2021 Washington & Idaho Trails, Glacier National Park Tour

Day 1: Arrival/Orientation in Spokane, WA

Van transfer: 20 minutes

Arrive on your own into Spokane, Washington by 2pm for the start of your adventure. We will meet you at Spokane International Airport (GEG) and bring you to our host hotel in North Spokane near the trailhead for your tour. We meet near the hotel for a bike fitting and orientation in the late afternoon, followed by dinner at a local restaurant. Dinner included.

Day 2: Nine Mile Falls to Spokane Valley

Miles: 30 miles · Elevation: +1,576’ / -1,215'
Terrain: Paved rail trail.

After breakfast we will load our shuttle for a short trip to our trailhead at Nine Miles Falls (Sontag Park) and the trailhead of the Spokane River Centennial Trail. The 40-mile trail passes through high desert Ponderosa pine forests, basalt canyons, and clear water of the Spokane River as it meanders toward Spokane and the urban Spokane Riverfront Park where you will find the largest Red Wagon in the country. Leaving Spokane heading east, you will ride along the urban trail that will cross bridges and trestles as we finish the first day of cycling at our overnight accommodation in Spokane Valley. All meals included.

Day 3: Spokane Valley to Coeur D’Alene, ID

Miles: 39 miles · Elevation: +1,275’ / -1,083'
Terrain: Paved rail trail.

Today’s ride continues along the Spokane River Centennial Trail until we come to the Idaho border and the North Idaho Centennial Trail. An easy, scenic ride along the Spokane River and Lake Coeur d’Alene will be in store for you with a plethora of interpretive signs and rest areas to take in the stunning scenery of the Idaho panhandle. After riding through Coeur d’Alene where you will be tempted to stop cycling, we will continue out to the end of the trail at Higgins Point State Park and the jaw-dropping scenery you will encounter. We finish the day with a 6-mile ride back to our accommodations in the center Coeur d’Alene. An evening dinner cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene will top off the day’s activities. All meals included.

 

Day 4: Plummer to Cataldo Mission

Miles: 46 miles · Elevation: +593’ / -1,160’
Terrain: Paved rail trail.
Van transfer: 25 & 20 minutes

An early morning will see you embark on a shuttle ride to the trailhead of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, a 73-mile Rails-to-Trails designated Hall-of-Fame paved trail across the Idaho Panhandle. Leaving Plummer, Idaho you will briefly ride across some open country-side before barrelling down to waters edge in Heyburn State Park. After crossing the St. Joe River channel on the 3,178 ft swinging trestle Chatcolet Bridge. All along the trail you should be on the lookout for the myriad of wildlife that call the area home: beavers, otters, coyotes, birds of prey and moose. The woodland and marshy areas along this stretch of the Silver Valley are great places to find the majestic moose. The end of the route today is the Old Mission State Park near Cataldo, Idaho where you will explore the oldest building in Idaho. The Jesuit mission was built 1850-1853. Hop the short shuttle to Kellogg for our overnight accommodation. After check-in we will take a Gondola ride to the top of Silver Mountain to take in scenic vistas. All meals included.

Day 5: Cataldo to Wallace

Miles: 49 miles · Elevation: +1,624’ / -1,462’
Terrain: Paved rail trail.

After breakfast and a shuttle back to Cataldo you will ride back through Kellogg and on to Wallace and perhaps even to Shoshone Park in the Mullan, a historic mining town. The charming, western-themed town of Wallace, Idaho was the silver mining district of the Idaho Panhandle. While taking an extended rest from cycling to Wallace you can explore one of the silver mines, the mining museum or the local railroad museum. You can certainly spend several hours just exploring Wallace or take the optional 15-mile out and back trail up-to and down-from Mullen, Idaho along and through forested mountains and alongside the south fork of the Coeur d’Alene River. All meals included.

Day 6: Route of the Hiawatha Trail & Quinn’s Hot Springs

Miles: 15 miles · Elevation: +2,330’ / -3,324’
Terrain: Packed dirt/gravel rail trail.
Van transfer: 1.5 hours

Today will be a very special and memorable day. After breakfast, we will load up the van and travel to the Treasure State, Montana over Lookout Pass to the East Portal of the Route of the Hiawatha Trail. We are not quite ready to leave Idaho and will return during the day. The Route of the Hiawatha Trail is the second of the two Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Rail-Trail Hall of Fame trails. From the East Portal we will mount our gravel trail bikes and head into the 1.6-mile St. Paul Pass (Taft) train tunnel. From here you will cross 7 high trestle bridges and 9 more train tunnels as we ride 15 mostly downhill miles in the heart of the Bitterroot Mountains, the heart of the Rocky Mountain Northwest.

 

Our several hour downhill trip (lots and lots of photo opportunities), we will load up the van and head to paradise; Paradise, Montana that is, the home to Quinn’s Hot Springs. We will enjoy the hot springs, the comfy riverside cabins along the Clark Fork River, good food and company as we reminisce of the cycling adventures of the past 6 days.

 

Day 7: Glacier National Park

Van transfer: 2.25 hours

After an early breakfast we will load up our shuttle van and head toward the Crown of the Continent, Glacier National Park (GNP). Along the way, scenic river and mountain views will abound as we head to the Flathead Valley and then GNP. The late morning will find us on the magnificent Lake MacDonald on a boat excursion. The lake is the largest in the park with a 10-mile length and 1-mile length. We will soak in the spectacular view of the surrounding mountains from the middle of the lake before we disembark and after a short break load up on the GNP Red Bus for a nearly 4-hour tour of the park from a classic 1930 vintage, roll-back top tour bus to the summit of Logan Pass on the Going-to-the-Sun road. The day finishes at our overnight accommodation and a final celebratory meal.

Day 8: Breakfast, checkout, departure

Van transfer: 30 minutes

After breakfast, we will shuttle you to Glacier International Airport in Kalispell, Montana and bid you farewell after a great week of cycling and sightseeing in the spectacular Rocky Mountain Northwest.

Call 860-428-9301 to reserve this trip over the phone

Monday-Friday, 9 AM to 3 PM Mountain Standard Time