Vacations Blog

The northern panhandle of Idaho is my family’s stomping ground.  Over the years, we’ve discovered a great number of cool and exciting places to take the kids.  So, when people ask what there is to do around here with children, I always have a ready list of sights and activities that will make any family vacation a memorable one.

Ten Cool Things For Kids In North Idaho

1.  World’s Longest Gondola Ride

Silver Mountain Gondola

In the town of Kellogg, you can board the longest gondola in the world for a 20 minute ride to the Mountain Haus terminal at the top of Silver Mountain, a climb of 3400 vertical feet.  In the winter, you’ll find some of the best ski runs around, but in the summer you can hike the nature trails, go mountain biking, or ride the chair lifts for more scenic beauty even higher up the mountain.

2.  Hiawatha Bike Trail

Along the Hiawatha Bike Trail

I’ve covered this amazing trail already, but it bears repeating:  This is an incredibly easy ride for kids of all ages.  17 miles of gradual downhill biking through stunning wilderness, with a shuttle bus waiting for you at the end to take you back to your car.  The 1.6-mile Taft Tunnel alone will keep your children talking about this adventure for a long time.

3.  Digging For Garnets

Digging for star garnets

There are only two places in the world to find star garnet gem stones… India and Idaho.  Near the tiny town of Clarkia, Idaho, is the forested Emerald Creek Garnet Area, run by the US Forest Service, where you can dig into a massive pile of mud and gravel, then use sluice boxes to search for star garnets.  What kid doesn’t like playing in the mud?

4.  Coeur d’Alene City Park and Independence Point

Coeur d'Alene City Beach and City Park

Just west of downtown Coeur d’Alene, the 16-acre City Park and Independence Point sits on the northern shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene.  Here you’ll find a wide range of free activities, from playing on a huge wooden castle in the park to splashing on the smooth sands of City Beach.  For something more adventurous, you can rent paddle boats, kayaks, and jet skis, or, view the lake from above via parasail or float plane.

5.  Tubbs Hill Beaches

A secluded beach on Lake Coeur d'Alene

If you’re in Coeur d’Alene and you want to get away from the crowds at City Beach, I suggest taking a hike on Tubbs Hill, a 135-acred forested peninsula with a 2-mile loop trail that will take you to one of dozens of secluded beaches.  Oh, there will still be people out there during the summer, just not as many.  All along the trail, older kids will find rope swings and high rocks so they can fling themselves into the water below.  Our favorite Tubbs Hill beach is at the tip of the peninsula, where there are smaller rocks for the kids to play on.  Just a warning, though… Bring swim shoes.  These beaches are mostly rocky, and not easy on bare feet.

6.  Sierra Silver Mine Tour

Inside the Sierra Silver Mine

We’ve been on this tour so many times, I should get frequent miner miles.  The tour starts in downtown Wallace, a town that is so historic they put the whole place on the National Registry of Historic Places.  A trolley takes you up to the mine itself, where you don hardhats and then descend into a cool dark tunnel that winds into the mountain for over 1,000 feet.  During the 90-minute tour, you’ll learn a lot about hard rock mining and the history of the Silver Valley.  It’s completely safe, although a little bit noisy when they demonstrate the hydraulic equipment.

7.  David Thompson Game Preserve

Oh, deer.

Located along the northern shore of Lake Pend O’Reille, this game preserve is cool with my kids for one reason.  There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of whitetail deer there, grazing contentedly along the paths and roads, and in amongst the Beyond Hope RV Park.  Several years ago, the owners prohibited feeding the very tame deer, but it’s still fun to walk among them.

8.  Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes

Chatcolet Bridge, on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes

I don’t propose you make your kids pedal the entire 73-mile paved Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes.  That’s a long way.  But you can certainly ride portions of the trail, which spans almost the entire panhandle and runs along rivers and lakes, over trestles and bridges, and through several historic small towns.  There are 20 trailheads with parking and restrooms, so you can begin your ride anywhere.  One of our favorite short rides starts in Heyburn State Park and crosses the 3100-foot Chatcolet Bridge, which spans the southern end of Lake Coeur d’Alene.  Another beautiful spot to start a ride is near the Old Mission at Cataldo, where you can ride east along the north fork of the Coeur d’Alene River.

9.  University of Idaho Arboretum and Botanical Garden

Stopping to smell the roses

Amid the rolling hills of Moscow, in the middle of the campus of the University of Idaho, sits 63 acres of walking trails, ponds, creeks, and, of course, lush vegetation divided into geographical regions.  Don’t tell your kids that it’s educational, just let them roam the grounds and discover things for themselves.  There are rare flowers and trees, and plenty of granite benches to sit or climb on.  My kids had the most fun exploring the creek and ponds, where a student researcher patiently showed them tadpoles and frogs. The arboretum is open year-round, and it’s free.

10.  Silverwood Theme Park

The kids drive dad at Silverwood

This goes without saying.  Silverwood, the northwest’s largest theme park, is the #1 destination of families heading to North Idaho.  Between the rides and the adjoining water park, all of which falls under just one admission price, your kids will be in paradise.  Rollercoasters in the morning, water slides in the afternoon!

All photos by Phil Corless

Don’t let the heat fool you.  Just because it’s hotter than molten lava outside doesn’t mean that the holidays won’t be here before you know it.  Seriously, they’re coming. Read More »

Imagine running into President Barack Obama in Hollywood.  Or for that matter, Wolverine.  Both encounters are just as unlikely in real life, but if you go down the rabbit hole into a very special place, these weird fantasies of yours just might come true.

Smack dab in the middle of all the touristy action, Madame Tussauds Hollywood Wax Museum opens August 1, 2009.  With an updated cast of wax figure characters, (thank goodness) the museum offers an experience you cannot have elsewhere, that’s for sure.  Photo ops galore, and the whole family can go.  The comprehensive website helps you plan your visit, and you never know what celebrity you might bump into…for real.  Tussauds works the Hollywood connection so well that the real-life models drop in to unveil their lookalikes.

Madame Tussauds Hollywood is at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard, right next to the famous Graumans Chinese Theater.

Get up close and personal

The lighthouse at Cape Hatteras National Seashore Hatteras, NC

There are 248 narrow, spiraling steps to the top.  The climb is strenuous.  It is hot and humid, there is no air conditioning and the stairwell is noisy with two way traffic and only one handrail.  Individuals with heart conditions, lung conditions, bone conditions, sensitivity to heat, stress or noise, those with difficulty running, walking, climbing stairs or standing erect, people with claustrophobia, agoraphobia, myctophobia, melano-leukophobia, climacophobia, bathmophobia or any other serious medical or mental condition should use their own discretion as to whether to climb the lighthouse tower.

I chose to stand outside and take a picture.

(Photo by Ed Lamaze, who had the foresight to read the warning signs prior to dragging his kids to the top of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.  That and the wait was over an hour and the kids were hungry.)

Objects in mirror are dorkier than they appear.

My husband and I leave on our Epic Summer Road Trip (links to the five-part story of our planning process are at the end of this entry) in exactly 40 hours. We’ve been scurrying, and list-making, and list-checking-off, and thinking of a dozen last-minute details that need to be accomplished before we leave.

For instance, we need to buy a rat tonight to feed our snake, who eats every two to three weeks. It just wouldn’t do to leave our daughter, who is house sitting for us, at the mercy of a hungry 5 1/2 foot Ball Python, now would it?

Hard drive storage suddenly became a concern, because I plan on taking a lot of pictures. I probably won’t follow my own advice about putting the camera down, so we ended up putting the portable hard drive on the list of gear to pack. See, we rented some lenses for our Canon Rebel XTi, and I’m enjoying them so much so far that I anticipate taking many, MANY more pictures than would be my usual desire.

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As previously mentioned, the family spent a little time in Tennessee earlier this month. Admittedly, most of the time was spent taking full advantage of my in-laws lake front home. I couldn’t find much to complain about, what with the gourmet meals, nightly karaoke (Much to my surprise I discovered that I’m a mic hog) and instant access to all variety of lake activities. The boy learned how to bait a hook and spent many an hour paddling around trying to land a biggin, while the girl morphed into a mermaid, coming out only for meals and to text her friends back home.

But in an effort to get acquainted with our southern surroundings, we did venture out to explore one of the local sites. In the city of Crossville stands what some of the locals refer to as God’s tree house.

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There are still destinations on this planet which are fairly easy to access, but truly take you away from everything. One such destination is Moosehead Lake in Maine. Whatever your wish – a romantic getaway, a family adventure, an inexpensive weekend, or a week of pampered luxury – the Moosehead Lake region can accommodate any vacation needs.

Moosehead Lake, photo by Lee Coursey

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Traveling is expensive.  This is not news.

Traveling with kids can be an exercise in restraint.  It happens.

Kids need a moment to run, stretch and yell.  And possibly air out. You know, kid stuff.  What kids don’t need, however, is something that costs a lot of money.  Sure, they’d be pleased as punch to stop at an arcade or amusement park, and maybe you will, but don’t underestimate the appeal of a rest area hill and a piece of cardboard.

Granted, you may not have a piece of cardboard in the family truckster, but you do have imagination and a road open with possibilities.

After all, it’s the trip, not the destination.

For more family-friendly travel photos visit DeliciousBaby’s Photo Fridays.

Photo by W. Honea