VISIT BEAUTIFUL NORTH IDAHO
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PRIEST LAKE-
Located in the far northern panhandle area, surrounded by dense forests and towering mountains carved by ancient glaciers, lies the serene beauty of the smallest of North Idaho’s large bodies of water, Priest Lake. Measuring 25 miles in length, Priest Lake is named for the black-robed Jesuit Father Peter De Smet and is famed for the record trout it’s provided lucky fishermen, some of these being world record specimens. Two miles above the northern tip of Priest Lake lies Upper Priest Lake. Completely inaccessible by passenger automobile, the 3.5 mile long Upper Priest is connected to the lower, larger lake by a two-mile long, narrow but navigable, slow moving river known as the Thoroughfare.
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THE PURCELL TRENCH-
Stretched out between British Columbia to the north and the Bitterroot Mountain Range to the south lies the geological wonder known as the Purcell Trench. The Purcell Trench is a broad, straight valley geologists think may have been formed 50 to 70 million years ago when a large dome of granite magma rose forcing the formation of the Cabinet Mountains to the east and the Purcell Mountains to the west. Over time the trench was filled and leveled by the many episodes of glaciation that took place. This extreme in topography is immediately evident as one skirts the eastern edge of the trench while traveling on US-95 between McArthur Lake and Bonner’s Ferry.
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LAKE PEND OREILLE-
Located south and east of Priest Lake lies the”Mammoth of the North”, Lake Pend Oreille. At nearly 43 miles long and six miles wide, this lake is twice the size of the next biggest lake, Lake Coeur d’Alene. Lying along a geologic fault that was probably eroded by glaciers to its present depth, Pend Oreille measures 1225 feet deep, making it one of the deepest lakes in the United States. Ruggedly beautiful with forested mountains descending steeply to its shores, this lake offers unlimited opportunities to the outdoor lover! Boating, skiing, swimming and fishing as well as bird and wildlife watching are enjoyed by everyone from kids to seniors.
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LAKE COEUR D’ALENE-
Named as one of the world’s five most beautiful alpine lakes, Lake Couer d’Alene is the second largest and most easily accessible of the three main lakes in North Idaho. Located just 22 miles east of Spokane, Washington on Interstate 90, the lake is the central feature of the city of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, which was built along its expansive north shoreline. With a surface area of 50 square miles extending 32 miles from end to end, this lake was once a river that flowed through a broad valley that was eventually dammed by glacial debris over 20,000 years ago. Because of the great beauty and recreational opportunities Lake Coeur d’Alene has to offer, the city of Coeur d’Alene has become one of the fastest growing cities in Idaho.
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THE SILVER VALLEY-
Rich with colorful history, the Silver Valley stretches from Fourth of July Pass to Lookout Pass along the I-90 corridor and is so called because it has produced more silver than any other mining area in the world. Legend has it, in 1885, Noah Kellogg was prospecting above the townsite that now bears his name when his jackass wandered off. When Kellogg found his pack animal, it was grazing near an outcrop of galena, a lead ore. The richness of that ore led to the eventual opening of the Bunker Hill Mine, which, along with the other mines in the district, yielded more than 507,000 ounces of gold and more than a billion ounces of silver over the course of 100 years of operation.
THE CHAIN LAKES-
Lake Coeur d’Alene, Chatcolet Lake, Benewah Lake, Round Lake, Hidden Lake, Thompson Lake, Anderson Lake, Blue Lake, Swan Lake, Black Lake, Cave Lake, Medicine Lake, Killarney Lake and Rose Lake are all interconnected lakes created by the flows of the St. Joe and Coeur d’Alene Rivers backed up by glacial debris and the 1906 construction of the Post Falls Dam on the Spokane River.