North Idaho Tours and Sights

Get Above it All

Brooks Seaplane over Lake Coeur d'Alene Idaho

Get a bird’s-eye view of North Idaho on a high-flying tour. Brooks Seaplane Service at the city dock on Lake Coeur d’Alene has sightseeing and charter flights over North Idaho waterways. (208)664-2842

Departing from the Coeur d’Alene airport, Serendipity Hospitality offers North Idaho mountain, lake and ski area scenic flights. www.idahoserendipity.com or (208)935-6330.

For the more adverturesome, parasailing on Lake Coeur d’Alene provides a unique view.

Ride the Gondola

Silver Mountain gondola Kellogg Idaho

Take your vacation (or visitors) to new heights aboard the Silver Mountain Gondola. Stretching 3.1 miles and rising 3,400 vertical feet, the gondola transports passengers in 16 minutes from the base village in Kellogg to the Mountain Haus. During the summer, riders can enjoy mountaintop dining, hiking, mountain bike riding and outdoor concerts. Skiing, snowboarding, tubing and fun weekly events highlight the winter months.  1-800-204-6428  or  www.silvermt.com

Go Underground

Sierra Silver Mine Tour Wallace Idaho

Sierra Silver Mine Tours, located in Historic Wallace, takes you on a 1,000 foot guided walking tour through an actual depleted silver mine. A retired miner is your guide as you walk through the main drift of a real underground silver mine. Your guide will share his own mining stories and will demonstrate the operation of real mining machinery while you experience and learn about historical and modern methods of hard-rock silver mining.

Your tour begins aboard a classic 18 passenger trolley. On the short trip to and from the mine you will be treated to a narrative of the colorful 125 year history of Historic Wallace, “The Silver Capital of the World.” Bring your camera and a light sweater, the temperature in the mine stays at about 50° all year. 752-5151 or www.silverminetour.org

Crystal Gold Mine Idaho

Crystal Gold Mine in Kellogg is the only authentic gold mine in the Northwest, dating back to the 1880s. Lost for nearly 100 years, it was rediscovered and rejuvinated in 1996. Feel like a prospector with seasonal panning for gold! Bring your camera and a sweater, the mine temperature stays at 48° all year. Easy walking and no climbing makes this guided tour fun for the whole family. The mine is open all year and offers free RV parking. Take Exit 54 off I-90 by the Sunshine Miner’s Memorial and travel two miles west on Silver Valley Road. 783-4653 or www.goldmine-idaho.com

Walk the Boardwalk

World's longest floating boardwalk Coeur d'Alene Idaho

The Boardwalk at The Coeur d’Alene Resort rims the hotel’s 372-slip marina and at 12 feet wide and 3,300 feet long, it is recognized as the world’s longest floating boardwalk. It was constructed in 1986 using 1,600 float logs (each 32 feet long), 28,000 pounds of spikes, 16,000 lag screws and 8,000 pounds of bolts to complete. The boardwalk and marina are anchored by 150 tons of concrete and a series of strategically placed pilings. The boardwalk is the ideal place to view the 4th of July fireworks or the Fantasy in Lights Thanksgiving weekend kickoff to the holiday season. Rest your feet on a boardwalk bench or view watercraft of all sizes which are moored at the marina. Open daily to the public.

Dig it! Garnets or Fossils

Idaho and India are the only two places on earth where star garnets - the Idaho state gem - are found. In Idaho, the garnet digging area is located on Emerald Creek, south of St. Maries on State Highway 3 to Road 447. Digging requires a permit, available at the digging site. Permits are $10 for adults and $5 for 14 and under and may be purchased from Memorial Day through Labor Day. While most gems are small crystals, garnets weighing seven ounces and more have been found in the Emerald Creek area. 245-2531.

Find fossils at Clarkia Miocene Lake at the Fossil Bowl dig site. Clarkia has some of the best preserved and oldest leaf, insect and fish fossils. Over 125 specimens can be found including Bald cypress, Chinese Pine, fir, and Dawn redwood among many others types of leaves. The Fossil Bowl is open to the public for digging from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily in summer months. Fee is $10 per person, under 5 is free. Bring butter knives and pulaski to dig with and newspaper to preserve your fossil. Tools on loan at site for no charge. 245-3608

Pan for Gold

A few miles up the road from Wallace you’ll discover Murray, North Idaho’s living ghost town. A.J. Prichard first discovered gold in Murray in 1881 with more than 10,000 prospectors seeking their fortunes on the Coeur d’Alene River by 1885. While in Murray, enjoy lunch in the shadow of Molly b’Damn at the Sprag Pole Inn & Museum, look over the famous Bedroom Goldmine Bar and try your hand at gold panning (with gold guaranteed every time). Do not pan local streams without permission. 682-3901

Located between Prichard and Murray is Eagle City Park (25 miles from I-90 via the Coeur d’Alene River Road - Exit 43), site of the first gold rush to the Coeur d’Alenes. For a small fee, modern prospectors can search for gold on the 35 acre park located in the Coeur d’Alene National Forest.