About the Area
The Idaho Panhandle National Forests comprise about 2.5 million acres of public lands within "the panhandle" of northern Idaho and parts of eastern Washington and western Montana.
Northern Idaho is about 80 percent forested and 20 percent farmland. The IPNF administers approximately half of the total forested acres. Small woodland owners own a quarter of the forested land; the remainder is owned by industries or other government entities.
More than half of Idaho’s surface water is in the Idaho Panhandle. These vast lakes and miles of rivers support a world-class fishery, and the forests are rich in wildlife.
From lush evergreen mountains to the shores of big water lakes, the Idaho Panhandle National Forests have a rich history that continue to link families and forest. Historic cabins and lookouts dot the landscape, while significant places such as Hiawatha Trail, Marble Creek Historic logging displays, and Pulaski Tunnel Trail add depth to the heritage. Fire continues to play an important role in the landscape’s evolution. Forest roads and trails trace the past of American Indians, mining, logging, and Forest Service history.
This area is often called "lake country" and Lake Coeur d'Alene is a center for recreation, as are the readily available National Forest lands. Recreational opportunities are numerous, including summer activities of camping, hiking, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, motorcycle riding, boating and water skiing, and fishing. During the winter months, hunting, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling are popular. The area contains several hundred miles of fishable streams and numerous lakes.
The Idaho Panhandle National Forests are an aggregation of the Coeur d'Alene and portions of the Kaniksu and St. Joe National Forests. Local points of contact include the Supervisor's Office, five district offices, and the Coeur d'Alene Tree Nursery.
The Forest is within nine counties in three states: Boundary, Bonner, Benewah, Kootenai, Shoshone, Latah, and Clearwater Counties in Idaho; Lincoln County in Montana; and Pend Oreille County in Washington.
Coeur d'Alene is a full-service community of around 57,000 people. Approximately 180,000 people live in Kootenai County. Located on the northern shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene, the city is 100 miles south of the Canadian border, 33 miles east of Spokane, Washington, and an hour’s drive west of the Montana state line. There are four distinct seasons, with summer average highs and lows of 82 degrees and 51 degrees: and average winter temperatures from 38 degrees and 26 degrees, with consistent amounts of snowfall.
The St. Joe Ranger District is at the southern end of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests and consists of approximately 725,000 acres with backcountry and mixed ownerships.
The main district office is in St. Maries, Idaho, with another office near Avery, Idaho.
The St. Joe Ranger District stretches westward from the rugged Idaho/Montana border along the Bitterroot Mountains between the Clearwater Divide and the Coeur d’Alene Divide to the lower St. Maries River Valley.
The St. Joe has some of the most productive and biologically diverse forest lands in the Columbia River Basin. It contains plants and animals of the central Rocky Mountains, the boreal forests, and the moist coastal forests. The St. Joe River, headwaters of the Little North Fork of Clearwater River, and the St. Maries River Basins are the dominant watershed.
Unique features of the diverse St. Joe Ranger District include the St. Joe Wild and Scenic River, Emerald Creek Garnet Area, Mallard Larkins Pioneer Area, Marble Creek Historic Area, Route of the Hiawatha Bike Trail, Hobo Cedar Gove Botanical Area, and the Snow Peak Cooperative Wildlife Management Area.
St. Maries offers the best of a small-town setting with necessary amenities and a host of extras. Located along the scenic St. Joe River, this town of approximately 2,800 boasts an active community spirit and true enjoyment of the outdoors.
The major transportation corridors to St. Maries are State Highway 3 and State Highway 5. Spokane International Airport is the main hub for air travel (a little more than an hour drive north and west from St. Maries).
The Sandpoint Ranger District is located on the North Zone of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, which also includes the Bonners Ferry and Priest Lake Ranger Districts.
Sandpoint is a vibrant community, rich in arts and culture, with a population of 9,875. As the county seat, Sandpoint also services much of Bonner County, population 52,000. A wide range of people make up the Sandpoint community; many are native residents – 30 percent were born in Idaho – but most were born elsewhere, relocating after experiencing Sandpoint’s friendly atmosphere and beautiful setting. This influx accounts for the area’s rapid population growth. The County’s population increased 35 percent between 1990 and 2010.
Surrounded by heavily forested mountains and nestled on the shore of the state’s largest lake, Lake Pend Oreille, Sandpoint is known for its exceptional natural beauty. The town itself is attractive with many buildings of architectural distinction, several nice parks, including City Beach, and bustling events that reflect the vigor of the community.
The Sandpoint area is rich in natural resources and outdoor recreation opportunities. About 40 percent of northern Idaho is National Forest land, along with 65 percent of the shoreline of Lake Pend Oreille. As a result, camping, hiking, biking, and other outdoor activities are popular in the area.
Bonners Ferry is a full-service community nestled along the Kootenai River. The city’s population is 2,625 and is the county seat for Boundary County, which has a population over 13,000. Boundary County borders Canada to the north, Washington to the west, Montana to the east, and Bonner County, Idaho, to the south.
Along with excellent hunting and fishing, Bonners Ferry and surrounding areas offer unlimited outdoor recreational opportunities, such as hiking, mountain biking/cycling, rock hounding, camping, dramatic scenery, history, winter sports like cross country and back country skiing or snowmobiling. Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort is located 38 miles south of Bonners Ferry in Sandpoint.
There are 271 miles of streams and 297 acres of lakes in the Bonners Ferry Ranger District, furnishing habitat for considerable fish and waterfowl, including rainbow and brook trout, sturgeon, whitefish, bass and salmon.
Bonners Ferry is located 34 miles north of Sandpoint. Coeur d’Alene is the closest urban area (1.5 hours to the south), Spokane (2.0 hours to the south), Kalispell, Montana (2.5 hours to the southeast), and Missoula, Montana (4.0 hours to the southeast).
The Priest Lake Ranger Station is located near Nordman, Idaho, about 32 miles north of the Priest River (pop. 1,810) on State Highway 57, and approximately one hour from Sandpoint. The Priest Lake community (Nordman and Coolin) is an ideal year-round place to visit and live. The spectacular backdrop coupled with the myriads of available recreation opportunities make the area a four-season destination.
Priest Lake itself is aptly named “Idaho’s Crown Jewel” and boosts many water-sport activities (including fishing season, open from mid-April through November) and overall, the area has many other recreational opportunities (island hiking, island camping, remote beaches, resorts, marinas, etc.).
On the Priest Lake Ranger District, there are over 200 miles of trails, 13 developed campgrounds and two picnic grounds, incredible huckleberry and mushroom picking, cross-country skiing, groomed trails for snowmobiling, horseback riding, back country and wilderness hiking, Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail system, and float trips down Priest River.
Elevations vary from 2,000 feet to over 7,500 feet, where vegetation is extremely diverse - from boreal and coastal conditions to plant species and communities commonly found in the interior Northern Rockies. Weather is moderate. In a relatively normal year there are only a few days where temperatures will drop below zero in the winter or climb above 90 degrees during the summer. Summer nights are generally cool and there are many times in this 4-season district where one can see the Northern Lights above the lake waters.
Scenes from Across the Idaho Panhandle
