North Idaho Rails to Trails E Bike Tour

Trip Highlights

MEETING LOCATION: Centennial Hotel in Spokane, Washington
MEETING TIME: 8:30 AM on Day 1
AVERAGE BIKING MILES: 15-35 miles per day
TRIP LENGTH: 5 days
RETURN LOCATION: Centennial Hotel in Spokane, Washington
RETURN TIME: 4:00 - 6:00 pm on the Afternoon of Day 5
AGE LIMIT: Minimum age is 12 years
BIKES: ROW Pedego Bike Fleet

INCLUDED:

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
A Pedego bike, helmet, and related biking gear.

NOT INCLUDED:

Airfare/transportation beginning and ending points
Alcohol with meals
Items of a personal nature such as laundry
Gratuities for guides
Travel protection plan
Pre and post-trip hotel
6% Idaho sales tax

Sample Itinerary

Day 0: Arrival in Spokane, Washington

Arrive in Spokane, Washington, with air service from almost all major airlines, or drive from your home.

Accommodations: Not Included - The preferred hotel is the Centennial Hotel in Spokane
Meals: Not Included

Day 1: Riverside State Park, Washington/Idaho Centennial Trail and Coeur d’Alene

Meet your Pedego Vacations guide at 8:30 AM at the Centennial Hotel in Spokane, Washington, and check out your bike. We 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 through Spokane’s University District and 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: 37 miles total. All paved.
Accommodations: Springhill Suites by Marriott (or similar), Coeur d' Alene Idaho
Meals: Lunch, Dinner

Day 2: 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 morning ride of 18 miles, enjoy lunch at your choice of one of many great restaurants in Coeur d’Alene.

This afternoon is free time to explore downtown Coeur d’Alene! Enjoy the shops and art galleries, or take a 2-mile walk around Tubbs Hill on the lakefront. Those who golf might want to try and book a time on the Coeur d’Alene Resort golf course.

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, Dinner

Day 3: 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. If time allows, we stop to visit Idaho’s oldest building, the rather stern Cataldo Mission designed by two Jesuit priests and built between 1850-53 with the labor of around 300 Coeur d’Alene Natives.

Riders are welcome to load up in Cataldo for a shuttle to Kellogg. Riders looking to add extra miles can continues for an 11 miles into the Silver Valley, where more silver has been extracted from the ground than any other place on earth. We end in the small town of Kellogg for our night’s accommodation.

Biking: 42-miles. All paved. (Optional 11 miles for those wanting to continue from Enaville to Kellogg)
Accommodations: Morning Star Lodge at Silver Mountain Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4: 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 was 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: Mullan to Wallace, Optional Touring, 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. If we did not get a chance on day 3 we'll stop at the historic Cataldo Mission, home to Idaho's oldest building, constructed by members of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and Jesuit Missionaries between 1850 and 1853. The story of the Mission of the Sacred Heart, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is key to understanding the history of U.S. westward expansion and the role that missionaries played in the period after the initial contact between fur-traders and Native peoples, and the arrival that started a decade later, of homesteaders, miners, and the U.S. military.

Our tour ends upon arrival in Spokane when we return the group to the Centennial Hotel.

Biking: 14 miles from Kellogg to Wallace with an optional 14 more to Mullan and back to Wallace. All paved.
Accomodations: Centennial Hotel in Spokane, Washington (Room rate not included in trip price)
Meals: Breakfast

Travel Arrangements

Preferred Hotel in Spokane Wa, for start and end of tour: The Centennial

Packing List

Here is a recommended list of things to pack. Add and subtract to meet your needs. Please keep your luggage to one medium sized soft-sided piece such as a duffel bag which packs into our trailer more easily. Next best is a soft-sided roller-bag. Otherwise, a regular roller bag will work. You will also want to bring one carry-on day pack to leave in our support van during the day, where you will access at lunch and other points when we meet up with the van. We will provide you with a ROW Adventures luggage tag on the first day of the tour, to put on your bag so we can more easily identify it at our accommodations.

E-Bike: We are providing either Pedego Interceptor or Pedego Boomerang Bikes for your enjoyment. We will assign you a bike based on your size and our availability.

E-Bike Battery: We provide only one battery per day. Our guide carries a spare battery on the trail in case it’s needed, but you will need to pedal in order for your battery to last the day. In the evening we give you your battery and a charger in a small backpack to take to your room and charge. Most guests do not have any difficulties with the mileage each day provided they use the battery conservatively. If you desire a secondary battery, we have a limited amount of extra batteries available for an additional $125 on the 5-day tour.

Recommended Bike Specific Clothing

Remember that we ride 18-40 miles each day, which may be further than you are used to. This is why we recommend padded bike shorts and a few other things that may be new to you. As well, we recommend checking the weather prior to your trip departure and adjusting the below quantities accordingly based on current forecasts.

3-4 pairs of padded bike shorts or padded liners
1 pair of full-length bike pants or athletic pants
3-4 short-sleeve performance fabric shirts or bike jerseys, bright colors are great for visibility
2-3 long sleeve performance fabric shirts
1 light fleece or performance jacket for layering
4-6 pairs of performance fabric socks
1 waterproof rain jacket
1 pair of waterproof rain pants

Recommended Accessories

1 pair of bike gloves, short-fingered and padded preferred
Helmet (helmets are included with bike rental, but many people prefer their personal helmet)
1 helmet liner or thin hat
1 water bottle or hydration pack (We provide one insulated bike water bottle and recommend you bring a second one as well)

Optional Accessories

Personal handlebar or seat bag (Will be provided if you don’t have one)
Sun brim or visor for your helmet.
Chamois cream or butter
Full fingered bike gloves or glove liners *for cool forecasts
Toe covers for your biking shoes *for cool forecasts
Helmet or handlebar mirror
Your personal bike shoes (if clip in, be sure to bring your own pedals)
Personal bike seat
Padded seat cover
Waterproof case for your camera or phone

Casual Attire

2-3 long bottoms (pants, skirt, etc)
1-2 short bottoms (shorts, skirt, etc)
2-4 short sleeve shirts
1-2 long sleeve shirts
Undergarments
Walking or casual shoes
1-2 lightweight layering pieces such as a sweater, jacket, fleece
Bathing suit or shorts

Personal Items

Any necessary prescription medications
Allergy or other needed medications
Personal hygiene items
Sunscreen & SPF lip balm
Back up contact lenses or glasses
Polarized sunglasses

Layering

Layering is a critical component to being prepared for outdoor activities and best prepares you for changing temperatures. First, wear a good wicking layer as your “against the skin layer”. This will help with moisture management and the dryer you are, the more comfortable you will be. Wool or synthetics are the best. They both work – the biggest pro on the wool side is odor control. Wool is naturally anti-bacterial and can be worn for multiple days in a row. It also provides excellent temperature regulation. Synthetics, on the other hand, dry a little faster and are often lighter weight. You can’t really go wrong as long as you aren’t wearing cotton (unless it’s an incredibly hot day!)

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