Trail · 56 min south
Tubbs Hill
A wooded hill right beside downtown Coeur d'Alene, with a loop path along the shoreline past small coves and rocky lookouts over the lake.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy to moderate
- Year-round
- Free
Day Trippin' › Idaho › From Sandpoint
Day trips from Sandpoint
Sandpoint sits on Lake Pend Oreille under Schweitzer Mountain: the summer chairlift and Round Lake are about 20 minutes away, Farragut's trails and the Kootenai refuge under 45 minutes, and Coeur d'Alene and Priest Lake are in reach for the day. The best day trips from Sandpoint, by drive time.
43 places within a 3-hour drive, by real roads.
10 day trips from Sandpoint
- Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge 44 min north
- Coeur d'Alene 51 min south
- Tubbs Hill 56 min south
- Old Mission State Park 1 hr 15 min south
- Riverfront Park and Spokane Falls 1 hr 20 min southwest
- Wallace 1 hr 33 min southeast
- Route of the Hiawatha 1 hr 57 min southeast
- Palouse 2 hr 7 min south
- Steptoe Butte 2 hr 13 min south
- Grand Coulee Dam 2 hr 58 min west
Within an hour from Sandpoint 5 spots
Wildlife · 44 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
Town · 51 min south
Coeur d'Alene
A resort town with a lakefront park, a long floating boardwalk, lake cruises and a busy downtown for food and shopping.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round
- Free
Waterfall · 45 min northeast
Moyie Falls
A two-step falls in a deep gorge below the 464-foot-high US 2 bridge at Moyie Springs, one of the tallest bridges in Idaho.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Best April to June for flow
- Free (check)
State park · 37 min south
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
1 to 2 hours from Sandpoint 22 spots
Park · 1 hr 20 min southwest
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
Trail · 1 hr 57 min southeast
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
Town · 1 hr 33 min southeast
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
Historic site · 1 hr 15 min south
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
Zoo · 1 hr 18 min southwest
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
Garden · 1 hr 23 min southwest
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
Park · 1 hr 33 min southwest
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 · 1 hr 23 min southwest
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
2 to 3 hours from Sandpoint 14 spots
Viewpoint · 2 hr 13 min south
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
Dam · 2 hr 58 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
Town · 2 hr 7 min south
Palouse
A small brick main street on the Palouse River.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Year-round
- No pass or fee needed
Lake · 2 hr 9 min west
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
Cave · 2 hr 10 min northwest
Crawford State Park and Gardner Cave
A limestone cave near the Canadian border.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- May 15 to September 15
- Discover Pass
Scenic drive · 2 hr 51 min south
Old Spiral Highway
The original 1917 road up Lewiston Hill, with dozens of hairpins in about 7 miles and big views over the meeting of the Snake and Clearwater rivers.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Year-round
- Free
Town · 2 hr 15 min south
Moscow
A friendly college town on the rolling Palouse with a well-known Saturday farmers market and a free arboretum at the University of Idaho.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round, market Saturdays May to October
- Free
Town · 2 hr 18 min south
Colfax
A farm town with the Codger Pole, a giant chainsaw carving.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Year-round
- No pass or fee needed
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Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP 83864 (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.