8:00-9:00am Enjoy a good breakfast to start the day at Michael D’s (203 Lake CdA Drive, east end of Sherman Ave).
9:00am-noon Take the I-90 east just 2 blocks east of Michael D’s (Need gas? There’s a Tesoro station right there) which leads you around Rutledge Hill above the lake. You’ll cross Veteran’s Memorial Centennial Bridge 300 feet over the valley floor. It’s a great view but keep your eyes on the road, there’s no stopping on the bridge. You’ll cross the Blue Creek Bay Bridge and skirt Wolf Lodge Bay where you’ll take the Hwy 97 exit and head around the bay. Along the way you’ll enter Beauty Bay (great bald eagle viewing in the winter) pass the Mineral Ridge trail head, a great place for a hike another day. The road winds its way over hills and through the woods with occasional pullouts to view the lake. It’s about 30 miles to the historic town of Harrison, just over the Coeur d’Alene River as it flows into the lake. Take time to stretch your legs and enjoy the waterfront, check out the marina and maybe grab an ice cream at The Creamery. From Harrison Hwy 97 enters the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation and Benewah County then connects with Hwy 3 where you’ll turn right and continue along the St. Joe River into St. Maries (St. Mary’s).
Alternate route: Instead of taking Hwy 97 at Wolf Lodge, continue over 4th of July Pass and take Hwy 3 where you’ll follow the chain lakes of the Coeur d’Alene River to St. Maries.
Check out St. Maries’ logging and steamboat history then grab picnic supplies at Archie’s IGA, a burger at Bud’s Drive in or lunch at the Big Eddy Resort.
1:00-4:00pm Take Hwy 5 west along the St. Joe and past the southern end of Lake Coeur d’Alene, then inland towards Plummer on the edge of the Palouse. At Plummer turn north on Hwy 95 through hills and rich farmlands, back into Kootenai County and the town Worley. Get off at the Hwy 58 exit for the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel where you can try your luck. This is also home of Circling Raven Golf Course so golfers may want to drop into the pro shop for a souvenir. Hwy 95 is west of the lake but if you’ve the time you can take side roads into Sunup, Rockford or Loft’s or Mica Bays. Nearing Coeur d’Alene you’ll drop down into Cougar Gulch area and pass the 88 acre Cougar Bay Preserve with 5 miles of trails through a wildlife filled wetland. Two more miles and you cross the Spokane River and back into Coeur d’Alene.