Day Trips & Getaways
What is within a tank of gas: lakes, ski hills, Glacier, the Silver Valley, and British Columbia.
Living here does not mean staying here. Within a tank of gas you have two countries, three states, a national park, a dozen ski areas and more lakes than you will ever fish. These are the trips we send visiting family on.
Bonners Ferry sits within two hours of Sandpoint, Coeur d'Alene, Spokane and the Canadian Kootenays, and about three hours from Glacier National Park and the Silver Valley. Ski areas, golf courses and big lakes are all day trips. For Canada, bring a passport or passport card. The Eastport crossing is open 24 hours; Porthill keeps shorter hours, so check before you go.
The Kootenai Valley from the top, looking south. Sandpoint is down there somewhere, 35 to 40 minutes by road. Photo: CENTURY 21 Four Seasons Realty
South: Sandpoint, the lakes, Coeur d'Alene and Spokane
Sandpoint & Schweitzer
32 mi · 35 to 40 min
The nearest larger town, on Lake Pend Oreille, with shopping, restaurants, City Beach and the Amtrak station. Schweitzer Mountain Resort is 11 miles above town, with lift rides and 40 miles of bike trails in summer.
Lake Pend Oreille
45 min to Sandpoint or Hope
Forty-three miles long and 1,152 feet deep, the fifth deepest lake in the country. Boat from Hope or Bayview, swim at City Beach, or hike Farragut State Park at the south end, a former Navy training station.
Priest Lake
About 80 mi · 2 hr
A 19-mile lake with resorts, marinas and huckleberry country, joined to Upper Priest Lake by a 2.5-mile channel you can paddle. Cutthroat, kokanee and lake trout in summer; snowmobile and ski trails in winter.
Coeur d'Alene
78 mi · about 1.5 hr
The regional city on Lake Coeur d'Alene: lake cruises, a lively downtown, big-box shopping and the Coeur d'Alene Resort course with its floating 14th green.
Farragut State Park
About 60 mi · 1 hr 15 min
A 4,000-acre state park on the south end of Lake Pend Oreille at Athol, on the grounds of the Farragut Naval Training Station, where 293,381 sailors trained during World War II. More than 40 miles of trails, five disc golf courses, swimming at Beaver Bay, camping, and the Museum at the Brig.
Spokane
About 110 mi · 2 to 2.5 hr
The nearest major city and airport. Spokane International (GEG) flies nonstop to about two dozen cities on Alaska, Delta, Southwest, United, American and Allegiant.
East: Montana and Glacier
Libby & Kootenai Falls
52 mi · 1 hr
East on Highway 2 along the river. Kootenai Falls, just past Libby, is the largest undammed falls in Montana, a series of cascades on the Kootenai with a swinging footbridge across the river.
Ross Creek Cedars
About 70 mi · 1 hr 30 min
A 100-acre grove of western red cedars up to 500 years old, 12 feet across and 175 feet tall, south of Troy off Montana Highway 56 near Bull Lake. A paved 0.9-mile nature loop with benches winds through the giants, and Ross Creek Trail 142 continues 4.5 miles up the drainage. Cool and shady on a hot day.
Kalispell & Whitefish
140 to 154 mi · 2.5 to 3 hr
The Flathead Valley, with Glacier Park International Airport and the resort town of Whitefish. Whitefish Mountain Resort has about 3,000 acres, 2,353 feet of vertical, 110 trails and nearly 300 inches of snow.
Glacier National Park
172 mi to West Glacier · 3 to 3.5 hr
Going-to-the-Sun Road over Logan Pass usually opens from mid-June to early July. Trail of the Cedars and Avalanche Lake are easy walks near Lake McDonald. No vehicle reservations were required in 2026, but check nps.gov before you go.
The Silver Valley and the St. Joe
Wallace
125 mi · about 2 hr 15 min
The whole town is on the National Register of Historic Places. Ride the trolley to the Sierra Silver Mine Tour and walk through a mine with a former miner, then visit the mining museum and the brick downtown.
Cataldo Mission
About 100 mi · 1 hr 45 min
Coeur d'Alene's Old Mission State Park, off I-90 at Cataldo on the way to Kellogg. The mission, built by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and Jesuit missionaries in the early 1850s, is the oldest standing building in Idaho, with the Sacred Encounters exhibit on tribal history next door. $7 per vehicle.
Kellogg & Silver Mountain
114 mi · about 2 hr
A 3.1-mile gondola leaves from just off Interstate 90 for 1,600 acres of skiing and about 2,200 feet of vertical. Silver Rapids, the indoor waterpark at the base, runs year round.
Route of the Hiawatha
About 135 mi · 2.5 hr
A 15-mile rail trail, gently downhill the whole way, through 10 tunnels and over 7 trestles, including the 1.6-mile St. Paul Pass tunnel. Open about mid-May to mid-September, with bike rentals and a shuttle at Lookout Pass.
North: British Columbia and the Rockies
Creston
35 mi · about 45 min via Porthill
Orchard and farm country just across the line, 7 miles past the Porthill and Rykerts crossing. The Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area draws more than 265 bird species, the Blossom Festival has run since 1942, and Creston Golf Club is a hilly 18-hole, par 72 course.
Kootenay Lake & Ainsworth Hot Springs
About 3 hr with the ferry
Take the free Kootenay Lake ferry from Kootenay Bay to Balfour, the longest free scenic vehicle ferry in the world, then soak in the horseshoe-shaped cave pool at Ainsworth Hot Springs, where the water surfaces at about 117 degrees.
Nelson
About 110 mi · 2 hr 15 min
A heritage town from the 1886 silver rush, with Baker Street's shops and cafes and the Whitewater ski area nearby. Bonners Ferry, Creston, the ferry and Nelson make the International Selkirk Loop.
Fernie
About 140 mi · 3 hr via Eastport
A brick-fronted coal town in the Elk Valley. Fernie Alpine Resort has 2,500 skiable acres, 3,550 feet of vertical, 142 runs and about 29 feet of snow a year, with mountain biking, fly fishing and golf in summer.
Fort Steele Heritage Town
About 92 mi · 1 hr 45 min via Eastport
A preserved 1890s town about 10 miles past Cranbrook. It grew up on the 1864 Wild Horse Creek gold rush, the same rush that sent prospectors north through Bonners Ferry on the Wild Horse Trail. Today it is a provincial heritage site with restored buildings, costumed townsfolk and summer steam train rides.
Golf within a couple of hours
Mirror Lake Golf Course
1 mi south of town
9 holes played twice for a par 72, with two tee sets, water on several holes, a driving range and views of the Selkirks and the Kootenai Valley.
The Idaho Club
About 45 min
An 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature course on the Pack River delta, 8 miles east of Sandpoint, on the site of the former Hidden Lakes course.
Elks, Priest Lake & Ranch Club
45 min to 2 hr
Elks Golf Club in Sandpoint is a friendly 9. Priest Lake Golf Course is an 18 in the hills on Highway 57, and the Ranch Club in Priest River is 9 holes.
StoneRidge
About 1 hr 15 min
18 holes, par 71 and 6,684 yards, with an open front nine and a wooded back nine.
Circling Raven
About 2 hr
18 holes on 600 acres at the Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort, rated by Golf Digest as the top public course in Idaho.
Coeur d'Alene Resort Course
About 1.5 hr
The 18-hole resort course with the movable floating island green on the 14th, reached by boat.
Ski areas, nearest first: Schweitzer (about 1 hour), 49 Degrees North (2.5 hours), Silver Mountain and Lookout Pass (2 to 2.5 hours), Whitewater near Nelson (2.5 hours), Whitefish Mountain (3 hours), Fernie Alpine (3 hours), and the three Banff areas (5.5 hours). Drive times are for dry roads; winter adds time, and border waits vary.
Sources: Schweitzer; Whitefish Mountain Resort; Glacier National Park 2026 operations; Visit Idaho, Route of the Hiawatha; U.S. Forest Service, St. Joe River; Visit Montana, Kootenai Falls; Visit Montana, Ross Creek Cedars; Idaho border crossings; Sandpoint Online, golf; City of Bonners Ferry, Mirror Lake; Idaho Parks and Recreation, Old Mission State Park; Idaho Parks and Recreation, Farragut State Park; Fort Steele Heritage Town; Wikipedia entries for Fort Steele, Lake Pend Oreille, Priest Lake, Wallace, Silver Mountain, Lookout Pass, 49 Degrees North, Fernie Alpine Resort, Kootenay Lake ferry and Banff National Park.
