The way points of this bicycle route:
Brunner Road, where it skirts south of the Silverwood theme park is unpaved for a bit under 1/2 mile. After you cross the railroad tracks it is paved and I think this short unpaved distance is worth it to avoid other routes that have much heavier and more dangerous traffic.
Turn right.
Straight across.
This route now proceeds over about 7 miles of unpaved roads. I did this on my skinny tire road bike and found it tolerable. I am a pretty cautious rider but even so I found the road surface mostly ridable. I did walk the bike in a few spots where there was a lot of loose gravel, the roadbed was steep or steeply banked, or particularly rough washboard.
Watch carefully for this junction - it looks as though missing it will take you quite far off route. I didn't see good road signs on the unpaved section of this ride. Turn right, cross railroad tracks, and then turn left.
Take the left fork
Pavement again. Hallelujah! Straight ahead.
Turn left.
It's a short ride across the bridge to Priest River, a good spot to take a break. There are some small shops, cafes, and a tourist center in downtown, and the typical gas stations/quick-marts and a small city park with a restroom on Highway 2. Straight ahead to continue this route.
Hoo Doo Loop avoids some of the stretch on Highway 41 where there is heavy traffic and not much of a shoulder. I also found it VERY scenic. Turn left.
Ok, you've got about 12 miles on Highway 41. I rode this on a Sunday, and there was lots of traffic and not much shoulder. I would guess that during the week it could be very heavily travelled. Be careful! Turn left.
A friendly survivalist at the EZ Mart in Blanchard chatted me up while I was resting. It's definitely Idaho. I learned two things in Blanchard: poaching logs and selling them for firewood is a quick way to make a buck; and, the residents of Athol, fed up with the jokes about their town name, voted to change it to Anuth.
Turn left.
Turn right.
Follow the pavement - turn left.
Listen to the screams of the Silverwood denizens. Hopefully your leg muscles are not also screaming.
Welcome to Bikely, take a step by step tour of this path:
Press Start Tour - then use the navigation buttons below to move along the path.
I got roped into camping for a few days at Silverwood Theme Park near Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. Theme parks are not my thing, I mean really not my thing, so I took a bike along and instead of thrill rides, I spent time scouting out an interesting loop. This is it - I thought it was a stunningly beautiful ride. One important caveat: there is a 7 mile stretch of this route that is UNPAVED! I found it tolerable on my road bike - read more about it in the Cue Sheet for this ride. I think there are some modifications that could make the route longer, but that would put it completely on paved roads. I didn't get a chance to completely check these out, but of particular interest might be Spirit Lake Cut-Off Road in putting together a route that avoids the long unpaved segment. This loop ride starts and ends at the Silverwood theme park at the corner of US-95 and Brunner Road and passes through Athol, Clagstone, Priest River, Blanchard, and Spirit Lake.
Tagged with: Recreational, Rural, Scenic
