Coolin at Priest Lake: History and Nature

Priest Lake State Park in Coolin is located on the eastern shore of the 19-mile-long Priest Lake. The address 314 Indian Creek Park Road, Coolin, Idaho 83821, is associated with the state park. This destination brings together local history and activities in the park. To plan your trip, you can first consider whether you’d like to explore historic sites or spend time outdoors, depending on the season.

If you’re looking for a hotel in Coolin, the area’s history, museum, and outdoor activities offer different ways to shape your stay. When planning outdoor activities, it’s worth considering the seasonal conditions.

Historic Traces in Coolin

The Northern Inn is now considered the oldest historic building at Priest Lake. The Great Northern Railway built it in 1890 to accommodate visitors expected at Priest Lake in connection with a planned railway line. The building’s construction date and the railway plan connect its history with the expectations of the time about visits to the lake; the railway line was a proposed project.

Coolin’s one-room schoolhouse also tells of another role the community has played. It opened in 1916 for grades 1 through 8 and has served as a community center since 1950. The area’s history thus brings together a building intended for expected visitors and a schoolhouse that later became a community center.

The waterways are also part of Coolin’s history. Slee Marina and Cabin was located on the shore in Coolin, to the right of today’s boat launch. For many years, Slee’s boats were the only means of transportation around Priest Lake. This combination of a shoreline location and boat traffic adds another facet of life at the lake to the stories of buildings and community use.

The Historic Coolin Walking Tour is presented as “Gateway to Priest Lake.” If you plan to take this tour, check the current signs and access locally. The Priest Lake Museum adds to the local historic sites: At the Coolin kiosk outside the museum building, it offers a station on local history. Admission to the Priest Lake Museum is free for visitors.

The museum hosts its Heritage Series every year, featuring guided hikes, historic site tours, and hands-on demonstrations. Individual dates vary. If you’d like to attend a specific event, check the dates before your trip.

Activities Throughout the Seasons

Harvey’s Hemlock Hideaway, a nine-hole junior disc golf course, is located at Indian Creek Campground. It was designed for beginners and families and is available to campers, local families, students, and school sports teams. The course adds a specific sporting activity to the options for a stay in Coolin.

In winter, the Indian Creek Unit of Priest Lake State Park welcomes cross-country skiers and snowshoers on several loop trails. Trail availability and conditions are seasonal, so take that into account when planning. Viewpoint Trail offers views of the lake and surrounding mountains and is considered family-friendly. Here, too, access and conditions may vary seasonally.

The offerings vary by activity and season: a nine-hole junior disc golf course, winter loops for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, and a trail with views of the lake and mountains. This lets you plan around the specific activities mentioned, rather than treating them as interchangeable.

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

Return to the main travel overview: Bonner County.