We spent a night at the Coeur d’Alene Resort and hiked the three mile Mineral Ridge Trail above Lake Coeur d’Alene. The Resort is quite fancy and expensive, but we had a gift certificate for the night’s stay and an excellent dinner. Lucky us!
The Mineral Ridge Trail is a 3.3-mile loop that offers outstanding views over Beauty and Wolf Lodge bays of Coeur d’Alene Lake, with excellent interpretive signage along the trail. Maintained by the Bureau of Land Management, it was built in 1962 as the BLM’s first developed recreation site in Idaho. In 1982, the trail was designated as a National Recreation Trail.
Each winter from November through February a migrating population of up to 150 bald eagles visit the area to feed on spawning kokanee salmon. An interpretive viewing program is offered annually from Christmas through New Years during peak migration.
The BLM’s Trail Guide describes the plants, animals and interrelationships of the forest at 22 marked stations along the trail.
The trailhead has paved parking, two picnic shelters with tables, drinking water, pit toilets and trash receptacles. Trailhead facilities are accessible to visitors with disabilities. The Mineral Ridge Boat Launch lies below the trail.
Details: 3.3 mile loop trail, easy to moderate
Directions: Trailhead is 11 miles east of Coeur d’Alene city center. Take US-90 east from Coeur d’Alene for eight miles to Wolf Lodge Bay Exit 22, then go south on Highway 97 for three miles.
Here is more information on the Mineral Ridge Trail:
