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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Traveling Nomad
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    6,763

    Riding the Centennial Trail in Idaho & Washington State

    Recently my DH and I rode this beautiful trail from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to Spokane, WA (me) or to the western terminus (him). I wrote a couple of blog posts about it if anyone is interested:

    Part 1: http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/t...n-state-part-1

    Part 2: http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/t...n-state-part-2

    We also rode (the next day) from our hotel in Coeur d'Alene east to the end of the trail at the lake. Blog post coming soon!
    Last edited by emily_in_nc; 07-16-2014 at 03:50 PM.
    Emily

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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Pacific Northwest
    Posts
    3,436
    Those are great! We want to do the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes on our tandem some weekend--just haven't found the time yet. And I love Riverfront Park in Spokane! I actually like the town itself quite a lot--I go there for work about once a year.
    "My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved;I have been given much and I have given something in return...Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and an adventure." O. Sacks

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Pacific Northwest
    Posts
    534
    Great pictures and blog Emily...we did almost the exact same trip last June. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Coeur d'Alene (and I had to learn how to spell Coeur d'Alene). When we got there we did the path along the lake front, very scenic, but we didn't go far, it was late and pretty hot...maybe 10-15 miles? Had the BEST pizza that night in the old downtown area.

    The Centennial Trail was right next to our hotel, and we left our car there the next morning and biked to Spokane and stayed two nights. The first day there we did the trail to Nine Mile Falls from Spokane, and you were right about that part not being well marked at ALL. One thing we noticed was how well marked the trail was in Idaho, but once we crossed over into Washington, not so much. The trail to Nine Mile Falls was pretty rugged actually, very hilly (for me) and remote. We thought we'd be able to get water and food at the park, but there were NO stores or anything there. I ended up asking a ranger going by if there was a place to get water and food and there was a little convenience store a few miles across the bridge...thank goodness for that place! We were starting to get a little desperate. It was a really hot ride back to the hotel and a lot of uphill... we were so glad to get back. The next day we biked back to Coeur d'Alene.


    I absolutely loved being along the Spokane River for miles and miles, oh that was beautiful wasn't it?? I kept smelling orange blossoms and sure enough there was a shrub I found out later was actually called a "mock orange" that looked and smelled exactly like orange blossoms. Never heard of it before! I'm not sure what kind of berry you were eating, definitely not blueberry...it might have been Oregon Grape, those kinda look like blueberries. Usually those are low growing, so not sure. Birds love them.

    We were going to travel to Wallace and do another day tour of the Hiawatha Trail, that is supposed to be awesome. But the weather ended up turning sour on us, they were predicting thunderstorms for that part of Idaho the next few days, so we just bagged it and drove home.

    Enjoyed your post and pictures, thanks for sharing them here.
    "Don't go too fast, but I go pretty far"

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Houston
    Posts
    1,301
    Beautiful pics! Thanks for sharing.
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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Montreal, QC
    Posts
    764
    I so wished we had beautiful trails/paths like that in my area! Oh well, keep on dreamin' baby!

    Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to retire and have all the time to visit on bike those areas.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    pacific NW
    Posts
    1,038
    I have very fond memories of the centennial trail! Lovely pictures! I think the fruit you sampled was Amelanchier (service berry).

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  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Montreal, QC
    Posts
    764
    Well I'll be darned. haha I did not know you could eat those berries. I planted many years ago 2 of those for the birds as I read birds love those fruits. You should see them in those trees when the fruits are there. I never tasted any as I was not aware they would be good for us. I'll gave it a try next year when they are back on the trees.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    S. Dak.
    Posts
    488
    Emily, Your ride reports are inspirational and I love your pics-next best thing to actually being there.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    the dry side
    Posts
    4,365
    Glad you enjoyed our local gem. The Centennial Trail and Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes are two different trails and it would be nice if there was a way to connect them. It is definitely more rural here, and you need to plan accordingly.
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  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    the dry side
    Posts
    4,365
    "Honey Bucket" is the registered name of the company that distributes porta potties around here.
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  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    WA State
    Posts
    4,364
    Everyone who loves this trail should know that a supreme court decision could put it at risk!

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...spute/6252835/

    Let's all hope they rethink this position.
    "Sharing the road means getting along, not getting ahead" - 1994 Washington State Driver's Guide

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  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Mrs. KnottedYet
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    9,152
    Quote from the article: "Justice Stephen Breyer, who has had three bicycling accidents since 1993 — the last of which in April resulted in a shoulder replacement — envisioned a future in which landowners could be besieged by bikers.

    "I certainly think bicycle paths are a good idea," he said, but "for all I know, there is some right-of-way that goes through people's houses, you know, and all of a sudden they are going to be living in their house, and suddenly a bicycle will run through it."
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  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    the dry side
    Posts
    4,365
    (more nutjob legal wrangling)
    Since we have three major trails that attract bike tourists from all, I think if they were truly endangered we'd hear about it. The tourist dollars from the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes and the Hiawatha have had significant positive impact on some small communities around here, and if that were to be cut off, I think there'd be something happening.
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