Tag Archives: Pend Oreille River

Pend Oreille County Part 3

After leaving the Boundary Dam Vista House on Thursday June 12th we took a right turn off the National Development Road 3165 onto NF-325 to reach the Pee Wee Falls Overlook. It was a twisty primitive road and but before too long we were in another nice parking area with picnic tables, a nice restroom and well maintained trail to the Overlook.

We really enjoyed these beautiful views.

The wind was gusty at the overlook.

This next photo is from our son, Dan, that inspired our trip. He took this photo in May.

We traveled back the way we came and soon were on highway 31 and headed back south.

We stopped at this roadside sign after we enjoyed the Falls. It’s a nice map with places to enjoy along the North Pend Oreille Scenic Byway. We met two gals from Florida and were just finishing their drive on the Selkirk International Loop that runs through parts of Idaho,  Canada and Washington. We enjoyed a nice conversation. They were hungry and I could wholeheartedly recommend the Farmhouse Cafe in Metaline Falls. They were the only two other travelers we saw at any of our stops!

Before we hit the road to go home we made this last stop at another overlook of the Pend Oreille River very close to the downtown of Metaline Falls with a good view of the bridge we crossed at the beginning of our trip. This was another well maintained spot with restrooms, parking and lovely trails along the river.

The Pend Oreille River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 130 miles long, in northern Idaho and northeastern Washington in the United States, as well as southeastern British Columbia in Canada. In its passage through British Columbia its name is spelled Pend-d’Oreille River.

This was a great day from beginning to end and we were thankful for safe travels and beautiful scenery to see and praise God for.

Pend Oreille County Part 2

We were so surprised at the lack of vehicles and people on our little road trip to our neighboring county. We took this drive on Thursday June 12th, 2025. After our breakfast and shopping in Metaline Falls we continued North on Highway 31.

It didn’t take us long to get to our next stop. We took a left turn off of Highway 31 onto National Development Road 3165, also called East Side Road. Crescent Lake was a good marker for the road and guaranteed you couldn’t miss it.

It was a short drive to the parking area for Boundary Dam Vista House. Again we were pleasantly surprised with the nice restroom facilities and parking and well maintained trail to an overlook.

There was an indoor viewing house with windows all around and some great information posted. We were surprised to learn that Seattle City Light owns and operates the dam that is 390 miles from the city of Seattle. What surprised us even more is the fact that the electrical current leaves Boundary Powerhouse crosses Washington State and reaches Seattle IN LESS THAN A SECOND!

We took some photos of the dam from the Vista House before we walked the 750 steps to an outdoor overlook.

Looking north towards Canada.

This was another sign inside the Vista House. I’m glad we planned and left the house instead of just wishing on this day. One more display caught our eye. It was hard to photo with the glare but I took it anyway.

Great information and nice historical tribute.

Looking south…

We exited the Vista House that we had all to ourselves and started our 750 foot walk to the outdoor overlook.

Looking South on the Pend Oreille River.

Looking North to Canada.

Back up the 750 Feet to the parking lot. We enjoyed a few wildflowers.

We were inspired to take this trip because of the next photos our son sent when he had to work out in this area for several hours. His photos were taken in May with different cloud cover.

I’m saving our next stop for another post.

Thanks for coming along.

Lake Pend Oreille

Lake Pend Oreille in the northern Idaho Panhandle is the largest lake in the U.S. state of Idaho and the 38th-largest lake by area in the United States, with a surface area of 148 square miles. Lake Pend Oreille is Idaho’s biggest, at 43 miles long with 111 miles of shoreline. It’s also the deepest (at 1,158 feet deep, there are only four deeper lakes in the nation).

These views of the lake were taken in Sandpoint, Idaho at City Beach on the far northwest shore of the lake.

On Saturday October 29th our conference sessions ended in the early afternoon so we drove to City Beach to enjoy a walk along the shore of Lake Pend Oreille. After our walk we had a meal at Trinity, a restaurant with views of the lake and beyond.

We were surprised to find ‘Lady Liberty’ visiting Idaho.

The lake is “located amid three major frontal ranges of the northern Rocky Mountains, it has natural splendor galore to go with a fascinating human and natural history”.

“Lake Pend Oreille is known for its Kamloops (a species of giant rainbow trout), Mackinaw and Kokanee salmon. Kamloops and Mackinaw exceeding 20 pounds are not unusual in the lake, which has seen its fishery rebound in recent years.”

After our meal we drove back to the hotel for the night. We had one more conference session to attend on Sunday morning before we would drive back to Washington State and home.

I’ll add some of our views driving home on Sunday via Highway 2. Our route took us along the Pend Oreille River. “The Pend Oreille River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 130 miles long, in northern Idaho and northeastern Washington in the United States, as well as southeastern British Columbia in Canada. In its passage through British Columbia its name is spelled Pend-d’Oreille River.”

We enjoyed the small towns and Fall colors along the way.

Today, Friday, we are driving home from the western side of Washington. We might be dealing with some snow over the pass so we are happy that our winter tires are on our vehicle. We’ve been taking advantage of those high gas prices (over $4) along the way during our back to back road trips, snicker. Gasoline was a little cheaper in Idaho compared to Washington, btw. It was smooth sailing driving from East to West on Wednesday. Hopefully the same will be true today going West to East, today.

Sandpoint Idaho

Traveling north on US Route 95 from Coeur de Alene, Idaho we crossed the Long Bridge over the Pend Oreille River into Sandpoint, Idaho. Further north we checked into our hotel for the weekend. We got back in the car and drove into the downtown historic district of Sandpoint.

The historic homeland of the Kalispel Indian tribe, Sandpoint began to experience white settlement when fur trappers under the direction of North West Company agent and surveyor David Thompson built a trading post on the Hope peninsula in 1809. Thompson described the peninsula where Sand Creek empties into Lake Pend Oreille as a “pointe of sand,” an apt name for the village and town that would eventually grow up there.

We crossed this Bridge and went down the steps to the Sandpoint Byway Trail and walked north on the trail for a distance.

We didn’t walk on to City Beach and would explore that side of the highway on Saturday.

More history of Sandpoint can be found here.

When we got back to our car I saw some graffiti that looked interesting in an alleyway and went across the street to take some photos while Dear waited in the car.

Before we drove back to register for our conference we stopped at The Hydra Steakhouse for an appetizer and refreshment.

 

The conference started out very well with great information and met some lovely people.