Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes
Historic Route · Harrison, Idaho
Seventy-three miles of asphalt on an old Union Pacific railbed running clean across the Idaho panhandle from Mullan on the Montana line to Plummer near Washington, with twenty trailheads and almost no gradient. It crosses Lake Coeur d'Alene on the Chatcolet Bridge, a long wooden trestle carrying a 1921 swing-span truss. ⚠ The railbed was built from mining waste and tailings full of heavy metals, and the thick asphalt and gravel shoulders are a permanent cap holding the contamination in - which is why staying on the surface is not a courtesy here, it is the rule.
North Coeur d'Alene Avenue, Harrison, Idaho, 83833, United States
Open every day of the year and FREE - there is no trail pass, no permit and no fee anywhere on the 73 miles. Twenty trailheads with free parking, and accessible restrooms at the developed ones. ⚠ IT IS NOT PLOUGHED: sections are snow-covered and icy from roughly November to March, and the practical season is late May to early October. Bike hire is available seasonally at Harrison, Kellogg and Plummer. THERE IS NO SHUTTLE SERVICE - plan an out-and-back or leave a second vehicle. Managed by the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, with about fifteen miles inside the reservation managed by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. ⚠ THE TRAIL SURFACE IS A PERMANENT CAP OVER MINING WASTE - stay on the asphalt and use the designated rest areas.
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