Coeur d'Alene Family Vacation Activities

North Idaho Area Offers Outdoor Recreation, Theme Parks and Resorts

Jul 27, 2009

Families that travel together often contain people with a wide variety of interests. Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, offers activities that satisfy people of all ages.

Coeur d’Alene, just about a 40-minute drive from Spokane, Washington, offers something for everyone in the family. One day can be spent on Lake Coeur d’Alene. Another can be spent at a theme park. That can be followed up with a day at one of three water parks in the area. The day after that can focus on outdoor activities in the mountains. Horseback riding or family barn nights can occupy another day. Another day can be set aside for just walking around downtown Coeur d’Alene to enjoy the shopping and restaurants.

Visit Lake Coeur d’Alene

The beauty of Lake Coeur d’Alene can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. Those who want to sit back and look around can contact Lake Coeur d’Alene Cruises for one of the daily cruises around the lake, a sunset dinner cruise available Sundays through Thursdays or a Sunday brunch cruise. Those who want to be more directly in the water should kayak around the lake by using ROW Adventures, which provides everything in terms of equipment as well as a guide who can relate stories about the history of the Lake. Finally, the best way to see Lake Coeur d’Alene could be from high above while floating along on a parasail. Coeur d’Alene Parasail & Watersports has the motto, “If you can sit, you can fly,” and proves it with parasail rides that can be arranged every day but Saturday, weather permitting. The company also rents out paddle boats, kayaks, aqua-cycles and canoes.

Shopping and Dining in Coeur d’Alene

With all of the activities available in and around Coeur d’Alene, sometimes it’s nice just to take an afternoon off and do a little window shopping along Sherman Avenue and Front Street in downtown Coeur d’Alene. There are a several shops carrying products containing huckleberries, which grow wild locally, and can be found dipped in chocolate, mixed in ice cream or made into jam. The downtown area offers a variety of restaurants and cafes with everything from fine dining to fast food. One unique spot that is the sort that can’t be found anywhere else is Hudson’s Hamburgers on Sherman. The restaurant consists of a bar around which about 15 people can sit. Pretty much the only thing on the menu is burgers and pie, and with the burgers, the only choices are whether one wants pickle and onion, both freshly sliced. One man stands grilling the burgers while a waitress with an amazing memory takes the orders as people come and go. Once the burger arrives, there is a choice of ketchup, spicy mustard or spicy ketchup – which appears to be a combination of ketchup, mayonnaise and spicy mustard – which offers a fun kick to these excellent burgers.

Theme Parks and Outdoor Recreation in Northern Idaho

Beyond Lake Coeur d’Alene, the resort and downtown, a number of other adventures await in the area. For outdoors fun head down to Kellogg, Idaho, to Silver Mountain Resort for mountain activities or out to Rider Ranch for horseback riding, or book a river trip through ROW Adventures.

If someone in the family is into theme parks and water parks, Silverwood in nearby Athol is the Northwest’s largest theme park with over 65 rides, shows and attractions. Meanwhile, three different water parks in the area ranging from Boulder Beach at Silverwood, to Raptor Reef at the Triple Play Family Fun Park in Hayden, to the Silver Rapids Water Park at Silver Mountain Resort, are available for family fun.

Finding a way to please everybody on a family vacation can be a difficult task. Fortunately for those given the task of planning the family trip, Coeur d’Alene and its surrounding area offers something for every interest.

The copyright of the article Coeur d'Alene Family Vacation Activities in Idaho Travel is owned by Kathleen Curry. Permission to republish Coeur d'Alene Family Vacation Activities in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.