I was lucky enough to ride two of the trails on my bike bucket list this summer. Both are in the panhandle area of Idaho and are "rails to trails" with gentle grades. Both are unique in their own right.
Bucket List #1 - Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes spans the width of the Idaho panhandle. For 72 miles it runs along rivers, lakes, marshes and by several small towns. A friend and I biked 55 miles from the south-west trail head in Plummer to the small mining town of Kellogg. The highlights of this trail included a 3,000 ft bridge over Coeur d'Alene Lake and moose sighting.
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| One of the many bridges |
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| Do you see the moose? |
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| THE BRIDGE!! |
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| Do you see the bridge? |
Our SAG (AKA husbands) picked us up in Kellogg. I did not take any photos during the last 5 miles of our 55 miles between Smelterville and Kellogg. That 5 miles was NOT scenic at all - think mining town infrastructure. If I were to bike this trail again, I would have our SAG meet us in Smelterville. After Kellogg it appears the trail parallels the interstate freeway so we choose not to bike it. But who knows........ I may bike that portion next time.
Bucket List #2 - Route of the Hiawatha This was like no other trail I have biked before and my favorite so far. It is a 15 miles DOWNHILL packed gravel trail going through 10 tunnels and 7 super high steel RR trestles. What a thrill !
The top trail-head is in Montana and the route starts with a 1.6 Mile tunnel exiting in Idaho.
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| 1st Tunnel!! |
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| Trail-head !! |
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| 1.6 Mile Taft Tunnel |
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| Vistas around every corner!! |
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| My bike coming off the shuttle |
We took the shuttle bus back up the hill. However, hardcore mountain bikers passed us, huffing and puffing their way back up the trail.
My advice if you plan to bike the trail - get the permit and shuttle ticket at the Wallace Inn, arrive early since it can be hot and busy, ride a mountain bike, carry an emergency repair kit, have water, make sure your headlamp is fully charged.
Get ready for 15 miles of FUN!!!
