A Cruise on Lake Coeur d'Alene

Thursday, July 14, 2016

This morning we take a walk around the ¾ mile long floating boardwalk (the world’s longest) that wraps around the marina at The Coeur d’Alene Resort (18 stories high with 300+ rooms) overlooking the Lake.  If you are fortunate to have your boat in a slip here, you can call room service and have food delivered to your boat in the slip. 

At one point along the boardwalk there is a very high wood bridge with several levels of stairs you climb to view the opening below where boats of all sorts are coming and going from their slips to and from the Lake.  At one point there are concrete tables and benches where one can sit awhile to enjoy the sun, trees across the Lake and the water.

Ron found this boat on sale and thought it might be a nice addition for us.  The price was about the same as buying a new motorhome.   What a beauty.  All Ron needs is a Captain’s hat.

Returning to the sidewalk on the main street, we find a public beach where many families and others are getting ready to go swimming or enjoy the sunshine.  Many of the people have paddle boards which they are padding out toward the boardwalk some sitting on the boards and others standing and paddling.  Looks like fun. 

Walking on the pier out to the cruise boat is a place to do parasailing as well as take a seaplane ride.  We notice there are a couple of parasailers in the sky which we watch.  Neither of us has ever tried this though my mother once did and really enjoyed it.  A plane is just now coming in to the dock. 

Our boat arrives at the dock and we board.  This is a 90 minutes trip around the north part of the Lake and includes information about the area and places along the lake.  (The Lake extends for 25 miles to the south and has 109 miles of shoreline.)  Beautiful warm but not hot day and a nice breeze coming off the water as we begin our journey. 

Below are several bits of information and pictures from that trip.

View from boat across Lake

Kathy enjoying the ride and view

Our trip includes a close up water view of the Coeur d’Alene Golf Resort but not as good a view of the floating island golf hole that we got on our visit to the Course.    We did learn that the golf course was built on a former sawmill site and opened in 1991.  The island rests on foam filled concrete honeycombs and is moved daily by a computerized cable system.  It can be anchored from 75 to175 feet off shore.  Each year there are 3-4 holes in one but about 24,000 balls per year miss the target landing in the lake to be retrieved weekly by divers. 

The Golf Resort also has a private beach with cabanas, beach umbrellas, adjustable lounge chairs and a full time beach attendant serving drinks.  Boy what luxury.  All it takes is money.  Where is my winning lottery ticket?

This building along the shore and near the Golf Course is a 30 unit condo complex known as the Terraces on Lake Coeur d’Alene with each condo having 6,300 square feet, a private garage, a boat slip in the marina, and two lifetime golf memberships with no annual or monthly fees of any kind.  What do you do with a 6,300 square foot vacation condo? 

Below are numerous pictures of homes along the Lake including some that us common folk might have. 

Common Man  Homes on the Lake

This House or should I say mansion, belongs to Duane Hagadone, the man who had the vision to build both the Coeur d’Alene Resort and Golf Course.  Quite a house.

How about this house built on a rock.

This beautiful 18 story hotel is The Coeur d’Alene Resort located in downtown Coeur d’Alene and was the vision of Duane Hagadone, a local newspaper owner.  The luxury hotel and convention center opened in 1986 in a depressed time and with a population of 25,000.  It cost $60 million dollars to build and dominates the skyline of downtown Coeur d’Alene.  It has drastically changed the economy here and put Coeur d’Alene on the map.  Today the city is thriving and major tourist center in both summer and winter with a ski resort area nearby.    

After returning to the dock, Ron and I walk along some downtown streets noting the many dress shops, art gallerys and restaurants, most with sidewalk dining.  Coeur d’Alene is the sixth largest city in the state and the Lake ((known as one of the world’s most beautiful) is a major attraction for downtown.  The Mayor says, “Coeur d’Alene is a world-class resort city where everyone is welcome.”   We also discovered these two murals along our walk.

This cute little guy was found along the way.  He is part of a story of Mudgy the Moose and his playmate Millie Mouse which are whimsical creations from author Susan Nipp who is a Coeur d’Alene resident.  Mudgy searches high and low for his friend Millie Mouse along the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene in a hide and seek game which has become a public art project called Mudgy Moose Trail.  It was designed for children.  At the end, Mudgy discovers that Mille was hiding close by all along.
  

A wonderful day filled with sunshine and time on the water.