Fast Facts
- Population
- ~54,600 (2020 census)
- Typical visiting season
- June–Sept
- One Unusual Stat
- Lake shoreline: 109+ miles
- Miles from Spokane
- ~30 mi · ~35 min
What to Know Before You Arrive
The city takes its name from the Coeur d’Alene people, a Salish-speaking tribe whose own name for themselves is Schitsu’umsh. French fur traders in the area gave them the nickname “heart of an awl” for how sharply they negotiated trade, and the label outlived the traders by more than a century. General William Tecumseh Sherman established Fort Coeur d’Alene here in 1878, later renamed Fort Sherman, and the settlement that grew up around it kept the name.
Everything about this town runs off the lake at its front door. Lake Coeur d’Alene is 25 miles long, carved roughly 12,000 to 15,000 years ago when a lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet dammed the Clark Fork River and unleashed the Missoula Floods. Decades of upstream silver and lead mining left more than 75 million metric tons of metal-contaminated sediment on the lake bed, and the Coeur d’Alene Basin became a federal Superfund site in 1983 — a fact the resort brochures don’t lead with. Idaho’s Department of Environmental Quality recommends safe play practices for recreation on and around the lake, such as washing hands and eating on tables or blankets in grassy areas.
The lake has also quietly kept its own junkyard. Old steamboats and at least a few Ford Model Ts that broke through thin ice in the early 1900s still rest on the bottom. It is the kind of detail that tells you more about a hundred years of lake life here than any brochure could.
The Road Trip Stop
The Coeur d’Alene Resort’s floating golf green, the 14th hole of the resort course, is the reason golfers who have never set foot in Idaho know this town by name. The 2,300-ton green was floated into position in September 1990 and unveiled by the resort’s owner and Idaho’s governor before the course opened for play the following spring. A boat named Putter shuttles golfers out to it, and the green itself can be moved on cables.
Budget the time
- The course has a restaurant overlooking the green. Visit Coeur d’Alene’s listing for the resort course, at 900 S Floating Green Dr just east of the resort’s hotel and marina complex, describes a restaurant overlooking the floating green. Whether it serves non-golfers, and when, was not confirmed; check with the resort before heading out.
- If you do play, the round is booked through the resort. Visit Coeur d’Alene lists the course’s reservations line as (844) 993-9483. We were unable to confirm whether summer tee times fill up or how far ahead to book, so ask the resort when booking.
- Walk the resort’s floating boardwalk afterward. The Coeur d’Alene Press describes it as a 3,300-foot-long floating wooden structure with views of Lake Coeur d’Alene, Tubbs Hill and the Boardwalk Marina. Admission and hours were not confirmed; check with the resort before planning around it.
- Pair it with Tubbs Hill, a walkable natural peninsula a few minutes away, for a lake view that doesn’t require a green fee.
Neighborhoods
Downtown / Sherman Avenue
The resort, the marina and a compact strip of restaurants and shops built for walking straight from a hotel room to the water.
Tubbs Hill
A 165-acre wooded peninsula bordered by the lake on three sides, platted by a German immigrant in 1884 and never successfully developed because of its rocky ground — which is exactly why it’s a park today instead of a subdivision.
Fort Grounds
The residential neighborhood built on the old Fort Sherman military reservation, a short walk from downtown and North Idaho College.
Riverstone
A newer riverside district built on former industrial land along the Spokane River, now home to shops, a rotary sculpture garden and public art.
The Food Stop
The Kootenai County Farmers’ Markets run a Wednesday market from 4 pm to 7 pm, May through September, on Main Street at Riverstone in Coeur d’Alene, and a Saturday market from 9 am to 1:30 pm, May through October, at Highway 95 and Prairie Avenue in Hayden. Check the markets’ calendar for current dates.
5 breweries within 10 miles of Coeur d'Alene, one of them a brewpub with a kitchen.
See all 5
- Daft Badger Brewing1710 N 2nd St, Coeur D Alene
- Mad Bomber Brewing Company9265 N Government Way, Haydenproduction site*
- Post Falls Brewing112 N Spokane St, Post Fallsproduction site*
- Selkirk Abbey Brewing6180 E Seltice Way Ste 102, Post Fallsproduction site*
- Trickster's Brewing Company3850 N Schreiber Way, Coeur D Aleneproduction site*
*Check before you go. This list says what the source records as open and where it is — nothing more. Opening hours, whether a kitchen is serving, and whether anywhere suits your family are not in this data and change without notice. A production site may have no public room at all. Please confirm with the venue.
Brewpub locations from Open Brewery DB (MIT)
The Home Teams
No professional or college team calls Coeur d’Alene home; the nearest sports scene is 30 miles west in Spokane, including Gonzaga basketball. This is a lake town, not a sports town, and it isn’t trying to be.
Day Trips
| Destination | Time | Distance | How we got it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silverwood Theme Park | 30 min | 18 mi | routed |
| The largest theme and water park in the Pacific Northwest, opened in 1988 on a former airstrip, with seven roller coasters including a Corkscrew relocated from Knott’s Berry Farm that was the first coaster in the world to invert riders twice. | |||
| Old Mission State Park, Cataldo | 33 min | 26 mi | routed |
| Idaho’s oldest building, on a low hill above the Coeur d’Alene River, a short drive from town. | |||
| Spokane, Washingtonguide | 42 min | 34 mi | routed |
| Riverfront Park, a walkable downtown, and the closest real city, just across the state line. | |||
| Wallaceguide | 56 min | 48 mi | routed |
| A silver-mining boomtown whose entire downtown is a National Historic Landmark district, plus the trailhead area for the Route of the Hiawatha. | |||
2 of these are places the Hub has its own guide to — marked guide and linked from the name.
Routed figures are computed over map data at free-flowing speeds, between map points rather than street addresses, so a real drive runs longer.
Distances routed by OSRM and places geocoded by Nominatim, over map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)
Lakes Nearby
1 lake we have checked near here. These are the ones from our research that we could check against an official page — not every lake there is.
Lake Pend Oreille
- BoatingBoat ramps at Corps and Idaho Fish and Game access sites
- SwimmingDesignated beaches, no lifeguard, at Albeni Cove and Priest River
- CampingFour Corps campgrounds; hookups only at Riley Creek
- Entry$25 per night per campsite at Albeni Cove and Priest River
- SeasonAlbeni Cove and Priest River campgrounds open mid-May to mid-September
State HAB advisories: deq.idaho.gov
Run by USACE Albeni Falls Dam (nine recreation areas); Idaho Dept of Fish and Game runs three access sites
*Check before you go. Every lake here links to the official page we checked it against. Each states a price we read off that page on the date we checked. Fees, seasons, water levels, algal advisories and ramp closures change without notice and belong to the agency that runs the water. A blank is something we did not confirm, not something the lake lacks. Never assume a lifeguard. Whether a beach is staffed turns on the season, the day, and which agency runs that particular beach — two beaches on one lake can differ. If that matters to your family, confirm it with the agency before you set out.
Annual Events Nearby
Within 60 miles of Coeur d'Alene, nearest first.
What is on, and when
North Idaho State Fair & Rodeo — some details below are unconfirmedfairCoeur d'Alene
- Usually
- Late August
- Held at
- Kootenai County Fairgrounds
* We could not confirm: anything beyond the month it usually runs. Check their site before you go.
Bonner County Fair — some details below are unconfirmedfairSandpoint
- Usually
- August, over several days
- Held at
- Bonner County Fairgrounds
* We could not confirm: the details beyond the month it usually runs. Check their site before you go.
This is a list of what is near you, not a recommendation of any of it. Events are listed by the month they usually fall in, because that is what we hold — we do not publish dates, and a month is not a promise. Check the organiser before you plan around one. 2 entries are marked with an asterisk: we could not confirm part of what is listed, and the note under it says which part. Opening times, line-ups and ticketing change without notice, so check the venue’s or organiser’s own site — every name above links to it.
Water Parks and Theme Parks Nearby
Within 60 miles of Coeur d'Alene, nearest first.
Silverwood Theme Parktheme park and water parkAthol
includes Boulder Beach water park; Scarywood fall event
This is a list of what is near you, not a recommendation of any of it. Prices, hours and ride closures change without notice — every name above links to the park’s own site.
Practical Road Trip Info
Budget one full day for the lake, the resort and Tubbs Hill; two days lets you add Silverwood or Wallace without rushing either.
Best season is June through September. Winters bring cold, snowy weather (about 46 inches of snow a year) that shuts down the lake activities the town is built around.
Much of the lake’s watershed is an EPA-managed Superfund site from nearly a century of mining, according to the National Academies, which add that the lake’s own cleanup is overseen by a Lake Management Plan run by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the State of Idaho. Idaho’s Department of Environmental Quality sampled 32 recreation sites on the lake and along the Spokane River in summer 2024 and found every site below the action levels for basin cleanup, with two areas above screening levels for lead and eleven sites above recommended screening levels for arsenic; it recommends washing hands and eating on tables or blankets in grassy areas. The Bunker Hill / Coeur d’Alene Basin Superfund Site’s Safe Recreation page advises bringing water for drinking, cooking and washing rather than using water from rivers or lakes, even if filtered.
Silverwood sits about 15 miles north of Coeur d’Alene in Athol. Its FAQ says the admission price covers entry to both the theme park and the Boulder Beach Water Park when both are open, and its calendar gives hours day by day and notes that days and hours of operation are subject to change, so check the calendar before planning a day around either park.
4 public campgrounds within 25 miles of Coeur d'Alene, all bookable ahead. Public campgrounds run by federal agencies. State-park and private campgrounds are not included.
The Local Debate
Family-Friendly
Tubbs Hill
An easy 2.2-mile loop trail with lake access along the way — short enough for younger legs, interesting enough that nobody complains.
The floating boardwalk
A flat, free, 3,300-foot walk with views of Lake Coeur d’Alene, Tubbs Hill and the Boardwalk Marina.
Silverwood
A full theme park plus a water park next door, with rides scaled from toddler-friendly to genuinely intense.
Museum of North Idaho
A small, hands-on regional museum that turns local mining and steamboat history into something kids can actually touch.
Plan Your Visit
The Coeur d’Alene Resort & Floating Green
- Address
- 115 S 2nd St, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814
- Hours
- Resort and boardwalk open year-round; golf course seasonal
- Price
- Boardwalk free; golf and floating-green boat shuttle require a round booking
- Link
- cdaresort.com
We checked operating status, contact details, opening hours and seasonal opening on 2026-10-14. These change without notice — confirm with coeurdalene.org, deq.idaho.gov, cdabasin.idaho.gov, silverwoodthemepark.com, ridethehiawatha.com, kootenaifarmersmarkets.org and fs.usda.gov the week you travel.
Sources — 29 claims, 27 checked against the source on 2026-09-21
| Claim | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|
| City and tribe name from French “Cœur d’Alêne,” heart of an awl, describing tribe's sharp trading; Coeur d'Alene people's own name Schitsu'umsh | Coeur d'Alene, Idaho — Wikipedia | Checked |
| General Sherman established Fort Coeur d'Alene 1878, later Fort Sherman; population 54,628 (2020 census); 30 miles east of Spokane; ~46 inches of snow annually | Coeur d'Alene, Idaho — Wikipedia | Checked |
| Lake Coeur d'Alene: 25 miles long, 109+ miles of shoreline, formed ~12,000-15,000 years ago by Missoula Floods when Cordilleran ice sheet's Purcell lobe dammed the Clark Fork River | Lake Coeur d'Alene — Wikipedia | Checked |
| 75+ million metric tons of metal-contaminated sediment on lake bed; Coeur d'Alene Basin Superfund site since 1983; old Model Ts and steamboats resting on lake bottom | Lake Coeur d'Alene — Wikipedia | Checked |
| Coeur d'Alene Resort floating green: 2,300-ton green installed September 1990, unveiled by resort owner and Idaho governor, course opened for play the following spring | Web search of golf trade press (cdaresort.com blog, Bellingham Marine) | Checked |
| Tubbs Hill: 165 acres, platted by German immigrant Tony Tubbs in 1884, city acquired the land 1936-1977, 2.2-mile interpretive trail, ~150,000 visitors annually, ponderosa pine and Douglas fir zones | Tubbs Hill — Wikipedia | Checked |
| Museum of North Idaho: founded by North Idaho Hoo Hoo Club (loggers/lumbermen), incorporated 1968, opened to the public July 1973, relocated to current building 1979 | Museum of North Idaho — museumni.org / search summary | Checked |
| Old Mission (Cataldo Mission): oldest standing building in Idaho, built 1850-1853 by Coeur d'Alene Tribe under Fr. Antonio Ravalli, no nails used, interior colored with pressed huckleberry stains, became state park 1975 | Old Mission State Park — Wikipedia | Checked |
| Silverwood Theme Park opened June 20, 1988 on the site of the former Henley Aerodrome; 413 acres; largest theme and water park in the Pacific Northwest; Corkscrew coaster relocated from Knott's Berry Farm, first coaster in the world to invert riders twice | Silverwood Theme Park — Wikipedia | Checked |
| Route of the Hiawatha: 15-mile former Milwaukee Road rail line, nine tunnels, seven trestles, St. Paul Pass (Taft) Tunnel is 1.66 miles long, first 13 miles opened to the public May 29, 1998 | U.S. Forest Service — Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Route of the Hiawatha | Checked |
| Wallace's entire downtown is a National Register/National Historic Landmark district | Wallace, Idaho — Wikipedia | Checked |
| Whether the floating green's distance from the tee changes day to day, and how far ahead summer tee times fill (cdaresort.com and floatinggreen.com return a verification wall and visitidaho.org returns 403 to an automated reader) | No source accepted yet | Not confirmed |
| Resort address and hours; North Idaho Centennial Trail route and distance to Washington state line | No source accepted yet | Not confirmed |
| Visit Coeur d'Alene's page says the floating golf green at the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course is served by the Putter Boat that shuttles golfers from the shore to the green, and that the course is just east of the resort's hotel and marina complex (checked 2026-10-14) | Visit Coeur d’Alene — A Top Golf Destination | Checked |
| A 2018 Associated Press report in the Spokesman-Review says the 14th hole at the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course is a par-3 with a floating green that can be moved on cables (checked 2026-10-14) | The Spokesman-Review (Associated Press) — Coeur d’Alene Resort seeks diver to retrieve lake bed golf balls | Checked |
| The listing gives the course address as 900 S Floating Green Dr, Coeur d'Alene, and describes a restaurant overlooking the floating green (checked 2026-10-14) | Visit Coeur d’Alene — Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course listing | Checked monitored · 2026-10-14 |
| The listing gives the course's golf reservations phone line as (844) 993-9483 and a golf reservations email address at cdaresort.com (checked 2026-10-14) | Visit Coeur d’Alene — Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course listing (reservations contact) | Checked monitored · 2026-10-14 |
| A May 2022 Coeur d'Alene Press report describes The Boardwalk at the Coeur d'Alene Resort as a 3,300-foot-long floating wooden structure with views of Lake Coeur d'Alene, Tubbs Hill, the Boardwalk Marina and the resort (checked 2026-10-14) | Coeur d’Alene Press — Back on The Boardwalk | Checked |
| The home page lists the Wednesday market (4 pm to 7 pm, May through September, Main Street, Riverstone, Coeur d'Alene) and the Saturday market (9 am to 1:30 pm, May through October, southeast corner of Highway 95 and Prairie Avenue, Hayden) (checked 2026-10-14) | Kootenai County Farmers’ Markets — home page | Checked monitored · 2026-10-14 |
| The September 2022 news release says nearly a century of mining in the watershed has left metals in the lake sediment, that much of the lake's watershed is a Superfund site managed by EPA, and that the lake's cleanup is overseen by a Lake Management Plan implemented by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and the state of Idaho (checked 2026-10-14) | National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine — Coeur d’Alene Lake recovering after century of mining (news release) | Checked |
| DEQ's project page says summer 2024 sampling at 32 sites found all sites below action levels for basin cleanup activities, with two areas above screening levels for lead and eleven sites above recommended screening levels for arsenic, and recommends safe-play practices such as washing hands and eating on tables or blankets in grassy areas (checked 2026-10-14) | Idaho Department of Environmental Quality — Risk-Based Evaluation of Selected Recreational Areas in Coeur d’Alene Lake and Spokane River | Checked monitored · 2026-10-14 |
| The Safe Recreation page advises bringing water for drinking, cooking and washing and not using water from rivers or lakes, even if filtered (checked 2026-10-14) | Bunker Hill / Coeur d’Alene Basin Superfund Site — Safe Recreation | Checked monitored · 2026-10-14 |
| The FAQ says the admission price covers entry into both Silverwood Theme Park and the Boulder Beach Water Park when both parks are open (checked 2026-10-14) | Silverwood Theme Park — FAQ and rules | Checked monitored · 2026-10-14 |
| The calendar page gives day-by-day hours for the park and Boulder Beach and says days and hours of operation are subject to change (checked 2026-10-14) | Silverwood Theme Park — park hours calendar | Checked monitored · 2026-10-14 |
| Wikipedia says Silverwood is in Athol, Idaho, and publishes its coordinates (47.9085 N, 116.705 W); with Coeur d'Alene's published coordinates (47.69278 N, 116.78000 W) the straight-line distance is about 15 miles, to the north | Silverwood Theme Park — Wikipedia (published coordinates) | Checked |
| The operator's home page describes 15 miles of rail-trail with 7 trestles that starts at the East Portal trailhead with the 1.66-mile St. Paul Pass Tunnel, says the tunnels are cold and dark, and says lights are required (checked 2026-10-14) | Route of the Hiawatha — official site | Checked monitored · 2026-10-14 |
| The Forest Service page lists the season of use as late May to late September and refers riders to ridethehiawatha.com for trail status and open dates for the year (checked 2026-10-14) | U.S. Forest Service — Route of the Hiawatha (season and open dates) | Checked monitored · 2026-10-14 |
| Wikipedia says the tunnel and its approach grades have been revived as the Route of the Hiawatha rail trail and publishes the tunnel's coordinates (47.3890 N, 115.6497 W); with Coeur d'Alene's published coordinates the straight-line distance is about 57 miles, to the east | St. Paul Pass Tunnel — Wikipedia (published coordinates) | Checked |
| Route of the Hiawatha: 15-mile former Milwaukee Road rail line, seven trestles, St. Paul Pass (Taft) Tunnel is 1.66 miles long, first 13 miles opened to the public May 29, 1998 | U.S. Forest Service — Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Route of the Hiawatha | Checked |
Road Trippin’ with the Harts
The Highway Heads books turn the miles between stops into a game the whole car can play.
See the booksLive Conditions
Wildlife Spotted Nearby
Nearest Airports
Straight-line distance from Coeur d'Alene, not drive time.
- Coeur D'Alene Airport - Pappy Boyington Field (COE) — 7 miles
- Felts Field (SFF) — 25 miles
- Spokane International (GEG) — 35 miles
Also in
A stop on this page turns up in other Highway Heads collections.
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Return to the Highway Heads map and discover the next family-ready stop.
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