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| The Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes, a paved rail to trail path. |
A bucket-list item brought us to Coeur d’Alene. The Trail of
the Coeur d’Alenes a 72-mile paved bike path. It was built on an old rail road
bed so the grade is about 1%. There are numerous trailheads along its length so
we divided it into 3 segments and did 3 days of out-and-back rides logging a
total of 144 miles.
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| The RR bridges have been preserved and converted to a trail. |
We camp two nights at Beauty Creek, a nice Forest Service
Campground on the east side of Lake Coeur d’Alene to ride the first two segments
of the trail.
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| The trail goes through wet lands and we see a moose and calf along the way. |
This beautiful trail links communities but mostly runs
through forested canyons, along rivers and miles of wet lands. We saw Osprey,
Grebes, and a moose with calf.
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| We met lots of people on the trail but everyone was so spread out that most of the time we where riding by ourselves. |
Although there are lots of people on the path everyone is spread out and it’s not crowded. We ride for miles without seeing anyone.
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| Every community should have a bike path like this. |
This easy trail appeals to so many people. We see bicyclist of all ages riding all types of bikes from road and mountain to cruisers and recumbents. We encounter runners, walkers, moms pushing strollers and lots of families bicycling. What a great social and family thing. A great bike path is something every community should have for a healthy quality of life.
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| Pink Waterlilies in the lake along the trail. |
There’s enough room for people to pass and everyone obeys
the traditional rules of the road. A bike bell or an “On your left” gets attention
and everyone in front forms into a line so faster people can pass.
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| On the west end the trail runs along the Lake Coeur d'Alene. |
There are picnic tables and toilets at the trail heads. It would be nice to have a trail like this where we live.
We stay at Bell Cove, another Forest Service Campground to ride the last segment of the trail.
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| We see a flock of wild Turkey at the Bell Cove Campground. |
Our 3rd and final segment takes us across Lake Coeur d’Alene on an old railroad bridge and up a 3% grade slope to the trail head at Plummer.
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| The trail goes over a tall RR bridge spans Lake Coeur d'Alene. |
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| The ramp has level spots to make it easy for people to climb to the bridge and fun to ride down. |
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| On the west end the trail ascends an easy 3% grade to the town of Plummer. |
There’s a picnic area here at the trailhead and a monument
dedicated to the Warriors and Veterans of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.
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| A monument to honor the Coeur d'Alene Tribe at the trail head at Plummer. |
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| The memorial honors the Coeur d'Alene Tribe warriors and veterans. |
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| A prayer for peace. |
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| In memory of those of the tribe who did not return. |
This is the flattest ride we've ever had the pleasure to do
and we highly recommend it for your bicycling bucket list.
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| White Water Lilies on the lake. |
We leave Coeur d’Alene and journey back into the mountains
of Idaho. Hot springs are next on our list.
More next time,
Jackie
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