Other activities

Snowmobiling is very big in Wallace—where it’s legal on city streets—10 miles east of Kellogg on I-90, and also at Lookout Pass, 10 miles past Wallace on the Montana border. Lookout has a snowmobile camp and access to 600 miles of snowmobile trails. Call (800) 643-2386 for more information (Best Western Wallace Inn, a headquarters of sorts, for snowmobiling with free security snowmobile storage). Peak Adventure Snowcat Skiing and Snowboarding (682-3200) gets you into the backcountry with Idaho powder, big air and soft landings.

Silver's snow tubing park is open Fridays, weekends and holidays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., plus night tubing until 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. With a lift ticket, the cost is $5 for a two-hour session. Otherwise, adult tickets are $17 and all others pay $15.

Silver Mountain’s Mardi Gras party, normally the last Saturday in February, has a scavenger hunt for kids, face painting, children’s snow castle and ice sculptures along with fun games. Later on it’s time for the adults to cut loose with live music, drink specials, costume contest, a lot of crazy Mardi Gras attire and bead wear.

Perhaps symbolic of the new Kellogg spirit are the life-sized sculptures-from-scrap that are placed around downtown. They were made by Dave Dose, a high school teacher and county commissioner with a sense of humor.

At Cataldo, 24 miles east of Coeur d’Alene on I-90 (Exit 39), sits the Mission of the Sacred Heart (above), Idaho’s oldest building. It was hand built, without nails. The walls are a 1-foot-thick mixture of mud, clay, willow saplings and straw, covered with boards inside and out. Jesuit priests supervised up to 300 Coeur d’Alene Indians at a time during the 1850–53 construction. Guided or self-guided tours are available. The mission is open year-round.

You'll find a variety of shops at the Gondola Base Village and in downtown Kellogg.