5 Days on Northern Idaho and Washington Rail Trails
For this excellent tour we will be riding 4 of the country's most scenic trails, which feature stunning views of forests and meadows, mountains, rivers and lakes, trestle bridges and tunnels. You'll pick up on the history of the American westward expansion, the Native American culture they encountered, precious metal mining, and of course construction of the railroad system. Our tour combines these amazing trails into one incredible adventure that you will never forget:
1. The Spokane and Northern Idaho Centennial Trail
2. The Route Of The Hiawatha
3. The Route Of The Olympian
4. The Trail Of The Coeur d’Alenes
In 2025 we're filling a late summer week first -- August 18 - 22. If that week fills up, we'll also offer August 25-29.
Included
- 4 Breakfasts, 3 Lunches, 4 Dinners
- 4 nights lodging: Monday-Tues-Wed-Thurs
- Services of our talented adventure consultants and professional guides
- All meals/beverages as indicated in the itinerary
- Gratuities for meals and accommodations
- On-trail drinks and snacks
- Van support
- Detailed maps and itineraries
- All shuttles
- Van support and transportation during tour as noted
Not Included
- Sunday night lodging
- Airfare/transportation beginning and ending points
- Alcohol with meals
- Items of a personal nature such as laundry
- Gratuities for guides
- Travel protection plan
- Pre-& post-trip hotel
- Bike rental
Itinerary
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Day 0 - Sunday
Arrive in Spokane on your own schedule and spend the night in lodging of your choice, and at your expense. Note: We highly recommend that our riders book rooms at the same hotel our guides are staying, to simplify logistics. This is The Centennial at 303 W North River Drive in Spokane. (Tour participants receive a negotiated, discounted rate)
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Day 1 - Monday
37 miles - Riverside State Park, Washington/Idaho Centennial Trail and Coeur d’Alene
Meet your tour guides at 8:30 AM at the Centennial Hotel in Spokane, Washington. We'll transfer 30 minutes west of downtown Spokane for a beautiful ride that winds through Riverside State Park, a 9100-acre park that straddles the Spokane River. The paved trail passes through a fragrant forest of ponderosa pine with time to marvel at the impressive basalt formations created some 12 million years ago as lava flowed from the earth. We learn about the original people of the area, the Spokane Tribe, known as the Children of the Sun. We also stop to talk about Camp 7 Mile, built-in 1933 by the 949th Company of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) who cleared land, built roads, and planted trees in what is today Riverside State Park.
Once in downtown Spokane, we visit Spokane Falls and the site of the 1974 World Expo. We enjoy lunch at a local eatery, then continue our ride east after a short Van transfer and head on to the Washington/Idaho State line. At this point, we board our van to transfer to Coeur d’Alene, for a festive evening and dinner together.
Biking Miles: 37 miles total with an optional additional 13 miles.
ACCOMMODATION: Springhill Suites by Marriott or similar
MEALS INCLUDED: Lunch, Dinner -
Day 2 - Tuesday
31 miles - Coeur D'Alene Exploration
Our morning ride takes us along the shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene to Higgins Point, the furthest eastern point of the Idaho Centennial Trail. After our return trip, the afternoon is free time to explore downtown Coeur d’Alene! Begin with lunch at one of the many great restaurants, then enjoy the shops and art galleries, or take a 2-mile walk around the town’s greatest treasure, Tubbs Hill on the lakefront. This 130-acre city park offers several miles of hiking trails and shoreline. Those who golf might want to try and book a time on the Coeur d’Alene Resort golf course.After returning to the hotel we'll head out to enjoy dinner together and a festive evening in Coeur d’Alene.
Biking: 18 miles total with optional routes if desired. All paved.
Accommodations: Springhill Suites by Marriott (or similar), Coeur d' Alene Idaho
Meals: Breakfast, DinnerYour guides will have plenty of local information for you about the area and its original inhabitants, the Schitsu’umsh people and their history with the early 1800’s French fur-traders. These traders named the native people the Coeur d’Alene, meaning people with “heart of an awl” for their shrewd trading skills and hearts as sharp as a sewing needle. They were introduced to Christianity by the Jesuit missionaries in the 1840’s. In 1878, Fort Coeur d’Alene was established by General William Sherman (a famous Union General of the Civil War) on the land adjacent to the Spokane River’s source from Lake Coeur d’Alene. Soon the town of Coeur d’Alene was established and quickly became a transportation hub for logging and mining in the region.
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Day 3 - Wednesday
42 miles - Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes to Harrison and Kellogg
We drive south 35 minutes to Plummer, located on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation and the western end of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. This is home to the Schitsu’umsh people whom the early French fur traders named the Coeur d’Alenes, which means people with a “heart of an awl.” The early 1800’s fur trappers found the Coeur d’Alene people to be smart and shrewd traders with hearts as “sharp as a sewing awl”. We honor their legacy on this land.
Leaving the trailhead park, we ride on a scenic and slightly downhill path through towering pines until we reach the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene. We cross the lake on an elegant railroad bridge and follow our bike path as it winds along the lakefront to the tiny town of Harrison.
After a light lunch and perhaps a dip in the lake, our ride continues on level ground with scenes of the Chain Lakes of the Coeur d’Alene River. Marshes filled with waterfowl and songbirds send fragrant breezes our way.
After an van transfer, we end in the small town of Kellogg for our night’s accommodation.
Biking: 42-miles. All paved.
Accommodations: Morning Star Lodge at Silver Mountain Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner -
Day 4 - Thursday
24 miles - Route of the Hiawatha We begin the day with a brief drive across the Idaho/Montana border to Saltese to begin our ride on the Route of the Olympian. The ambitious Pacific Extension of the Milwaukee railroad was built at a time when railroads were competing for new routes to the west. The Route of the Olympian and Route of the Hiawatha were financed by the Rockefellers and at the time, the cost was $75,000 per mile, making this the highest-priced railroad ever built. We enjoy this fabulous engineering legacy and ride over trestles and through tunnels on this inspiring trail.
After 9-miles on the Route of the Olympian, we find ourselves at the starting point of the historic Hiawatha Trail where we enter the darkness of the two-mile-long Taft Tunnel. Before the morning is over, we cross 7 trestles and pass through 9 tunnels in the heart of the rugged Bitterroot Mountain range of the Rockies. The trail is in great condition and is a gravel route that drops gently for 15 miles. Set in the forest with expansive views, we have a bountiful picnic lunch. By mid-afternoon, we are back in Kellogg to enjoy another night at the Morning Star Lodge.
Biking: 24 miles, Packed gravel.
Accommodations: Morning Star Lodge at Silver Mountain Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner -
Day 5 - Friday
14 miles - Mullan to Wallace, Optional Tour of a Silver Mine, Return to Spokane
This morning we ride from Kellogg to the eastern end of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes at Mullan. We visit the small town then turn around and ride back west 7 miles downhill to Wallace. This charming town is full of historic brick buildings and elegant mansions built during the boom mining years of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The morning's highlight is an underground mine tour led by a hard rock miner who explains both mining technique and machinery as well as the history of mining in the area. We also learn about Edward Pulaski, a hero in the biggest fire in U.S. history, Idaho's “Big Burn” of 1910. After the fire, Pulaski invented the most important fire fighting tool in history, the Pulaski. Enjoy lunch on your own and time to explore Wallace.By 2:30 or 3:00 pm we're on our way back to Spokane.
Our tour ends upon arrival in Spokane when we return the group to the Centennial Hotel.
Biking: 14 miles from Kellogg to Wallace. All paved.
Accomodations: Centennial Hotel in Spokane, Washington (Room rate not included in trip price)
Meals: Breakfast
Difficulty Level: Advanced
The Centennial Trail and the Trail of the Couer d'Alene are paved bike paths. The Route of the Hiawatha has a crushed stone surface.
We have categorized this tour as ADVANCED due to the hilly (in places) trails and the bike handling skills needed on the Hiawatha Trail, as it includes long tunnels, high trestle bridges and muddy sections.
Suggested bicycle: Touring bikes, hybrids or mountain bikes (bikes with larger tires are recommended). Road bikes with skinny tires are not suitable for this tour and will not be allowed.
Suggested tire size for this tour: 35 mm and larger
Pricing
$2,690 per person (based on double occupancy)
$420 – Single Supplement (extra price to have your own room)
$130 – Hybrid Bike Rental
$440 - eBike Rental (limited to 4 eBikes per tour, first come basis)
Note: This tour is being operated by our western affiliate ROW Adventures on behalf of Senior Cycling. The two companies are working closely together to ensure that participants will enjoy the typical "Senior Cycling experience", with relaxed riding, small groups of 12 maximum riders, expert tour leaders and fine cycling routes. Registrants will be contacted by ROW Adventures by the next business day to complete booking after registering here with Senior Cycling.