Park · 33 min west
Riverfront Park and Spokane Falls
The downtown falls, a gondola over the rapids and a carousel.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round; falls biggest in spring
- Gondola fee
Day Trippin' › Idaho › From Coeur d'Alene
Day trips from Coeur d'Alene
Coeur d'Alene sits on its namesake lake: Tubbs Hill starts downtown, the Old Mission and Farragut's trails are half an hour away, Wallace and Sandpoint are under an hour, and Spokane's falls are just across the state line. The best day trips from Coeur d'Alene, by drive time.
69 places within a 3-hour drive, by real roads.
10 day trips from Coeur d'Alene
- Farragut State Park 28 min northeast
- Riverfront Park and Spokane Falls 33 min west
- Wallace 46 min east
- Schweitzer 1 hr 6 min north
- Route of the Hiawatha 1 hr 10 min east
- Palouse 1 hr 20 min south
- Steptoe Butte 1 hr 25 min southwest
- Grand Coulee Dam 2 hr 12 min west
- Hells Gate State Park 2 hr 14 min south
- Palouse Falls 2 hr 21 min southwest
Within an hour from Coeur d'Alene 15 spots
Town · 46 min east
Wallace
An old silver-mining town in a narrow canyon, with a brick downtown on the National Register, a mining museum and a railroad depot museum.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round
- Free
State park · 28 min northeast
Farragut State Park
A big park on the south tip of Lake Pend Oreille with over 40 miles of trails, five disc golf courses, a swim beach and a museum of the WWII naval training station.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round
- Idaho State Parks entrance fee (per vehicle) or Idaho State Parks Passport
Historic site · 28 min southeast
Old Mission State Park
Idaho's oldest standing building, a hilltop mission church built in the 1850s by Coeur d'Alene Tribe members and Jesuit missionaries, with exhibits telling the tribe's story.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Idaho State Parks entrance fee (per vehicle) or Idaho State Parks Passport, plus exhibit admission
Garden · 36 min west
Manito Park
Free gardens with a Japanese garden, a rose hill and a greenhouse.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Spring-fall
- No pass or fee needed
Zoo · 42 min west
Cat Tales Zoological Park
Close-up looks at tigers, lions and other big cats rescued and cared for north of Spokane. A short, easy visit for families.
- 2-4 hrs · Easy
- Year-round (fall events Sep 25 - Nov 30, 2026)
- Adults $18, students $15, children (5-12) $12, seniors (65+) free, children 0-4 free
Park · 49 min west
Bowl and Pitcher
A swinging bridge over big river rocks and rapids in Riverside State Park.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Discover Pass
Farm · 43 min northwest
Green Bluff
U-pick berries, apples and pumpkins on a hill of family farms.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Summer-fall
- No pass or fee needed
1 to 2 hours from Coeur d'Alene 16 spots
Viewpoint · 1 hr 25 min southwest
Steptoe Butte
Drive to the top of a butte for a 360-degree view of rolling Palouse hills.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Late spring-fall
- Discover Pass
Trail · 1 hr 10 min east
Route of the Hiawatha
A mostly downhill bike ride of about 15 miles on an old rail line through 10 tunnels and over high trestles, including the 1.66-mile St. Paul Pass Tunnel.
- Half day · Easy
- About late May to mid-September
- Admission
Ski area · 1 hr 6 min north
Schweitzer
In summer a scenic chairlift rises to Lake Pend Oreille views, short walking loops, disc golf and lunch at the top; in winter it's a full ski hill.
- Half day · Easy
- Summer lift about mid-June to early September; ski season in winter
- Admission
Town · 1 hr 20 min south
Palouse
A small brick main street on the Palouse River.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Year-round
- No pass or fee needed
Wildlife · 1 hr 30 min north
Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge
Wetlands and fields in the Kootenai River valley near Bonners Ferry for waterfowl, eagles, moose and deer, with a gravel loop road and short trails.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round, sunrise to sunset
- Free
Lake · 1 hr 49 min northwest
Kettle Falls and Lake Roosevelt
A long lake behind Grand Coulee Dam with beaches and an old mill.
- Half day · Easy
- Summer
- No entrance fee; boat launch and camping fees
Scenic drive · 1 hr 5 min southwest
Palouse Scenic Byway
Rolling wheat hills, red barns and small towns.
- Half day · Easy
- May-August
- No pass or fee needed
Historic site · 1 hr 42 min west
Fort Spokane
An 1880s army post where the Spokane River meets Lake Roosevelt.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Grounds year-round
- No pass or fee needed
2 to 3 hours from Coeur d'Alene 36 spots
Dam · 2 hr 12 min west
Grand Coulee Dam
One of the biggest concrete structures on Earth, with a summer night laser show.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round; laser show summer
- Free
State park · 2 hr 14 min south
Hells Gate State Park
A riverside park on the Snake River at Lewiston with a Lewis and Clark discovery center and the main Idaho dock for jet boat trips into Hells Canyon.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round
- Idaho State Parks entrance fee (per vehicle) or Idaho State Parks Passport
Waterfall · 2 hr 21 min southwest
Palouse Falls
A 198-foot falls into a deep basalt canyon, the state's official waterfall.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Spring best
- Discover Pass
Waterfall · 2 hr 43 min west
Dry Falls
A cliff once home to a waterfall five times wider than Niagara, from the Ice Age floods.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Discover Pass at some lots
Cave · 2 hr 25 min north
Crawford State Park and Gardner Cave
A limestone cave near the Canadian border.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- May 15 to September 15
- Discover Pass
Town · 2 hr 26 min west
Soap Lake
A mineral lake people have soaked in for a century.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Summer
- No pass or fee needed
State park · 2 hr 37 min west
Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park
Petrified logs and a view over the Columbia at Vantage.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Discover Pass
Wildlife refuge · 2 hr 45 min southwest
Columbia National Wildlife Refuge
Scablands lakes and cliffs full of birds south of Potholes.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Spring-fall
- No pass or fee needed
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Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP 83814 (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.