41st Stop - Coeur D'Alene, ID

Blog Post #52 - Written February 24, 2026

Stay: August 18-21, 2025

Our campground in Coeur D'Alene was so much fun.  It was on Blackwell Island, a small island surrounded by the Spokane River.  The river flowed straight into Lake Coeur D'Alene. 

Right on the beach, the kids found a bush full of perfectly ripe blackberries.  And so, the obsession started.  We collected more blackberries, intended for syrup, pancakes, and cobbler.  This was an "any waking moment we weren't exploring" activity.  And so, the kids started to recognize blackberry bushes all over the campground.  While exploring, they found the fairy garden, again full of magic and delight. And apple trees.  While they could have used a couple more weeks to ripen, the kids collected buckets and bags full of apples. And so more cobbler and toppings were made.

Gary's favorite apple find ... "quarter-red"

We took our kayaks out along the island. There was a sweet rope swing that Gary tried out.  It was a bit tall for everyone else (even Gary had to stretch on his tippy-toes and jump to make it).  The trail was busy, but quiet. A kind mom and daughter shared their popcorn so we could feed the ducks too. We fought our way across the Spokane River over to the beach on the lake.  The kids had fun trying to snorkel (wasn't much to see) and looking for fun rocks.  

We decided to drive into town to explore some more.  There was a fun fort themed playground that we had to drag the kids from later on.  Across the street was a boat rental that we were determined to try out.  Unfortunately, we were on the lake during beautifully calm weather, not a breeze in sight.  So we decided to try our luck the next morning.  Since we were already at the beach, G and the kids went down to the pier to swim and jump off the deck.   Some older boys were jumping from higher up, so Gary joined them.  

I wasn't feeling great, so I sat on shore, watching.  D came and joined me, making sand castles and creations.  Gary came ashore and went to grab a snack.  D followed him and so I stayed with the boys.  A while later, a woman came huffing down the beach, holding D, and asking if this was my child.  Then she let loose her opinions about how I was an unfit parent, how I should see my kids as a blessing and never let them out of my sight.  After her rant was over, I thanked her for returning my kid.  Apparently she was determined for a fight, cause she seemed absolutely floored that I didn't say anything else.  She huffed off and I was just glad that D didn't get hurt.  G said he had no idea that D was following her, so we both thought she was with the other parent and wasn't "lost" in our minds.  

That put a bitter taste in my mouth, and I was about ready to head home. Gary decided to fix my mood with some meat, and found a sweet food truck spot. We enjoyed some BBQ and some tacos.  This place was hopping! And well worth it. They even had a little indoor eating hut with fun puzzles and games.  Q especially enjoyed playing the ring on a string game. If you're in Coeur d'Alene, definitely go check out the Best Ave Food Trucks (we loved the Best Ave Taco Works and Best Ave BBQ - delicious food, big portions, and small prices. We also heard that Raw Dead Fish was phenomenal sushi, but we didn't try it ourselves)!

The next morning, we rode our bikes into town to try and go sailing again.  Once again, our plans were thwarted, because it was a beautifully clear morning, absolutely no wind again. So we opted to bike back to the truck and drive over to Tubb's Hill.  The views of the lake were incredible.  We found a perfect cliff jumping spot, so Gary and the boys had great fun jumping.  We kept hiking until we found a fun beach with lots of cool rocks.  Gary found a higher jumping spot, so the kids and I stayed ashore and played in the shallows.  Q decided he wanted to swim out to where Gary was going to land.  Gary missed seeing Q, so Q (in his life vest) was trying to get back ashore.  He would have made it, but he decided that a small piece of driftwood would help him get back and was not moving anywhere with it held fast in one of his hands.  I had to run out and pull him in. He was fine, but he had an important chat about how his life was more important than a piece of wood. 

We finished our hike and headed home.  We picked a few more blackberries and prepared to head out, and then it was Gary's turn to be berated for letting his children wander within eyesight alone.  Luckily, a neighbor overheard that incident and commended Gary for raising good independent children. 

Overall, we enjoyed the Coeur D'Alene area, but could have used less negativity and judgmental opinions from random people.