A Coeur d’Alene Corporate Break

Some of us believe we have it very nice here in the Panhandle, especially in Coeur d'Alene and its surrounding area. Why? Because we're moments away from work to the high-value recreational opportunities that abound in nearly every direction. And that makes for greater productivity at work!

When Mitch Wright called to see if I wanted to spend some of my afternoon on the water, I looked up from my heavy load of paperwork, and in 10 minutes met him at the new Coeur d'Alene Park parking lot. Mitch is the CEO of The Country Porch, a highly rated online retail store. He’s as busy as any executive I know. Within 20 minutes of his call, we were coasting out of the Coeur d'Alene Resort Hotel Marina for a shirt-sleeve run to key points on the lake.

It was an afternoon break for both of us, just a chance to get away from the diligent tasks at hand and enjoy the bright sun and blue sky. We had nowhere in particular to go, nothing exacting to do; it was just a pleasure trip for a little under an hour.

I'd substitute lunch any day for such a refreshing time on the water. It made me think how good we have it here. No real traffic to fight, no long drives to distant water, no time wasted.

What Factors Contribute to this Ease of Access?

The easy access to water in the Panhandle is available to just about anyone who lives and does business here. I would guess that the distance to the nearest lake for anyone in the Panhandle of Idaho is less than a 30-minute drive.

There was little boat traffic on this gorgeous day on Lake Coeur d'Alene. I've had the same experience while fishing Lake Pend Oreille in early June on such a day. Priest Lake, the other of the Big Three, is the same way, if not less crowded that Coeur d'Alene and Pend Oreille.

With most of our lakes having public or marina boat access points, it all adds up to one perfect thing for businesses whose personnel enjoy water sports of any kind: the break from work is just moments from a water experience.

What other types of recreation are available in North Idaho?

Because the Panhandle has a larger percentage of public land than private, some 60 percent is held in either Federal or State Forest or Bureau of Land Management, the Idaho Panhandle has plenty of room for every type of outdoor activity found in modern times. Hunting is excellent for all major game species including wolves. Fishing is superb for just about every freshwater species found in the U.S.

One friend and I calculated recently that within a two hour drive we stood the chance of landing a 25-pound specimen in eight species of fish: Pike, Muskie, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Dolly Varden, Lake Trout, Chinook Salmon and Steelhead.

We also have excellent winter sports, specifically skiing and snowboarding at places like Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort directly above Sandpoint and Silver Mountain in the Wallace and Kellogg area. Like the lakes, these ski resorts are an easy drive with little traffic compared to other resort areas like Tahoe or the Cascade Mountains near Seattle.

Snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, hiking and ATV travel are also easily accessed on several trail systems dedicated to those purposes. All in all, we collectively feel that considering other corporate realms in larger metropolitan areas, North Idaho has some of the best, least crowded, certainly not over-used public land and resources still left in the United States.

#homeessentials #local