Northern

Northern Idaho covers the panhandle of the state, the heavily forested mountain-and-lake country running from the Lewiston area north to the Canadian border. The terrain is rugged — Selkirk, Cabinet, and Bitterroot ranges climbing above 7,000 feet — interrupted by a chain of large glacial lakes (Coeur d’Alene, Pend Oreille, Priest) that draw most of the regional visitor traffic. The climate is wetter and greener than the rest of Idaho. Kootenai, Bonner, Boundary, Benewah, Latah, Shoshone, and Clearwater counties cover the region. Coeur d’Alene is the largest city and the dominant resort town; Sandpoint anchors Lake Pend Oreille; Moscow holds the University of Idaho; Wallace and Kellogg sit in the Silver Valley mining country. Lake Coeur d’Alene, Lake Pend Oreille, Priest Lake, and the Coeur d’Alene River carry the major water recreation; Schweitzer Mountain and Silver Mountain handle the ski traffic. Most trips split between lake-resort and outdoor-active. Coeur d’Alene runs the resort itinerary — the Coeur d’Alene Resort, the floating boardwalk, the lake cruises; Sandpoint pulls the quieter year-round traffic; Wallace’s well-preserved silver-mining downtown anchors the historic-mining circuit; the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes runs 73 miles of paved rail-trail across the region.