kellogg (mile 53.1).
We had two moose sitings this day.

Day 2: We rode from Kellogg (mile 53.1) to Mullan (71.4) and returned to Kellogg (mile 53.1).
We had saw a mother and calf moose this day.