The Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s, Biking through the Silver Valley.

The eastern twenty miles or so of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s is often over shadowed by the more rural and extremely scenic eastern two thirds of the trail. However this is a favorite ride of mine because of all the small towns it passes through and for the challenge of climbing the grade from Wallace to Mullan.

I started todays ride in Kellogg at the base of Silver Mountain. One of the worlds longest single stage gondolas hauls skiers to the top in the winter and is open in the summer on weekends for tourist. The top of the mountain is over three thousand feet above the town and the Silver Mountain Resort.

Kellogg is the largest town and the economic center of the Silver Valley. Unfortunately it has not been very successful in remaking its image from a center of the mining industry to that of a true winter sports destination. The bare bones are there with an easily accessible nice ski resort, tons of old historic buildings and a good infrastructure but old downtown (uptown) is kind of depressing.

There is a nice park and trailhead along the abandoned railroad through the city and the old depot is now a visitor center. Within a mile or so, you’re outside of town and the trail runs along the south bank of the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River.

The area has a rural look.

The South Fork is pretty to look at, but isn’t really used recreationally. It was heavily polluted by the mining industry decades ago and all of the major towns in the valley are on it as is their storm water runoff. The North Fork and Little North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River are a different story and are extremely popular with fishermen, tubers and all outdoor enthusiasts.

Interstate 90 parallels the trail through out the Silver Valley. It is almost always within ear shot and often visible from Kellogg to Wallace, but for the most part is separated by the river and/or the small towns themselves from the trail. It does however provide easy access for the public.

The next town is Osburn. Unlike Kellogg which is an aspiring ski resort and Wallace with it’s amazing historic district, Osburn is simply a place were working class folks live and raise families. It has a small business district north of the trail and residential areas south of it. A large local park greets you as you enter the town limits.

The small downtown and laid back feeling of the place reminds me of a Midwest farm town, but hardrock mining is what made this town.

Between Kellogg and Osburn and just north of the trail on Big Creek Road you will find a somber memorial to one of the worst industrial disasters in American history. The Sunshine Mine Fire still resonates in the valley. I remember hearing about it in the news when I was a kid. Most everyone who grew up here lost a loved one or had friends who did.

An interpretive sign gives a brief explanation of what happened. I highly recommend those who are interested to do some research on this event.

After riding through Osburn, the trail passes through more rural areas before the next town.

The next town is more like a small community. It isn’t incorporated and is across the interstate from the trail requiring a side trip. Silverton is however fascinating. It has some legitimate historic buildings and as it’s some of the only flat ground around, Wallace High School few couple of miles to the east uses it as the location for their sports fields.

I don’t know what the building in the upper picture is currently used for. The lower picture is of Silverton Mountain Manor, a boutique hotel and restaurant.

Continuing into Wallace, you cross the South Fork on this old railroad bridge. There is a business that makes industrial fiberglass duct work next to it and they installed their own interpretive sign to explain what they do. Very cool.

In Wallace the trail is located under the viaduct for Interstate 90. Wallace was the last place the interstate was completed and original plans called for leveling much of the downtown historic district. Opposition was so intense that the powers that be decided to build the highway over an active railroad line instead. Fun fact, a model of this viaduct was used in the eruption scenes from the movie Dante’s Peak which was largely filmed in and around Wallace.

This is some of what they saved by building the highway over the railroad. Wallace is amazing. In addition to being the county seat, the place has some most excellent shopping and dining. More on that later.

So only a few years later the railroad was abandoned and we ended up with a “covered” bike trail, at least for half a mile or so. I found refuge here years ago during a rare summer thunder storm.

From Wallace to Mullan, the trail begins a steep ascent. Even though this is still an old railroad grade, it is a six mile grind up the hill. Soon after Wallace you will pass the Restless Waters rest stop with restrooms and picnic tables.

The last six miles of the trail in addition to being very steep, is also located much closer to Interstate 90. That’s the highway bridge in the background and an old abandoned local road bridge I’m taking the photo from with the bike trail bridge in the middle.

Even then mostly the highway is buffered by the creek or a band of forest, giving a respite from the traffic noise.

Well not always. Sometimes the road is right next to the trail. The good news is you’re either working so hard to climb the grade or flying so fast down it that you don’t have time to think about it.

Finally you get the the last town on the trail. M is for Mullan. Mullan is a real mining town. One of the last big silver mines in the valley is the main employer. All along the trail you see evidence of the mining industry’s past, here you can see the present.

Mullan is the real deal. Nothing fake or made up about this place. It is where the miners live and raise their families.

The trail officially ends where you enter Mullan but you can continue to ride on the Northern Pacific trail through town. The bike trail does end at the football field for the Mullan High School Tigers, complete with paw prints. Just beyond is the Lucky Friday Mine.

Now it’s time to fly or coast depending on what motivates you the six miles or so to Wallace and then the rest of the way to Kellogg.

Well with one stop at one of my favorite places to indulge in a well deserved beer. After all they brew their own and if you’re hungry the food is amazing too. The City Limits Brew Pub one block north of the trail. More photos can be found at the website for the Friends of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s.

The St. Maries River Railroad

Today I hiked a section of a abandoned spur of the St. Maries River Railroad south of Santa to the old tunnel about halfway back to the town of St. Maries Idaho, about an hour south of Coeur d’Alene.

I started my hike at a pullout just south of the State Road 3 bridge over the old line about 30 minutes south of St. Maries Idaho.

If you go south under the bridge, the rail line parallels the river into Santa about three miles away. The old line at one time continued all the way to Boville east of Moscow Idaho. I headed north in to the wilderness.

I immediately crossed a small creek on this bridge. The bluffs in the background looked worth exploring.

Within half a mile, it became evident that no trains had passed this way in a long time. My understanding is that the line was last used about a decade ago.

Large basalt bluffs border much of the route on the inland side of the old rail bed. The St. Maries River is usually right next to it as well.

Old railroad lines can be a little creepy. It is always a good idea to turn around occasionally to make sure nothing is following you. It is North Idah0 after all.

Looking up is advisable too. You never know what’s watching you from above. Also, I’d hate to get hit by a falling rock.

About an hour and a half in, I came across this small bridge over Flat Creek right where it empties into the river.

It was higher than it looked at first.

Walking on an abandoned, but still intact railroad is a little more difficult than it sounds. In some stretches the lack of ballast forces you to walk on the ties and they’re never spaced for a normal stride. The round trip ended up being just over twelve miles, about as long as I want to go in one day.

The old pieces of railroad history scattered along the line and the extreme isolation of this section created a kind of haunted atmosphere. The old telegraph post looked almost like the entrance to a graveyard.

Here it appeared the railroad used old rail cars filled with boulders to create a barrier to protect the line from the river at this outside bend.

Finally I arrived at the first bridge over the St. Maries River. I originally planned to hike to this bridge, the tunnel just after it and then the second bridge but it took longer to get here than I expected so I cancelled the half mile or so each way to the second bridge.

The bridge was an impressive structure with nice views of the river both upstream and downstream.

Immediately after the bridge was the entrance to the tunnel. You could see daylight through it and I would guess it to be less than four hundred feet long. No problem, right?

Actually it was creepy as hell inside. You could see that large chunks of rocks had been falling off the ceiling.

And I thought the north end was creepy. I almost didn’t want to go back through it but my hike out was at an end and it was time to turn around and head back.

The railroad bed on the south side of the tunnel seemed completely different, like it had been abandoned for much longer. The vegetation was much thicker, even on the old rail bed and it was much wetter. The ties had algae on them making walking a little more treacherous. Because the tunnel cut off a long bend of the river, the railroad on the south side was much higher above it than at the other side of the tunnel only a few hundred feet away.

On the return hike a cold drizzle made me curse my luck. Five minutes after I got in my car, a downpour of rain and small hail made me reassess my luck. I guess it was good after all. Six hours from when I started I made it back to my rig and then drove another hour and a half back home. I plan to explore more of the Pacific Northwest’ old rail lines in the future either by foot or bike.

The Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s part 1

The Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s is a seventy two mile long paved rail trail that almost crosses the Idaho panhandle from Plummer to Mullan. The trail was constructed on a former railroad that was primarily used to haul mining ore from the Silver Valley to Spokane as part of a remediation for a super fund site. This trail is consistently rated as one of the top ten bicycle trails in the United States due to its scenic beauty, accessibility to a major urban area and the variety of landscapes it traverses. The trail can be best described in four sections. From west to east, the direction of the prevailing summer wind, the first fifteen miles are almost exclusively located within the boundaries of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation and this part of the trail is managed by the tribe. The western terminus of the trail is located in Plummer Idaho, the largest town in the reservation and is just of off US95, the primary north south road through the panhandle. From Plummer, the trail crosses a couple of miles of mixed farmland and low density residential areas before it begins a five mile screaming descent (maybe 800 feet of elevation) to the lake were it passes through Idaho’s oldest state park, Heyburn State Park. It then crosses the south end of the lake on a modified railroad bridge and then follows the shoreline of the lake another seven miles in to the historic town of Harrison just outside the reservation boundary. Harrison is located on State Road 97 and is easily accessible (thirty minute drive) from Interstate 90.

At the Plummer Trailhead, the tribe memorializes all of its members who gave their lives in the defense of their nation from the the present back to and including their war against the United States in the 1800’s. Everyone should honor their heritage and the sacrifice of those who fought for their freedom. This should be a lesson for all of us.

The Chatcolet Bridge connecting Heyburn State Park to the eastern shore of the lake is a highlight of the trail. The original center pivot swing bridge was raised to allow boat traffic and the approaches were rebuild in a stair step design that makes climbing to the top easier and descending an adventure.

Along the eastern shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene the old rail road cut off several points to make the route smoother creating these scenic views.

This is the view heading north towards Harrison Idaho.

In Harrison, a short ride or walk up the hill will bring you to a small park, two nice restaurants and an ice cream shop. Just past the center of town one can still see the remnants of industrial buildings that utilized the old railroad.

Where the Coeur d’Alene River meets the lake is called Harrison Slough. You can see fields of water lily’s in bloom most of the summer.

The Friends of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s.

The Hiawatha Trail

The Hiawatha Trail follows the old railroad route of the Milwaukee Railroad from the Taft tunnel at the Montana and Idaho state line to Pearson’s about fifteen miles down the grade. The Olympian trail continues into Montana to about St. Regis and old rail line can be followed down to Avery on the St. Joe River on a forest service road through several more one lane tunnels and over a couple of high trestle bridges. The former transcontinental rout continues west along the St. Joe River and across Washington as the Palouse to Cascades Trail. Here are a few photos of the Hiawatha.

After navigating the one and a half mile tunnel under the Bitterroot divide, this is the Idaho end of the tunnel.

One of the high trestle bridges over side canyons.

And then straight into a short tunnel.

More high bridges for your enjoyment.

Wildlife

Some wildlife is epic and some not much so, but it is here to appreciate.

There are numerous short tunnels leading down to Pearson’s.

After turning the bend, you can see where you were.

Looking down across Loop Creek

If you’re heading up, you can also see the bridges you have crossed.

The view from one of the bridges. Vertigo.

Tunnel #28.

One the deck of one of the trestles.

Looking down off of one of the bridges.

At the bend looking down Loop Creek.

The view looking across Loop Creek.

Leaving one of the tunnels.

There is a significant fee to ride the trail that can be paid at Lookout Mountain or on site during the season. A shuttle is available to take riders from Pearson’s back up to the Taft Tunnel also for a significant fee. I prefer to drive over Moon Pass from Wallace Idaho to the lower trailhead at Pearson’s and grind it up hill through the tunnel and coast back enjoying the scenery and saving some cash. The official site is here.

The Friends of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s website has information on more bicycle trails in North Idaho.