Bonner County: Water, Trails and Culture

Bonner County offers several distinct areas to focus on when planning a trip: snowmobile trails and ski terrain, hiking and mountain biking trails, paddling, and opportunities to learn about nature and history. If you’re looking for a hotel for your stay, your main planned activity can help guide your choice. This lets you plan your trip around the experiences that interest you most.

Snowmobile Trails, Ski Terrain and Alpine Trails

Bonner County has more than 300 miles of snowmobile trails connected to a statewide trail network. Schweitzer has 2,900 acres of ski terrain. This gives you two distinct winter sports options: snowmobiling on an extensive trail network or skiing on a specified area of terrain. When planning your trip, you can first decide which of these activities you want to focus on.

Schweitzer also offers more than 20 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails, with alpine scenery and sweeping views. Schweitzer Bowl overlooks Lake Pend Oreille. Bonner County lies along the lake’s shore. This gives you two different perspectives on Lake Pend Oreille: the county’s lakeshore setting and the view from Schweitzer Bowl.

Water Activities and Destinations for Active Days

Kayaking, canoeing and stand-up paddleboarding are possible on Sand Creek. Albeni Cove has a boat ramp and a swimming beach. If you include water activities in your trip plans, you’ll find several specific options here: paddling on the creek, as well as the boat ramp and swimming beach at the cove. You can choose between the activities based on your interests.

There are also clearly identified destinations away from the water. Farragut State Park has five disc golf courses, each with 18 holes. That means disc golf isn’t limited to a single course. The Scotchman Peak Trail leads to Scotchman Peak, the highest point in Bonner County at 6,872 feet. If you’d rather plan a summit outing than play disc golf, you can weigh these two options based on their different focuses.

Habitats and Bird Migration

In Bonner County, the Pend Oreille Wildlife Management Area consists of 25 separate parcels ranging in size from 2 to 1,729 acres. The area is therefore not one single, continuous tract. It provides habitat for waterfowl that stop to rest during migration or spend the winter there. This highlights the area’s seasonal importance: its role as a habitat explicitly includes overwintering as well as migration.

Dam Museum, Railroad and Scenic Byway

The Albeni Falls Visitor Center has exhibits on the history of the dam and the natural features of the surrounding area. The Bonner County Historical Society & Museum focuses on a different subject with its railroad collection. It includes objects, archival documents and photographs related to Bonner County. The museum is located in Lakeview Park, overlooking Lake Pend Oreille. The history of the dam and its surroundings is presented alongside a collection that explores the county’s railroad connections.

The Pend Oreille Scenic Byway offers another way to get your bearings. It begins north of Sandpoint on U.S. 95 and follows Idaho Highway 200 to the Montana state line. Its route traces the rocky north shore of Lake Pend Oreille. The starting point, route and endpoint provide a specific line to follow when planning your trip, while each of the other destinations mentioned offers its own nature, culture or activity-related themes. You can choose whether to focus your trip on a route, a single destination or a particular activity.

Discover more destinations: Sandpoint, Hope, Coolin, Ponderay, Blanchard, Athol, Sagle, Priest River.

For the broader travel overview: Idaho.