Head to the South Lake this Winter

This is your virtual guide to the Greater South Lake Coeur d’Alene area of north Idaho. The scenery is awesome year round and the scattered communities along the St. Joe, St. Maries and Coeur d'Alene River drainages beckon with precious nuggets for you to discover. Thousands of visitors flock to the lake and rivers during summer and there are good reasons to visit in winter as well, including some Christmas shopping gift ideas. So load up the camera, cross-country skis or snowshoes, your Christmas packages, cards and letters and head for your first stop – the Coeur d’Alene Casino in Worley.

Coeur d’Alene Casino
The casino along Hwy 95 is always a draw and that’s where this little wintertime trip begins. Even if you don’t gamble it’s worth a visit for its dining, entertainment and royal treatment at the Rose Creek Spa. The two-hour December special at Rose Creek is a peppermint rub, exfoliating treatment and hour massage for $100. The Circling Raven Golf Course pro shop has a killer sale before the holidays and winter hours are daily from 8 to 4 p.m., except for Sunday, when they are closed.

Vintage Items
From the casino, travel south toward Plummer where you can check out Bobbi Doupé’s vintage holiday collectibles room at Golden Era Antiques. Winter hours are weekends only or by appointment until the driveway – called Memory Lane – fills up with snow. The entrance is on the right side of Hwy 95, a mile north of Plummer, just as the scenery opens up to reveal the city and surrounding fields.

It’s interesting to note that 100 years ago, this valley was so thick with tall evergreen trees you could barely see the sun. When the reservation was “thrown open to settlement” the newcomers sawed down the trees, many of which were cut up and sold to power steamboats that once plied Lake Coeur d’Alene.

In addition to the Christmas room, Golden Era has a great collection of old timey implements that make unique home and garden accents – or you can appropriate some of these hand-cranked wonders if you’re trying to limit your carbon footprint.

Crystal Healing
In Plummer, consider an aura tune up with resident crystal healer Kay Long. She will fluff your aura, bind up your soul’s black holes and get sluggish psychic energy moving through your charkas so you can progress to the next level of your evolutionary path.

To get to St. Maries, turn left at the light on State Five. The 18-mile route along the south end of the lake is both scenic and winding. Take five at Heyburn State Park or one of the turnouts along the way to learn about local history or gaze at the watery winter visuals along Chatcolet, Round and Benewah Lakes.

St. Maries
St. Maries, is the Benewah County seat. The town’s annual lighted Christmas parade is Dec 6 at 5 p.m. Vendors line up along Main Street during the afternoon and local crafters will be at the annual Eagles Lodge holiday fair.

There are several roadside attractions worth checking out here, like the giant Paul Bunyan statue, steam donkey (okay, draw a mental picture of that) and a whole bunch of well-done historical murals on buildings all over town. The most interesting feature of the Paul Bunyan statue is the legend about its mysterious appearance in a field in 1967. A more plausible explanation is that it was once used as a promotion in front of a gas station in town, but locals are tight-lipped about where it originally came from.

Art and Leather
If you like rooting around little towns, there are a number of shops on Main St. to explore, including an art gallery and collectibles mall. My favorite spots in this town are Main Street Antiques and Espresso, the golf course, Two Feathers Gallery and Eidness Fur and Leather. The last three are off the beaten path along Hwy 3 on the southeast end of town.

Look for the wooden Two Feathers Gallery sign on your left. This is one of those great little nooks that's easy to miss but well worth the stop. Home of artist Linda Schardine's working studio, it's open to the public weekdays from 10 - 4. Eidness Furs Inc is adjacent to the gallery. With a good selection of buttery deer, elk and moose hides, smoke tanned leather, and the pelt of just about any fur bearing animal in the Northwest, their retail shop is dream come true for leatherworkers or people who just like to have some hides or furs draped around the house. Unfortunately, Two Feathers and Eidness are closed on weekends.

Cross Country Skiing and Mexican Dining
When the St. Maries Golf Course is covered with a blanket of snow it makes a very inviting and attractive place to cross country ski. After a few rounds relax at the Casa de Oro Restaurant with its serene view, great food and exemplary service. They are open weekdays from 11 to 9 p.m. and on weekends until 10 p.m.

You will also see a sign along this section of Hwy Three pointing to Christmas Hills, which has nothing at all to do with Christmas. It’s a privately-owned area open to the public with trails for motor cross riders.

An Old Fashioned Christmas
From St. Maries, it’s 7.5 miles south on the White Pine Scenic Byway (Hwy 3) to Forever Green Tree Farm, which features Christmas trees and wreaths and holiday gift shop. Horse drawn wagon rides are on Dec 7 and 14.

Mail your Packages from Santa
From there it’s 11 more miles through more scenic beauty to Hwy 6. If you brought your holiday mail go left about a mile to the little berg of Santa. Postmarking your cards and packages here will delight people enthralled with the idea of getting something directly from Santa.

Head west out of Santa on Hwy 6 to the Palouse Divide Park ‘N Ski area. Along the way you’ll see The Drifters Bar & Grill in Emida, which is the community hub for the small rural towns of Emida, Santa and Fernwood. The place offers a hearty breakfast all day in addition to a full menu of traditional Northwest fare. They also make delicious gourmet mustards, ketchup and wild berry jams.

Cool Nordic Ski Area
The Palouse Divide Nordic Ski Area along Hwy 6 features a nice 20-mile backcountry trail system tucked into the Hoodoo Mountains atop a 3,600-foot snow belt in Idaho’s southern Benewah County. Retired Forest Service employee Pete Minard voluntarily grooms and sets track on about eight miles of trail. If anybody would like to join a volunteer brush-cutting group some weekend and spend a pleasant day in the mountains improving trails with likeminded folks, please call the Palouse Ranger District and leave a message for Pete, who is a really nice guy. There are no public facilities with these trails, and it’s a Park ‘N Ski area, which requires a sticker. The most convenient way to purchase a permit is by phone at 800-247-6332. The Rose Lake General Store on Hwy 3 also has them, but that won't help much if you're heading down Hwy 95 from Spokane or Coeur d'Alene. I think people should call the Idaho parks dept at the above toll-free number and tell them to find an accessible vendor that is open 7-days a week somewhere in the Spokane/CdA metro area or along Hwy 95. The Coeur d'Alene Tribal Wellness Center, for example, seems like a natural.

Palouse Divide Lodge
You will also find the Palouse Divide Lodge here. It’s a rustic retreat center at the old North-South Ski Bowl once owned by WSU. Now in private hands, they have hostel-type lodgings for under $50 for a shared room, some private cabin options and a lookout where you can spend the night. The place attracts quilters, scrapbooking enthusiasts and other crafters who like to gather here and enjoy doing their thing. The rafters of the spacious common area are dripping with colorful quilts made by local artisans and the gift shop offers wares by artisans of the region. If you want to spend some time here, call ahead and plan to bring a group of 10 or more, preferably. Owner Shirley Hathaway specializes in wheat-free meals for her guests and utilizes local and organic ingredients when she can get them.

This is also where Gray Wolf, Cheyenne, teaches Native living and survival skills. It’s an immersion experience where at risk teens and city kids suffering from wilderness deprivation can sleep in his lodges and sit around the bonfire to hear character-building tales. The four-day campouts for school kids help them connect with the earth and get in touch with their inner warrior. It’s mostly about learning respect for earth, Gray Wolf says, along with things like nature hikes, tomahawk throwing, bow and arrow skills and making crafts from natural materials. The ROTC will get some lessons in old survival ways at the end of January. So don’t be surprised if you see people sneaking around the woods as you whoosh and shoosh along the trails.

The Greater South Lake Coeur d'Alene Alternative has more information about what's happening around the south end of the lake.

The Greater South Lake Loop Unveiled

With this new blog you can vicariously check out the Greater South Lake Coeur d'Alene area with me, your self-appointed virtual South Lake hostess. Hopefully it will inspire you to experience it in the flesh as well.

The Greater South Lake Coeur d'Alene Area is a geographical concept I came up with, so I also get to define the bounds, which are somewhat fluid. Starting from Coeur d'Alene, head south down Hwy 95 to Worley, which is pretty much the north end of the realm. Now you're on the rez, which extends to the southern Benewah County line and includes Plummer, Tensed and DeSmet along Hwy 95. Along here Tekoa, WA is included because of its social and economic ties to the south lake area and because hang gliders congregate here, sometimes "hopping" from hilltop to butte. It's also the home of the energetic little Empire Theatre and a couple of other special spots.

The southernmost part of the realm is Hwy 6 along the Palouse Divide, where it traverses east through Emida, Santa and Fernwood. Cross-country skiers can revel in a little snowbelt at the Palouse Divide Nordic Park 'N Ski area, but get a permit before you arrive by calling the rangers at either Potlatch or St. Maries for info.

The Palouse Divide Lodge has lots of rooms, but it's not a motel. It's a retreat center where crafters and others hang out by making advance reservations, so don't show up at 10 pm looking for a place to crash. If you need somewhere to sleep ask at the Drifters Bar & Grill on Hwy 6 in Emida. They have a fancy off-the-grid RV a mile up the hill. It's the only place to stay.

If you make the pilgrimage before Christmas bring your holiday cards and packages to mail from the teensie-weensie village of Santa, Idaho just down the road. From there, go north up the White Pine Scenic Byway (Hwy 3) to St. Maries, the Benewah county seat. Cross the St. Joe River on the northeast end of town, and make a right for Avery, the gateway to the St. Joe National Forest. Avery is an awesome destination with salt-of-the-earth people, but not a good spot to pontificate about your great love for the spotted owl. You can get to St. Regis, Montana from here, but it's an out-and-back trip to continue exploring the south lake loop.

Back at the White Pine Scenic Byway, travel north about 11 miles to where the south lake loop branches into a 'Y.' On the left is the Lake Coeur d'Alene Scenic Byway (Hwy 97) and it's name doesn't lie. The White Pine Scenic Byway (SR-3) continues to the right. They're both beautiful and pretty quiet in winter with Hwy 3 being the more traveled. There are a couple of gas stations and quick stops and several access points to the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes.

On the lake road, you'll come to Harrison which is hopping all summer and dead in winter except for various holiday events. There's a bike trailhead there too, a full service grocery store where they bake fresh goodies daily, and a deli section. Harrison has lots of year round lodging alternatives which makes it a great winter spot for small retreats and a quiet getaway for artists and writers who seek a peaceful, inspirational setting.

North on this road is a bridge across the Coeur d'Alene River with the Thompson Lake Wildlife Refuge on the right. Continue on to Carlin Bay which has grub, gas, cute little log cabins for rent and a bar that often has live music on weekends, even in winter.

Next: A wintertime day trip.