Activities On The Lake At Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

thefootloosescribbler

My Husband and I spent five days in Coeur d’Alene Idaho. This is the third of three blogs about this wonderful north-Idaho town.

There are many ways to enjoy Lake Coeur d’Alene, in this blog I’ll share a few of them with you.

Swimming in Lake Coeur d’Alene

Come on in the water’s fine! Well, maybe. Historic mining operations dumped metals like arsenic and lead into the Coeur d’Alene river, which feeds into Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Spokane River. Luckily, these metals settled to the bottom of the lake, and so far, the water has been declared safe for swimming. The biggest worry is the chance that children will ingest sand or water that is contaminated with metals. As I write this, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is testing the waters of more than thirty beaches around the lake and rivers. The results should be posted by late summer 2025.

In the meantime, we saw plenty of families splashing about off the beach of Coeur d’Alene’s city park. We went in ourselves during a kayaking break. The water looked and felt great, but of course that doesn’t mean anything. But until they post No Swimming signs – and hopefully they won’t have to – my advice is to shower off after swimming, and try to prevent your toddlers from ingesting sand and water. They would probably have to ingest a lot, every day, for it to be dangerous. Obviously, I’m not an expert, so don’t take my word for it.

Boating on Lake Coeur d’Alene

On Lake Coeur d’Alene, we saw many different kinds of water craft, including row boats, speed boats, paddle boards, cruise boats, and a parasail. My husband and I decided to try the two-hour sunset cruise from the Lake Coeur d’Alene Cruises outfit. The cruise included dinner, which was okay, but not as good as their photos made it seem. However, it was the view of the lake that counted, and we got plenty of that.

The air felt lovely with a perfect temperature. And we weren’t inundated with too much narration. The captain pointed out a couple sites of interest, but mostly left us passengers alone to enjoy the romantic views.

Kayaking on Lake Coeur d’Alene

One morning we rented a double kayak from the Coeur d’Alene Parasail Company and headed over toward Tubbs Hill to look for Osprey. We saw several–flying, nesting high in the trees, and even diving for fish. We also took the time to beach the kayak and stretch our legs. We really had fun, though I admit this married couple did argue about where exactly to paddle. Ultimately my husband did the wise thing and let me have my way.

I recommend going out in the morning, like we did, to beat the crowds. And wear a bathing suit so you can go swimming. I went in wearing my quick-dry hiking shorts and sports bra–a bathing suit would have been much more comfortable!

A Bird Walk near Lake Coeur d’Alene

One morning we drove to Cougar Bay Preserve (ten minutes from the Coeur d’Alene Resort) to do a bit of hiking and birding in wetlands next to the lake. We each had a pair of good binoculars. The trail is short – less than three miles – but we saw so many birds! I was excited to see a female wood duck carrying babies on her back while she swam, and a huge Pileated Woodpecker climbing the side of a tree. There were several osprey and a pair of colorful Western Tanagers.

We also saw a moose! Way off in the distance of the lake. We could barely make out its antlers, but it was definitely a moose wading in the water. Cool!

The trail at Cougar Bay is not well maintained, so make sure you wear long pants, because you will brush up against tall grass. Beware of ticks. There are also some mosquitoes, so wear long sleeves and use Deet if you have it. We didn’t, but luckily our clothes and hats kept the mosquitos under control. Also, there are no facilities, so bring water and a snack.

I hope you enjoyed viewing the activities we did on Lake Coeur d’Alene. If you’ve been there and spent time on or near the water, please let me know in the comments below.