Trip through Idaho May 2006

Hello all,

The hubby and I are planning a bike trip the weekend of May 19/06, to Baker City, Oregon.

We are leaving home, near Calgary, AB early on Thursday, May 18 and will be spending our first night in Idaho. I can%26#39;t pass through Sandpoint without stopping for some great shopping, but we are hoping to get further south before we stop for the evening. Our thinking is that we should try to get to about Lewiston, as this will roughly break our trip in half. (We need to be in Baker City by 5:00 pm Friday, at the latest.)

According to MapQuest, the distance from home to Lewiston is about 350 miles. Does anyone know how long the drive from the border to Lewiston takes, not factoring in stops?

If we can make it to Lewiston in one day, (before nightfall) what is the city like? What would be a good, reasonably-priced place to stay? Where is a good place to get a good meal and a beer? Alternatively, does anyone have a better suggestion for a place to stop?

One other REALLY important question for us is what is the weather like on average in Idaho at that time of year? I am a little worried about snow in the north part, around Kingsgate. The hubby%26#39;s original plan was to drive through MT to Missoula, then take Hwy 12 to Lewiston. We%26#39;re worried that there will still be snow in the Lolo Pass then, so we decided that the Idaho route might be a safer bet.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

- Tanis

Trip through Idaho May 2006

Probably about 2 1/2-3 hours of driving time from border to Lewiston. You%26#39;re husband is right....Highway 12 could definitely be covered with snow...you never know. Lewiston is very pretty, especially from the north on top of the Lewiston Hill as you come down into town. On the confluence of two rivers, the Snake and the Clearwater. Lowest altitude point in Idaho at 704 feet...and the only seaport in Idaho. Grain barges leave here and go to Portland to load on large ships bound for Asia. Was the original capital city of Idaho before being moved to Boise. Lewis and Clark blazed a trial through here. About 30,000 people, pretty conservative. Several places to stay, nothing really quaint or unusual. I%26#39;d check out the Inn America, Holiday Inn Express, or Red Lion. Not sure about specific meal and beer place...there are numerous. Again, nothing really cool or full of great atmosphere. This is a working-person%26#39;s town. Have spent lots of time here in my ';past life.'; But have not been here in several years. Write back for more info if necessary. Enjoy your trip. I%26#39;m at arnietharp at hotmail dot com if you need me.

Trip through Idaho May 2006

Thanks for that information. I will keep your email address and may check with you closer to our travel date with additional questions. You have helped with the initial planning considerably!

I%26#39;d be happy to reciprocate, if you ever need any info on Waterton, Banff or Calgary.

Thanks again.

- T.

Hi Camping Girl

Great advise from the above poster regarding Lewiston, but you might want to give yourself a little more time for that drive from the border to Lewiston. If you%26#39;re talking the Canadian border, I%26#39;d estimate a good 4 hours to Lewiston. Driving conditions shouldn%26#39;t be too bad in May and since you want to stop in Sandpoint, just stay on Hwy 95 South and you%26#39;ll pass through Coeur d%26#39;Alene and down into Lewiston. If that%26#39;s the drive you%26#39;re thinking of, time-wise I%26#39;d definitely give yourself at least 4 hours (and it might be more). Sandpoint to Coeur d%26#39;Alene alone is almost an hour, and then another hour down to Lewiston (not to mention Sandpoint to Canada which is a good 2-3 hours).

It%26#39;s a pretty trip and you%26#39;ll pass through some gorgeous areas.

Have a wonderful time travelling.

Back in september 1996 we%26#39;ve made this trip and it took us nearly 5 hours (checked my notes!) with short stops. Maybe the road has improved.

From Lewiston we went to Walla Walla and visited the Fort Walla Walla Museum, not very impressive.

From Walla Walla to Pendleton to visit the Pendleton Round up but all tickets were sold.

From P. we made a long detour to Baker City through John Day Fossil Beds NM and that was a good choise. Recommanded.

In Baker City we stayed at the Best Western Sunridge Inn. Good rates, great poolarea and rooms with patio and private chairs.

Very good hotel.

Close to Baker City is the NH Oregon Trail Interpretive Center at Flagstaff Hill and this

Center really is highly recommanded.

Good Luck

Tet

Hi everybody,

KirkandMimi, thanks for your additional input. We travel to Sandpoint often (my husband hauls logs to a mill in Usk, Washington in the winter) so I know that part of the road like the back of my hand. I wasn%26#39;t sure about the rest of the trip south, though. So, thanks again for your help. (Beautiful part of the country you live in.)

Tet, thanks to you as well for your input. I%26#39;m glad you enjoyed the Best Western Sunridge - that is where we are booked for the weekend in Baker City! So, it%26#39;s a relief to have someone else say they%26#39;ve stayed there and enjoyed it. We were also planning on stopping to check out the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, I have heard it is really a worthwhile stop.

We will be participating in a bike rally while we%26#39;re there, so we will also be touring the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway and the Gold Rush Ghost Town route, west of Baker City, while we%26#39;re there. We are so looking forward to the trip.

I love Idaho, and we fell in love with Oregon when we were through there last summer.

I find it interesting that we could get no replies on the Oregon forum to our post about Baker City, and ended up finding the help about it on the Idaho forum!

Now, just pray for an early warm spring for us........... =:%26gt;)

Hi Camping Girl and hubby ....

Welcome to the USA. Nice idea to stop in Sandpoint and shop ... lovely little town along the Pend O%26#39;Reille. However, you won%26#39;t be the least bit impressed with Lewiston. It is a one stoplight town with little charm. I would advise stopping in Coeur d%26#39; Alene instead. Many great places to stay -- I would advise La Quinta on Sherman Ave. It is close to everything, esp. Lake Coeur d%26#39; Alene and the famous Centennial Trail. There is another La Quinta in town, but I would recommend the Sherman Ave one. For instance, 2 miles up Sherman is the city center with shopping and restaurants galore. Traveling from Canada, I would advise coming down Hwy 95 through Sandpoint, as it is always a good road. Snow south of Sandpoint would be rare at this elevation of 2400 ft. The Lolo Pass can be tricky even as late as May.

I absolutely love this part of the world. If you have addtl. questions, feel free to contact me anytime via e-mail --- tamixoxoxo@earthlink.net or landline 1-208-667-2870. Good Luck !!

Hi Camping Girl and hubby ....

Welcome to the USA. Nice idea to stop in Sandpoint and shop ... lovely little town along the Pend O%26#39;Reille. However, you won%26#39;t be the least bit impressed with Lewiston. It is a one stoplight town with little charm. I would advise stopping in Coeur d%26#39; Alene instead. Many great places to stay -- I would advise La Quinta on Sherman Ave. It is close to everything, esp. Lake Coeur d%26#39; Alene and the famous Centennial Trail. There is another La Quinta in town, but I would recommend the Sherman Ave one. For instance, 2 miles up Sherman is the city center with shopping and restaurants galore. Traveling from Canada, I would advise coming down Hwy 95 through Sandpoint, as it is always a good road. Snow south of Sandpoint would be rare at this elevation of 2400 ft. The Lolo Pass can be tricky even as late as May.

I absolutely love this part of the world. If you have addtl. questions, feel free to contact me anytime via e-mail --- tamixoxoxo@earthlink.net or landline 1-208-667-2870. Good Luck !!

Hi tamixoxoxo,

Thanks for your additional comments. We are planning on ';playing it by ear';, in terms of where we stop for the night. From what we can tell, we will still have a full day%26#39;s riding ahead of us, after we leave Lewiston, so we were hoping to make it that far before we stop for the night.

It looks as though it would be about a 7 hour trip from Lewiston to Baker City, would you say that is accurate? We want to be in Baker City by 6:00 pm at the latest, and hopefully earlier, so we are willing to sacrifice charm and amenities for one night if that%26#39;s what it takes to make it there on time.

Having said that, we are quite certain that it won%26#39;t be warm enough in May for riding after the sun sets for the night. So, if we overdo the ';shopping stop'; in Sandpoint, we may have to stop for the night earlier than originally planned, which would probably be CDA, or maybe even Sandpoint! So, your hotel suggestions for CDA are really appreciated. Thanks for your help.

- Tanis

Concur on the ';extra time'; to drive to Lewiston. Highway gets very slow through the Coeur d%26#39;Alene area. I%26#39;d encourage you to consider Lolo. (though again, you%26#39;ll add extra time to the trip)If clear, as this is the site of some of the most increadible whitewater rafting in the west in may/june. The Lochsa river runs right next to the highway, and even if you choose not to raft, just watching them run some of the 12 foot waves is fun. Very nice drive.

From Coeur d';alene, cut through Spokane and down 195 for fastest trip to Lewiston.

Hi,

We would love to go through Lolo; we are just concerned (since we will be on our bike) that it may be an extremely cold and uncomfortable ride through there at that time of year. Perhaps, if the weather is good when we get there, we will go home that way. I wish we knew for sure how much snow was going to be on the ground up in the pass at that time......lol!

Thanks for your help.