Our little corner of the world is about as crammed full of diverse terrain and scenery as is possible, from the lush forested slopes of the Selkirks, Bitterroots, Blues and Rockies to the near-desert expanses of the Columbia Basin. We have raging rivers and placid streams connecting a landscape pockmarked with lakes from big to small. And it's all within a short drive from our front door. So get out there and enjoy it, without having to worry about getting too homesick along the way.
LOOP DE LOOP
While the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene area is located on the southernmost edge of the Selkirk Mountains, the range's majesty only increases as one heads north into its heart which extends deep into British Columbia. The International Selkirk Loop is a 280-mile round trip tour through the scenic cross-border portion of the Selkirks.Starting at Sandpoint or Newport in the south, the loop takes travelers through some of the range's dramatic valleys and alongside its impressive peaks north to Nelson, B.C. and the West Arm of Kootenay Lake. Much of the eastern stretch of the loop passes through a portion of the 1,000-mile-long Rocky Mountain Trench, which provides phenomenal views of both the Purcell Range and the Selkirks. Peaks in this area rise dramatically and steeply thousands of feet above the valley floor.
With an approximate driving time of seven hours, the trip is possible in one day but tailor-made for a weekend getaway. There's plenty of scenery to behold from the road, but the loop is made complete by taking advantage of the many detours, stops and side trips along the way.
The hip resort towns of Sandpoint and Nelson are ideal for overnight stays, with their wide range of gastronomical and cultural offerings that contrast with the otherwise rugged natural experience. Watersports on the expansive Kootenay Lake and hiking in Washington's Colville National Forest or British Columbia's West Arm Provincial Park let visitors truly get out into the mountains themselves. More information on amenities, activities and events along the way, as well as maps and links to lodging, can be found at selkirkloop.org.
QUIRKY SMALL-TOWN CHARM
Annual fairs and festivals are a slice of Americana common to small towns across the country. There's nothing wrong with parades, funnel cakes, car shows and kettle corn, but some towns in our region have taken those staples and put their own unique spin on things. First up is the Metaline Falls Bigfoot Festival, which runs June 15 and 16 deep in the forested mountain habitat of the legendary Sasquatch. August 17 brings a feast to Pullman with the National Lentil Festival, celebrating one of the Palouse's most prized crops. Summer wraps up in Odessa with Deutschesfest from Sept. 19-22, which honors the early German-Russian settlers to the area.
WINE PAIRINGS
For wine enthusiasts, Walla Walla is always worth a trip. Italian immigrants first planted grapes in the area in the 1850s, but it wasn't until 1984 that the Walla Walla Valley AVA was established. In the few decades since, the number of wineries in the area has exploded to more than 130. If you're looking for a reason to go beyond the exceptional cabernet sauvignon, syrah and merlot available, Walla Walla's cultural scene comes to life during the summer months. The Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival runs through June 29 with events at wineries and venues around the valley and cinephiles can scratch their itch for short films at the Walla Walla Movie Crush from July 5 through 7.
NORTH IDAHO'S MINING HERITAGE
Wallace declares itself to be the center of the universe — specifically a manhole cover at the corner of Bank and Sixth Streets — and while that claim may be dubious, it's certainly the center of North Idaho's prolific mining region of the Silver Valley. The town itself is a historic landmark with its entire downtown area listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with nearly 500 buildings dating back to the 1890s. That preservation has left Wallace looking much like it did during its turn-of-the-century boomtown days when it was a hotbed of labor strikes brought on by the mining and railroad industries and vice in the form of countless brothels and saloons.Around the area, visitors can book tours into area mines through The Sierra Silver Mine Tour or Crystal Gold Mine. The area's railroad history is on display at the 15-mile Route of the Hiawatha bike trail in nearby Mullan. While some towns in the Silver Valley like Wallace and Kellogg have pivoted to a post-industrial economy, many others did not. Once formerly bustling and rowdy mining towns just a short drive from Wallace, Burke and Murray stand now as nearly ghost towns and illustrate the economic and demographic changes to the region since the mining industry began to contract in the mid-20th century.
DRIVING BACK IN TIME
Large swaths of the Pacific Northwest from western Montana to Oregon's Willamette Valley were dramatically altered 15,000 to 13,000 years ago when cataclysmic glacial outburst floods broke free from glacial Lake Missoula and thrashed their way across the Columbia Basin on their way to the Pacific Ocean. These floods scoured the landscape and left in their wake the dramatic coulees and the channeled scablands — a type of terrain found at this scale nowhere else on Earth, with its closest cousin found on Mars.
The Ice Age Floods Loop is a 142-mile drive around Central Washington, from Coulee City in the east through Quincy and Wenatchee before returning over the Waterville Plateau. Sights along the loop include Grand Coulee and Dry Falls, massive out-of-place boulders known as glacial erratics left behind by retreating glaciers, the Columbia River and the towering columnar basalt framing its canyon.
A copy of Roadside Geology of Washington, on shelves at Auntie's Bookstore for $26, is an invaluable resource to help understand what you'll see along the trip. Find a map of the route at route97.net/ice-age.
KID FRIENDLY CAMPING
Heyburn State Park is just enough nature without all of that middle of nowhere. Located along the shores of Chatcolet and Benewah lakes, just south of Lake Coeur d'Alene, Heyburn is only an hour drive through the scenic Palouse from Spokane. Kid-friendly activities include dips in the calm lake waters or a ride along the largely flat and fully paved Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes. Not to mention it is one of only five Idaho State Parks with a playground. If you're able to extend your time away from the city just a bit longer, consider the winding and forested return trip up the east side of Lake Coeur d'Alene, and don't forget to stop at Harrison Creamery and Fudge Factory along the way. ♦
