Our Home Away from Home - Coeur D'Alene

We realized on this drive up to Northern Idaho that this trip makes visit number 7 for us to Coeur D’Alene! Figured at this point I should do an updated post around things to do in the area and what we love to do while there!

Along the Way:

Coeur D’Alene is a 6-7 hour drive from the Portland area. As mentioned in a previous post about traveling with a toddler and infant, we try to stop every few hours to give everyone a chance to stretch their legs, grab some food, and use the restroom.

First Stop: COFFEE! Ok, I’m not going to recommend a place because everyone has their favorite coffee shop at home. We just make sure we fuel caffeinate up for the long drive ahead.

Halfway Stop: Our next stop is typically in Kennewick, WA. There is a Denny’s there, along with a few other fast food places. The Denny’s makes a great stop to grab some breakfast and get everyone situated for the second half of the drive.

Halfway stop on return trip: On the way home, we stop a little differently. Typically it’s around lunchtime, or a little after, when we hit the halfway point. There is an adorable Country Mercantile about halfway that has sandwiches, milkshakes, ice cream, coffee and a shop full of candy, every type of jam imaginable, every type of oil and vinegar imaginable, and so many other goodies! Their sandwiches are HUGE and a great deal for the price!

Additional return trip stop: Every so often on the return home, we decide that we need an additional place to stretch our legs. Maryhill Winery in Goldendale is the perfect place for it! They have delicious wine, a great list of foods and snacks (get the charcuterie board!), and an outstanding view! From there it’s about 2 hours back to home!

Food:

There are several places we frequent in the Coeur D’Alene area. The first is actually in Spokane!

Latah Creek Winery – This one we stumbled upon. On our first trip to CDA we found a Huckleberry wine that we loved. We googled the winery that it came from and realized it was in Spokane. That next trip we made a point to stop at the winery on the way up, and now we stop basically any time we’re in the area. Besides the huckleberry wine, they have an incredible orange Moscato that everyone we give a bottle to loves! Their wine is also some of the only wine that my husband actually likes! They’re super reasonably priced and have a great charcuterie board that you can order while having a flight of wine.

Crafted – Crafted is a great place to go to grab a casual lunch! They have salads, sandwiches, and burgers, with both indoor and outdoor seating. Their outdoor seating has heat lamps keeping the area warm in the cooler months, heated igloos in the winter months and outdoor games like cornhole in the summer months. We’ve been several times and their burgers are always great! They also have lots of beers on draft if you’re looking for local beers.

Dockside – Dockside is in the Coeur D’Alene Resort, with a great view of the lake. They offer breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. They’re famous for their “Gooey” which is a giant ice cream sundae. Each month features a new Gooey, and they always look incredible.

Rancho Viejo – Hands down our favorite Mexican restaurant ANYWHERE. We even joke that we go to CDA just for Rancho Viejo. It’s 15 minutes outside of CDA, in Hayden, and we always leave way too full and looking forward to our next meal there. One of our favorite things there is their pico salsa, which isn’t what you think it would be. It’s made of cabbage, jalapenos, and some sort of vinaigrette. We’re not exactly sure of the exact recipe, but we love it so much that we always ask for a second bowl of it when we sit down. We also love their pastor tacos, found on the a la carte menu. Their sweet, but not too sweet and melt in your mouth. However, we’ve ordered several other things from the menu and have never been disappointed.

The Floating Green Restaurant – If you’re looking for a restaurant with a great view, this is the one for you! It’s right near the golf course and looks out onto the lake where they have a floating green. In the summertime they open up the outdoor seating for even better views.

Vault Coffee – The best coffee in the area, and in the remains of an old bank! If you’ve seen my Instagram pictures of coffee flights, this is where to find them! Each season they feature a different coffee flight and I’ve never been disappointed. They also have incredible coffee drinks, and the atmosphere is adorable, yet feels classy.

Cedars Floating Restaurant – If you are looking for a nicer restaurant, make sure you check out this restaurant, but also make sure you’ve made reservations. They are typically booked up, so this isn’t a place you want to try to eat at by just walking in. I’ll be honest, we’ve only had dessert there once, but everyone swears by how good their dinners are too!

Shopping:

Sherman Ave is the main street in Coeur D’Alene and where you’ll find the majority of shopping.

Magpie – LOVE this place for home décor. Be careful, it’s easy to drop your entire bank account there 😉

Figpickels Toy Emporium – The cutest little toy shop in CDA. They have such a plethora of toys to play with and purchase. They have a whole back wall of board games. Our new tradition has become picking up a board game each time we go up there to add to our collection. This store features toys for all ages! Right outside the shop is the giant Adirondack chair that makes for a great photo op as well!

The Lucky Monkey – This is a great hidden gem for hats and sweatshirts! Brad bought a hat here on one of our trips and wears it pretty much every other day. They also have super cute mugs and other knick-knacks.

Mountain Madness Soap Co – Brad recently discovered this place and now refuses to get his soap anywhere else. It’s locally made, natural, but smells incredible. They’re also super reasonably priced.

There are a lot of little boutiques on the street that have adorable clothing. Sometimes they are hit or miss, but there are so many to stop in at, that you’re guaranteed to find some cute clothing!

Entertainment:

Coeur D’Alene Lake Cruise – We have only done the standard lake cruise that takes you around the lake and provides the history of the area. However, each season they do different cruises along with the standard ones. One that I’m looking forward to doing some year is the Christmas Lights cruise that happens at night. Santa joins the kids, and the cruise features a hot cocoa bar. Talk about really getting into the Christmas spirit with that adventure! They also offer brunch cruises, dinner cruises, yoga ones, etc. I’d definitely recommend taking the standard lake cruise, even if just to see all the beautiful lakeside houses mansions.

Wine Cellar Tour – Beverly’s in the Coeur D’Alene Resort provides a complimentary tour of their impressive wine cellar that includes the history of the cellar and fun facts about the hotel. The tour is about a half hour long, but very impressive to see and learn more about!

Outdoors – There are a ton of hikes to do in the area! There are also lots of parks in the downtown area for kids to play at. The park next to the resort has several play areas and even a splashpad for when it gets warmer. If you’re looking for water activities, the resort allows you to rent all kinds of boats for a reasonable price. There also is a beach right near the resort for kids to play at.

Silverwood – Truthfully we have yet to hit Silverwood amusement park, but I feel like I need to include it in the writeup of things to do in the area. My in-laws love Silverwood, and I have several friends who love it as well. We are hopefully taking a big family trip up to Silverwood this summer and I can hopefully provide a writeup after that.

In all honesty, our favorite thing to do in Coeur D’Alene is to escape from reality. It’s the perfect place to check out from the real world for a little bit and enjoy the gorgeous views of nature. We love to rent an AirBnb on the lake and bring books, games, and puzzles and just enjoy time together as a family.

Lodging:

My absolute favorite place to stay in Coeur D’Alene is the Coeur D’Alene Resort. It is gorgeous, the customer service is outstanding, and the views can’t be beat. However, we only stay at the Resort when it’s just Brad and myself. It’s a nicer hotel and we like to enjoy room service breakfast, drinks by the water at the end of the night, and the romantic atmosphere and would rather not have Kent (and now Jameson) ruin the magic of the Resort 😉 When we go up as a family, we like to check out the local AirBnb’s. We’ve stayed at several wonderful houses right on either Hayden Lake or Lake Coeur D’Alene. There’s something about that lake view that is just so serene.

Between amazing restaurants, the beautiful landscape, and fun things to do, Coeur D’Alene has become one of our favorite places to vacation.