Note: Not a sponsored post.
I went on a fun international trip earlier this summer (I’ll show you guys some pictures from that in another post) so for our family summer vacation we decided to stick a little closer to home. We live in southwestern Idaho, in the Boise area, so we ventured up to the Northern part of the state. I love Northern Idaho because it’s so lush and green, and it reminds me of western Washington, where I’m from originally. We checked off lots of things on our Idaho bucket list, but one in particular was the Hiawatha bike trail. It runs through the top of the state of Idaho and a little into Montana.
This trail was once a functioning railway. It was called one of the most scenic stretches of railroad in the country, and now it’s open to bikers and hikers. The trail is a little over 15 miles, but with a slight downgrade, so it’s really pleasant and family friendly (including pregnant ladies!) You can bring all of your own gear (bikes, helmets, etc.) or rent them all at the trailhead. Since we had enough to pack with us on a road trip, we reserved everything online and it was all ready and waiting for us when we got there. My 8 year old rode a bike, I pulled my youngest in a trailer (which was nice because then we could pack gear in the trailer, like snacks, my camera, etc.).
And for my middle son, we rented a tag-a-long, which is a bike that attaches to an adult bike, creating a sort of tandem. It was great since he could just coast along if he got tired.
The coolest thing about the Hiawatha is that because it was a functioning railway, the trail traverses through old tunnels burrowed through the mountains, and trestles hundreds of feet above the forest floor. This was the first tunnel, the longest, at over 1 1/2 miles long!
Inside was cold and pitch black, so headlamps or bike lights are required, which my kids thought was awesome.
It was also really wet inside the tunnels, since there’s moving water around many of them.
We were biking on a hot summer day so those cold tunnels felt amazing. The trail goes in and out of tunnels and then over trestles like this one, seen across the valley.
I’m not a fan of heights,
and some of these were REALLY high, but totally safe and secure. It was actually really awesome.
Other times the trail passes through meadows and past creeks. It really is a nice, comfortable ride.
The whole thing start to finish took about 2 1/2 hours. There are tons of stopping places where you can get off your bike, read some history facts, or simply enjoy the view.
And when you’re all done, there’s a shuttle at the end that takes you and your gear and shuttles you back so you don’t have to ride up the 15 miles again. My kind of bike ride.
All in all, it was a great experience and my kids loved it. There is lodging and camping available near the trail if you’re interested in taking a trip that direction. You can bundle a lot of other things in there too, as it’s close to Silverwood Theme Park, and the beautiful cities of Coeur d’ Alene and Sandpoint, Idaho. Check out the Hiawatha web page for all the deets! Have any of you done it? Wanted to do it?
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Note: Just a reminder of this actual giveaway we have going on. Check it out and get snapping pics to win $$$!
Questions & Reviews
This would be right up my husband’s alley!! Now if only we didn’t live in Pennsylvania 🙂
We live in MT and after seeing your pics of the Hiawatha Trail on IG we immediately put this on our bucket list! I thought we’d have to wait til our girls were older but now I’m thinking we can just rent the tag-along bike and do it next summer!
This looks so fun! My boys would love this!
I have got to do this!
I have been wanting to do this for years. We even went to sandpoint a few years ago. A 7 hour drive for us. Took the bikes too. I had no idea it was that close.
Sounds like a wonderful trip! Love the strip up your son’s back 🙂
Ha ha! I love the wet stripe up your little boy’s back. I can’t believe kids can make it the whole 15 miles! I don’t think I ever did that long of a bike ride when I was little. Fun!
Fun! I’m originally from Spokane. Most of my family has done the Hiawatha, but I haven’t yet! Maybe next time we are up there visiting we will have to plan for it. 😉
So pretty! We love in SE Idaho, but if we ever make it up North, this is going on our to do list!
That looks beautiful. I would love to explore the west someday!
I love traveling internationally and sometimes forget how amazing our own country is. Beautiful pictures!
That looks incredible!! Now I’m thinking Idaho for my “finishing nursing school trip”. Thanks for the ideas!!
I’m going to have to add that to our list of vacation places. Looks so fun!
This looks like fun. We just got home from a road trip and one of our favorite places to camp was Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It was amazing. It’s in western North Dakota.
That looks like so much fun! As soon as my kids are old enough, we will have to venture to Northern Idaho and try it out. Thanks for sharing!
I love this! My husband and I are always looking for new places to visit and this is going be added to the list!
I honestly did not know that ID was this beautiful – I’m on the East Coast and have seen shamefully little of the rest of our gorgeous country!
Looks so pretty! We have a trail like that outside Park City, UT but not near as green and lush. Love to ride the trails.
It’s been forever since I’ve been on a bike, but I would love to ride this trail.
That looks awesome and I love the tag along idea!
I wish I’d lived in Idaho longer than 10 months so I could have seen more of it–especially the north.
I am so sad I didn’t know about this when I lived up in that area! Might have to go make another stop by. Thanks for sharing!
So pretty. When I was 13 we did a 15-mile bike ride around the everglades. It was awesome and tiring and we saw a ton ton ton of alligators. I hope I can get up there To do that one day!
The Hiawatha is lots of fun! I see your boys are sporting the Hiawatha Stripe! Were you able to eat at Panhandler Pies in Sandpoint? I’m from the Treasure Valley originally and now live in Moscow – both place are great, but so different from each other. We sure love all of the beautiful green scenery here in Northern Idaho, but Idaho in general is great! Life is Good 🙂
That sounds so fun! My brothers did this once years ago. I’m glad to know it’s family friendly–I’d love to do this and it’s only a couple hours away from me!
So beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
It looks amazing! This is now on my to do list!
The trestles might be too much for me, but I love that it’s all flat or downhill. A great long ride (good exercise), and you can enjoy the beautiful scenery and whole experience b/c you aren’t focused on getting your bike up a hill!
Wow beautiful! I will have to show this to my husband!
This looks so incredibly fun! And you can rent the bikes there? So my kind of vacation!