Coeur d'Alene, Idaho facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Coeur d'Alene
City
City of Coeur d'Alene
Aerial view of Coeur d'Alene Coeur d'Alene Resort and marina Floating boardwalk Independence Point Coeur d'Alene Resort floating green Coeur d'Alene and Tubbs Hill from City Park and Beach
Flag Logo
Nickname(s):  Lake City; CDA
Motto(s):  City with a Heart
Location of Coeur d'Alene in Kootenai County, Idaho
Country	United States
State	Idaho
County	Kootenai
Founded	1878
Incorporated	August 22, 1887 (Town)
	September 4, 1906 (City)
Area
• City	16.82 sq mi (43.56 km2)
• Land	16.06 sq mi (41.58 km2)
• Water	0.76 sq mi (1.98 km2)
Elevation	2,188 ft (667 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	55,904
• Density	3,392.4/sq mi (1,309.8/km2)
• Metro	170,628 (US: 251st)
• CSA	745,213 (US: 71st)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (Pacific)
ZIP code	83814, 83815
Area code(s)	208, 986
FIPS code	16-16750
GNIS feature ID	0379485

Coeur d'Alene ( KOR-_-DƏ-layn; French: Cœur d'Alêne, lit. 'Heart of an Awl') is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the largest city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 2020, the United States Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 53,354. Coeur d'Alene is a satellite city of Spokane, which is located about thirty miles (50 km) to the west in the state of Washington. The two cities are the key components of the Spokane–Coeur d'Alene Combined Statistical Area, of which Coeur d'Alene is the third-largest city (after Spokane and its largest suburb, Spokane Valley). The city is situated on the north shore of the 25-mile (40 km) long Lake Coeur d'Alene and to the west of the Coeur d'Alene Mountains. Locally, Coeur d'Alene is known as the "Lake City," or simply called by its initials, "CDA."

The city is named after the Coeur d'Alene people, a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who lived along the rivers and lakes of the region, in a territory of 4,000,000 acres (16,000 km²) from eastern Washington to Montana. The native peoples were hunter-gatherers who located their villages and camps near food gathering or processing sites and followed the seasonal cycles, practicing subsistence hunting, fishing, and foraging.

The city began as a fort town; General William Tecumseh Sherman sited what became known as Fort Sherman on the north shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene in 1878. Peopling of the town came when miners and prospectors came to the region after gold and silver deposits were found in what would become the Silver Valley and after the Northern Pacific Railroad reached the town in 1883. In the 1890s, two significant miners' uprisings over wages took place in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District, one of which became a motivation for the bombing assassination of former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg in 1905. The late 19th century discovery of highly prized white pine in the forests of northern Idaho resulted in a timber boom that peaked in the late 1920s and was accompanied by the rapid population growth which led to the incorporation of the city on September 4, 1906. After the Great Depression, tourism started to become a major source of development in the area. By the 1980s, tourism became the major driver in the local economy, and, after decades of heavy reliance on logging, the city featured a more balanced economy with manufacturing, retail, and service sectors.

The city of Coeur d'Alene has grown significantly since the 1990s, in part because of a substantial increase in tourism, encouraged by resorts and recreational activities in the area and outmigration predominantly from other western states. The Coeur d'Alene Resort and its 0.75-mile (1.21 km) floating boardwalk and a 165-acre (0.67 km²) natural area called Tubbs Hill take up a prominent portion of the city's downtown. Popular parks such as City Park and Beach and McEuen Park are also fixtures of the downtown waterfront. The city has become somewhat of a destination for golfers; there are five courses in the city, including the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course and its unique 14th hole floating green. The Coeur d'Alene Casino and its Circling Raven Golf Club is located approximately 27 miles (43 km) south and the largest theme park in the Northwestern United States, Silverwood Theme Park, is located approximately twenty miles (30 km) north. There are also several ski resorts and other recreation areas nearby. The city is home to the Museum of North Idaho and North Idaho College, and it has become known for having one of the largest holiday light shows in the United States and hosting a popular Ironman Triathlon event. Coeur d'Alene is located on the route of Interstate 90 and is served by the Coeur d'Alene Airport as well as the Brooks Seaplane Base by air. In print media, local issues are covered by the Coeur d'Alene Press daily newspaper.

History

Lake Coeur d'Alene, in July

The Coeur d'Alene people called themselves by the autonym Schitsu'umsh in Coeur d'Alene, one of the Salishan languages, meaning "The Discovered People" or "Those Who Are Found Here."

This area was extensively explored by David Thompson of the North West Company starting in 1807. The Oregon boundary dispute (or Oregon question) arose as a result of competing British and American claims to the Pacific Northwest of North America in the first half of the 19th century. The British had trading ties extending from Canada and had started settlements in present-day British Columbia and at Fort Astoria on the Pacific coast near the mouth of the Columbia River.

Sunset in Coeur d'Alene

The Oregon Treaty of 1846 ended the disputed joint occupation of the area in present-day Idaho when Britain ceded all rights to land south of the 49th parallel to the United States. When General William T. Sherman ordered a fort constructed on the lake in the 1870s, he gave it the name Fort Coeur d'Alene; hence the name of the city that grew around it. The name of the fort was later changed to Fort Sherman to honor the general. North Idaho College, a community college, now occupies the former fort site. The lake was also named for the Coeur d'Alene.

Miners and settlers came to the region after silver deposits were found. It became the second-largest silver mining district in the country, generating both great wealth and extensive environmental contamination and damages. In the 1890s, two significant miners' uprisings took place in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District, where the workers struggled with high risk and low pay. In 1892, the union's discovery of a labor spy in their midst, in the person of Charlie Siringo, sometime cowboy and Pinkerton agent, resulted in a strike that developed into a shooting war between miners and the company.

Years later Harry Orchard, who owned a share of the Hercules Mine in the nearby mountains before it began producing, confessed to a secret, brutal and little understood role in the Colorado Labor Wars. He later confessed to dynamiting a $250,000 mill belonging to the Bunker Hill Mining Company near Wardner during another miners' uprising in 1899. He returned later to Idaho to assassinate former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg in 1905.

Geography

Spokane River drainage

Coeur d'Alene is located at 47°41′34″N 116°46′48″W / 47.69278°N 116.78000°W / 47.69278; -116.78000 (47.692845, −116.779910), at an elevation of 2,180 ft (660 m) above sea level.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.08 square miles (41.65 km²), of which, 15.57 square miles (40.33 km²) is land and 0.51 square miles (1.32 km²) is water.

The wooded lands east of the city have been designated for protection and management as the Coeur d'Alene National Forest. The city is surrounded by forest, which contains several lakes and campgrounds.

It is 30 miles (48 km) east of Spokane, Washington, and is part of a common metropolitan area. It is 311 miles (501 km) east of Seattle, Washington, on Puget Sound on the west side of the Cascade Mountains.

Panorama of Coeur d'Alene from Cougar Bay. The tall building to the far right is the Coeur d'Alene Resort.

Climate

Coeur d'Alene has, depending on the definition, a dry-summer continental climate (Köppen Dsb), or a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb), characterized by a cold, moist climate in winter, and very warm, dry conditions in summer. It straddles the border between USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 6B and 7A. The monthly daily mean temperature ranges from is 29.8 °F (−1.2 °C) in December to 69.0 °F (20.6 °C) in July and August. Temperatures exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on 13 days per year, only occasionally reaching 100 °F (38 °C), while conversely, there may be several nights below 10 °F (−12 °C). Snowfall averages 70 inches (178 cm) per year; precipitation is generally lowest in summer. The average first and last freeze of the season are October 12 and May 3, respectively.

Demographics

In 2020, the United States Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 53,354. Coeur d'Alene and its Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which consists of Kootenai County, have been combined by the Census Bureau into the Spokane–Coeur d'Alene Combined Statistical Area (CSA) where it is the third-largest polity after Spokane and its largest suburb, Spokane Valley. The population of the CSA was 745,213 in 2020. The principal cities in the CSA are separated by suburbs that largely follow the path of Spokane Valley and Rathdrum Prairie. The City of Coeur d'Alene has opted not to voluntarily merge with the Spokane MSA and to remain a distinct metropolitan area. According to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidelines, the two MSAs will automatically be combined by the OMB when the employment interchange exceeds 25 percent; in 2011, 18 percent of residents commuted between Spokane and Kootenai counties for work.

St. Thomas Catholic Church

According to the 2010 Metro Area Membership Report of the Association of Religion Data Archives, the denominational affiliations of the Coeur d'Alene MSA (Kootenai County) are 60,657 Evangelical Protestant, 3,064 Mainline Protestant, 7,597 Catholic, 162 Orthodox, 8,492 Other, and 58,522 Unclaimed. Idaho is part of a region called the Unchurched Belt, a region in the Northwestern United States that has historically low rates of religious participation. The evangelical Christian community has been growing with the overall population and there have been instances of whole congregations moving to the area from out of state. The evangelical Christian Real Life Ministries church located in Post Falls was the 13th fastest growing church in the nation in 2007.

A great deal of the influx of new residents are retirees seeking lower cost of living and traffic; the number of residents aged 65 years and older doubled from 2001 to 2019 according to the Idaho Department of Labor.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 44,137 people, 18,395 households, and 10,813 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,834.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,094.5/km²). There were 20,219 housing units at an average density of 1,298.6 per square mile (501.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.8% White, 0.4% African American, 1.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.9% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.3% of the population.

There were 18,395 households, of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.2% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age in the city was 35.4 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.7% were from 25 to 44; 24% were from 45 to 64; and 14.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.

Events and attractions

Coeur d'Alene from the parking garage of the Coeur d'Alene Resort

• Coeur d'Alene is the home of Ironman Coeur d'Alene, which started in 2003. This Ironman Triathlon is held each year on the fourth Sunday in June. It starts at the Coeur d'Alene resort, where triathletes start the competition with a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) swim in Lake Coeur d'Alene, followed by a 112-mile (180 km) bike, finishing with a 26.2-mile (42.2 km) run.
• Coeur d'Alene is the site of the Christian Youth Theater (CYT) North Idaho headquarters.
• Annually in June, CDA hosts "Car d' Alene," where all the hot cars, both new and old, are brought out on display for admiration and bragging rights.
• The first weekend in August North Idaho Community College hosts Art on the Green. An arts and crafts outdoor festival sponsored by Citizens' Council for the Arts.
• The local college art program had a public art campaign called "Moose on the Loose," when local artists and college art students painted and decorated a dozen or so life-size moose statues with various colors and accessories. After being displayed, the pieces were auctioned off to local businesses as a fundraiser. The moose were installed on sites from downtown near Sherman Ave. to Government Way on the CdA/Hayden boundary. The moose have become both a town landmark and a popular scavenger hunt item.
• Coeur d'Alene has become a destination for golf enthusiasts. The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course is considered one of the best in the United States. Its 14th hole features the world's only movable floating green.
• The North Idaho Centennial Trail passes through Coeur d'Alene.
• Coeur d'Alene and the surrounding area provide many outdoor recreational opportunities, such as: mountain biking, hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, etc.
• The Snake Pit Derby Dames are based here; they are an all-female flat track roller derby league. The competitive season is March–November and Bouts (matches) draw large crowds.
• Every year in November, the Friday after Thanksgiving marks the start of Coeur d'Alene's Christmas Lighting Ceremony including a parade, fireworks and special holiday candles given out by the local downtown businesses.
• The Coeur d'Fondo, a bike race that ranges from 15 miles to 108 miles (24–174 km), is held annually in summer.
• The Coeur d'Alene crossing is a swimming challenge, in which swimmers try to cross the lake.

In popular culture

• The 12th track of Alter Bridge's third album AB III is named after the city and is inspired by lead singer Myles Kennedy's spending time here as a child.
• Harold Covington features Coeur d'Alene repeatedly in his Northwest Trilogy historical novels as the place where the Northwest revolt began.
• In the book Walk Two Moons, Coeur d'Alene is a stop on the main character Salamanca Tree Hiddle's trip.
• The narrator in Iris DeMent's 1993 song Easy's Gettin' Harder Every Day wishes she could "run away to Coeur d'Alene."
• In Tom Clancy's fourth book in the Net Force series, Breaking Point , a character hides in the Aryan Nations compound (now destroyed) in Hayden Lake (referred to as Coeur d'Alene).
• Sam Bourne's novel The Righteous Men, refers to this city as home of the Aryan Nations. However, the Aryan Nations' home was in nearby Hayden Lake. It is since defunct, demolished after a lawsuit and the bankruptcy of the Aryan Nations.
• Luke Redfield's song, "Coeur d'Alene," from his 2010 album, Ephemeral Eon, depicts a simple love story in the city.
• Listed in Patricia Schultz's book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.
• The independent film Smoke Signals, based on stories by Sherman Alexie, feature characters of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe who live on its reservation and have a quest auto trip.
• The film Teenage Dirtbag is set here. It was written and directed by Regina Crosby, who grew up in Coeur d'Alene. She was inspired by events from her time in high school.
• The indie folk band The Head and the Heart released a song entitled Coeur d'Alene that is included on their 2011 debut album The Head and the Heart.

Sister cities

Coeur d'Alene has one sister city:

• – Cranbrook, British Columbia (Canada)

Economy

Fourth of July Festival in City Park

Historically, the economy of Coeur d'Alene was built and based on mining and logging and the Coeur d'Alene Mining District has been one of the world's most productive mining districts. However, after mining and logging diminished in importance in the 1940s, tourism has come to be the main influence in the local economy ever since. The city has become a major tourist attraction, being at the heart of north Idaho's Lake Country where people partake in water sports and activities such as wake boarding, paddleboarding, sailing, parasailing, jet skiing, kayaking, fishing and other lake recreation. In addition to the natural attractions and parks, the Coeur d'Alene area has two major resorts on the lake, the Coeur d'Alene Resort and the WorldMark Arrow Point resort directly across the lake in Harrison near the community of Eddyville as well as the Coeur d'Alene Casino in Worley, and the Northwestern United States' largest theme park in the Silverwood Theme Park in Athol. There are three major ski resorts within a short driving distance, Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg, Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area at Lookout Pass near Mullan, and Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort in Sandpoint. Tourism and hospitality related jobs employed over 10,000 people in north Idaho in 2010.

Timber Terror and Aftershock at Silverwood Theme Park

Coeur d'Alene is the healthcare, educational, media, manufacturing, retail and recreation center for north Idaho. Coeur d'Alene's retail has expanded greatly in recent years with the opening of new stores and entertainment venues; the Silver Lake Mall, which is the largest in North Idaho, was opened in 1989. Coeur d'Alene's Village at Riverstone development along Northwest Boulevard houses a park, amphitheater, 14-theater Regal Cinemas, a Hampton Inn, condominiums, restaurants, and local retailers.

Companies that have their head offices in Coeur d'Alene include mining company and owner of the Lucky Friday mine in Mullan, Hecla Mining and the U.S. operations of Canada-based restaurant Pita Pit. A knife manufacturer, Buck Knives, is the most recognizable brand name in the area, where they relocated the head office and factory from San Diego to the Coeur d'Alene suburb of Post Falls in 2005. Construction company and roller coaster manufacturer, Rocky Mountain Construction is based in Hayden. In 2017, the Coeur d'Alene metropolitan area had a gross metropolitan product of $5.93 billion. The Coeur d'Alene metropolitan area has a workforce of 80,000 people and an unemployment rate of 6.8% (as of June 2020); the largest sectors for non-farm employment are trade, transportation, and utilities, government, and education and health services as well as leisure and hospitality.

The average commute to work is 18.5 minutes. Commuting across the state line into Washington is not uncommon. A concern for the city is that the rising minimum wage and salary differential between Washington and Idaho will cause local personnel shortages. In 2011, the Idaho state median hourly wage was $14.51 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Sports

Ironman Coeur d'Alene, 2013

Coeur d'Alene has become a destination for golf enthusiasts. The city is home to five golf courses and there are another eight more within 20 miles (32 km). Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course is considered one of the best resort courses in the United States. Its 14th hole features the world's only movable floating green. There is also the Circling Raven Golf Club at the Coeur d'Alene Casino resort, which has received praise as well as several other private courses nearby, such the Tom Fazio-designed Gozzer Ranch. The Coeur d'Alene Public Golf Club is likely one of the most played courses in the area.

Coeur d'Alene hosts some sporting events, and the event that receives the most attention is most likely the Ironman Coeur d'Alene. The Ironman Triathlon alternates between full- and half-distance Ironman events on a rotating basis from year to year. The course takes athletes through a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) double-loop swim in Lake Coeur d'Alene before transitioning to a 112-mile (180 km) double-loop bike course that is routed along the lake and then through the countryside, ending in a 26.2-mile (42.2 km) multiple-loop run through McEuen Park to a finish in downtown on Sherman Ave. Other less intense and rigorous athletic events in town include the 15–108 mi (24–174 km) Coeur d'Fondo bike race and the Coeur d'Alene Crossing, a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) swimming challenge in which participants attempt to cross the lake. The Coeur d'Alene marathon is held annually at the end of May on the North Idaho Centennial Trail.

In amateur baseball, Coeur d'Alene fields a team in the American Legion Baseball league, the CDA Lumbermen. In high school team sports, there is an annual rivalry game between the Coeur d'Alene High School Vikings and Lake City High School Timberwolves called the "Fight for the Fish". The schools are the only two public high schools in the city and both compete in Idaho's Inland Empire League.

Education

Coeur d'Alene Public Library

Library services for the city of Coeur d'Alene are provided by two public libraries, the Coeur d'alene Public Library in downtown and the Lake City Public Library near Lake City High School. The Community Library Network maintains seven libraries in the wider communities in Kootenai and Shoshone counties, including branches in Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum, Spirit Lake, Athol, and Harrison. Public library services in the area trace their roots to the Coeur d'Alene Women's Club in October 1904 and its operations and funding responsibilities were taken over by the city in May 1909.

The Coeur d'Alene School District serves around 11,000 students in 18 schools, including two traditional high schools, an alternative high school, three middle schools, eleven elementary schools, and a dropout retrieval school. The first high school in the city, Coeur d'Alene High School, had its first building to house the students completed in 1904 and a second public high school, Lake City High School, was opened in 1994. District students who qualify are also eligible for dual enrollment with North Idaho College and the University of Idaho. The district also has magnet schools that focus on specific curricula, such as the Sorensen Magnet School of the Arts and Humanities and Ramsey Magnet School of Science elementary schools and the Fernan STEM Academy, offering a STEM focus. The district is the sixth-largest in the state and second-largest employer in Kootenai County. Coeur d'Alene also has a charter school, the Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy. Private and parochial schools augment the public school system, such as the PK-8 grade Roman Catholic Holy Family Catholic School and the PK-8 grade Seventh-day Adventist Lake City Academy. Private schools that offer a full high school curriculum include the PK-12 grade Classical Christian Academy and the 1-12 grade North Idaho Christian School which are both non-denominational ASCI-accredited Christian schools located in Hayden.

Postsecondary education is fulfilled by North Idaho College, a public community college founded in 1933 as the Coeur d'Alene Junior College in downtown Coeur d'Alene on the former site of Fort Sherman. The college has an enrollment of over 5,000 students and has outreach branches in Kellogg, Sandpoint, and Bonners Ferry. The University of Idaho has a Coeur d'Alene presence and has a research park in the area.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads and highways

The Veterans Memorial Centennial Bridge, which carries Interstate 90 over a ravine near Lake Coeur d'Alene

In Coeur d'Alene, the city roads are oriented in the four cardinal directions, with roads going north–south being designated as "streets" and roads going east–west as "avenues". Sherman Avenue divides the streets into north and south and Government Way divides the avenues into east and west. Major east-west thoroughfares include Sherman Avenue and Harrison Avenue and major north–south thoroughfares include U.S. Route 95, Government Way, 15th Street, and Ramsey Street. Coeur d'Alene is accessed from Interstate 90 at Exits 11 through 15. Not too far to the east on I-90 is the Fourth of July Pass and further east near the Montana border is Lookout Pass that traverse the Rocky Mountains near Mullan, Idaho. The route of the interstate east of Coeur d'Alene closely mirrors that of the old Mullan Road, although I-90 crosses the Fourth of July Pass 2 miles (3.2 km) south of John Mullan's passage, which was carved out using pickaxes and shovels on July 4, 1861 and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and marked by a monument. Before the construction of I-90, the city was served by U.S. Route 10, which ran through downtown; this route is now Northwest Boulevard and Sherman Avenue. The former U.S. 10, between I-90 exits 11 and 15, is now designated as Interstate 90 Business. Interstate 90 was completed on October 14, 1960, and dedicated by Governor Robert E. Smylie ten days later as the state's first major interstate highway project to be completed. Major state highways in the area include Idaho State Highway 41 and U.S. 95. Idaho State Highway 41 has its southern terminus in Post Falls and is routed from I-90 northward to the Newport, Washington area, where it is in the vicinity of U.S. Route 2 and Washington State Route 20 and U.S. 95 runs north to south across the whole of western Idaho, connecting the city with Sandpoint to the north and Moscow, Lewiston, and eventually Boise to the south. Originally an exclusively in-state highway when it was proposed by the United States Numbered Highway System in 1925, spanning from the Canadian border to Payette, it is significant for connecting the long-disconnected northern panhandle to the rest of the state; prior to the construction of U.S. 95, one would have to travel through Washington and Oregon for passage to avoid the mountainous topography. The portion of its route that it shares with U.S. 2 is a national scenic byway and part of the International Selkirk Loop. In Coeur d'Alene, U.S. 95 runs north to south, crossing the Spokane River and serving as an arterial street for the suburbs to the north.

The greater Coeur d'Alene area is almost entirely dependent upon private automobiles for transportation, the city has a Walk Score of 36, indicating most errands require a car. Combined with the city's rapid growth since 1990, relative congestion now occurs on a significant portion of the area highways, notably U.S. 95 between Northwest Blvd. north to Hayden. The average commute to work is 18.5 minutes.

Public transportation

Citylink Riverstone Transit Center

Public transportation played a significant role in Coeur d'Alene's early growth as a tourist destination. When an interurban electric railroad line was completed in 1903 from Spokane to the city, Inland Northwest residents often flocked to Lake Coeur d'Alene to enjoy being on the lake and going on steamboat cruises and other activities. The interurban electric line would later become the Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad. The steamboats on Lake Coeur d'Alene were not only used to transport goods such as ore and timber, but also people. More steamboats operated on Lake Coeur d'Alene than on any other lake west of the Great Lakes, and there were intense rivalries between the steamboat lines. The electric railroad and steam navigation on Lake Coeur d'Alene lasted until the late 1930s.

Free public bus service is available to area residents, provided by Citylink. Citylink buses operate in the urbanized area of Kootenai County, leaving the Riverstone Transfer Station main hub every sixty minutes, seven days a week, including holidays. Buses are wheelchair-accessible and can transport up to two bicycles. The bus system has four separate routes: Urban Route B which serves Post Falls, Hayden and West Coeur d'Alene, Urban Route C which serves Downtown Coeur d'Alene, Fernan and Hayden, Rural Route, which serves the towns of Worley, Plummer, Tensed, and De Smet, and the Link Route, which connects the two transfer stations at Riverstone and Worley. Extension of Spokane Transit Authority service into Idaho, mainly an hourly express bus to and from Coeur d'Alene, originally proposed as part of the 2015 "STA Moving Forward" ballot measure, is expected to commence in 2025.

Airports

Aerial: The airport is in the top-left corner of the image.

The closest major airport serving Coeur d'Alene and North Idaho is Spokane International Airport, which is served by six airlines and is 40 miles (64 km) to the west in Spokane, Washington. The Coeur d'Alene Airport – Pappy Boyington Field (KCOE) serves as a general aviation airport in Hayden, north of the city near U.S. 95. The airport was built by the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942 as a fighter and light bomber training base. The Coeur d'Alene Airport was designated as an alternate airport to Weeks Field (now the site of the Kootenai County Fairgrounds) in the event of an Axis invasion; the Weeks Field airport was also used to train pilots during World War II. It is named in honor of World War II flying ace and North Idaho native, Gregory "Pappy" Boyington.

Near the marina on Lake Coeur d'Alene is the Brooks Seaplane Base (S76), which is a city-owned, public-use seaplane base for general aviation. It is used mostly for air taxi purposes to conduct tours of Lake Coeur d'Alene and Lake Pend Oreille.

Utilities

Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer

The city of Coeur d'Alene provides billing services for municipal water, sewer and stormwater management, street lighting, garbage collection, and recycling; Kootenai Electric Cooperative provides power and Avista Utilities provides both power and natural gas services in the area. The city draws its water supply from the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer. Telecom services such as television, internet, and telephone service are provided by vendors including Frontier Communications, Spectrum, Time Warner, and TDS Telecom.

The Post Falls hydroelectric dam on the Spokane River was built in 1906 and has a generation capacity of 14.75 megawatts.

Healthcare

Kootenai Health

Kootenai Health is the primary medical center serving the Coeur d'Alene and North Idaho communities. The 329-bed community hospital is a Level III trauma center and is the largest employer in Kootenai County. Coeur d'Alene also has a Veterans Affairs Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), the North Idaho CBOC, which has the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane as a parent facility. Public health programs and services for Idaho's five northernmost counties are administered by the Panhandle Health District, one of seven health districts in the state, with a local office in Hayden.

Media

Coeur d'Alene is part of the Spokane television and radio media market and receives broadcasts in the Pacific Time Zone. Coeur d'Alene is the city of license for some television and radio stations in the broadcast area, such as Idaho Public Television station, KCDT. In print media, Coeur d'Alene is also covered by Spokane's major daily newspaper, The Spokesman-Review, but the city has its own daily newspaper, the Coeur d'Alene Press, which covers issues in North Idaho and has an estimated circulation of about 17,300. The publication was founded in 1892 by Joseph T. Scott and printed its first issue on February 20 of that year. The newspaper is among the properties of the Hagadone Corporation.

Images for kids

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  Coeur d'Alene Mission of the Sacred Heart on the Coeur d'Alene River, 1855

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  Sternwheeler Amelia Wheaton on Lake Coeur d'Alene, c. 1885

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  Sherman Avenue c. 1908

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  The Roosevelt School was built in 1905 and became The Roosevelt Inn in 1994.

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  Juvenile osprey being handled on a bird watching lake cruise.

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  Lake Coeur d'Alene from Tubbs Hill

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  The Clark House, built in 1912 by F. Lewis Clark, south of Hayden Lake

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  North Idaho Centennial Trail

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  Gate of Fort Sherman

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  The Polar Bear Plunge at Sanders Beach, 2022

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  The Veterans Memorial Centennial Bridge, which carries Interstate 90 over a ravine near Lake Coeur d'Alene

See also

In Spanish: Coeur d'Alene (ciudad) para niños