Going ‘Mobile
Snowmobilers can walk into any restaurant and buy a meal, or into any motel and get a bed.
But there are only a few places where they feel at home.
Base camps for snowmobilers usually have sled tracks heading out of the parking area toward sprawling trail systems beyond.
The person serving chili at the cafe knows the difference between an Arctic Cat and a Ski-Doo, and probably has an opinion about which is better.
Best of all, the fellow sitting on the lounge stool might just have the spare drive belt you need to continue your trip.
Grandview Resort at Priest Lake, Idaho, The Resort at Mt. Spokane and Beaver Lodge east of Colville, Wash., are good examples of warm roadside bases for snowmobilers.
* Unique from the rest is North Idaho’s Cascade Lodge, tucked away up the Little North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River miles from the nearest plowed road - a sort of missionary service to adventurous snowmobilers.
The lodge is powered by a generator. No power lines or phone service.
You can’t really book ahead, so you go there on faith.
Most people hear about Cascade Lodge by word of mouth, or they simply stumble onto it while cruising groomed snowmobile trails.
“It’s a hell of a fun thing to see the look on snowmobilers’ faces when they stumble onto this place in the middle of nowhere,” said John Nichols, who bought the lodge in 1991
The lodge was built by area residents Jim and Sue Brooks in 1976 on five acres of private land within the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.
“There are 350 miles of groomed snowmobile trails in this area, but the average machine can only go about 100 miles on a tank of gas,” Nichols said.
On weekends, four or five employees work to serve visitors, with one person busy most of the day pumping gas.
The lodge offers a basic diner-type menu and rustic accommodations.
Every Wednesday evening the lodge features a $6 all-you-can-eat spaghetti feed. The weekly tradition attracts dozens of riders from civilization for an evening out in the woods.
“Some people prefer to ride in the dark,” Nichols said.
On Fridays, snowmobilers have caught on to bringing their own steaks for the lodge to grill.
“We supply all the fixings,” he said. The cost is just $5.
To prepare for the sledding season before winter closes the forest roads, the lodge crew trucks in 5,000 gallons of gas, a few thousand gallons of diesel for the lodge’s private groomer - and tons of beer.
It’s a classic icon of North Idaho hospitality.
* Grandview Resort, with its spectacular view down Priest Lake, is another staple experience for the region’s snowmobilers.
A new groomer prepares nearly 300 miles of trails accessible from the parking area at Grandview, as well as other resorts around the lake.
Visitors from Washington must have a $20 out-of-state grooming sticker for one of the five North Idaho counties in order to use the groomed trail systems. A five-day visitor’s permit costs only $5.
“The Priest Lake area honors the sticker from Kootenai and other counties,” Rich Benscotter said.
The resort, built in 1936, has been operated by the Benscotter family for decades. They pump gas for snowmobilers, offer trip advice and rent accommodations ranging from $65 motel units to a cabin that sleeps 10 for $175 a night.
Rental snowmobiles can be delivered to the resort, where riders can take off on the area’s extensive trail system.
The resort’s cafe is open Friday nights for dinner, all day on Saturdays, and for breakfast and lunch on Sundays.
* Beaver Lodge, built on the shores of Lake Gillette in 1947, has become a popular snowmobiling hub east of Colville.
The lodge has RV sites, plus seven cabins that rent for $40 a night. The cafe and store are open daily.
“Most of our business comes from people in this area and from Spokane snowmobilers,” said lodge owner Robert Beeck.
There isn’t enough parking for everyone to start at the Mill Creek trailhead, but there are other trailheads at places like Flodelle Creek, about seven miles south on Highway 20.
Beaver Lodge is a popular pit stop for snowmobilers following some 200 miles of groomed Forest Service snowmobiling routes from Cusick, Colville and Ione, Wash.
“New riders like to make the 35-mile round-trip to Radar Dome,” Beeck said, adding that experienced riders often head to Old Dominion Mountain or Calispell Peak.
* The Resort at Mt. Spokane, formerly Kirk’s Lodge, is a roomy and popular stop for snowmobilers at the boundary of Mount Spokane State Park.
Sledders can take off onto about 60 miles of trails groomed by Spokane County.
Some routes through private timberland lead all the way to Spirit Lake, Idaho. But the most popular trips head to the Mount Kit Carson area, where snowmobilers, church groups and REI-sponsored volunteers have refurbished an old Civilian Conservation Corps day-use cabin.
The resort is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from, 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Fridays 10 a.m. to midnight, Saturdays 8 a.m. to midnight and Sundays 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The cafe serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. No gas or rentals are available at the resort. But overnighters are welcome.
Accommodations range from a dorm room with bunks for $10 a night to a private rooms for $40-$60 a night.
The resort is well-known for catering to groups for meals or overnights. An inner-tubing slope with a rope tow across the road from the lodge is a popular attraction for families.
1. BASE CAMPS The following Inland Northwest lodges are base camps for snowmobiling: Beaver Lodge, east of Colville on Lake Gillette, offers cabins, RV hookups, cafe, gas, propane and a store. Info: (509) 684-5657. Cascade Lodge, in the Little North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River backcountry north of Kellogg offers food, rustic lodging and gas on a groomed trail system far from telephones and plowed roads. Info: (888) 326-4611. The Resort at Mt. Spokane, on Mount Spokane Park Dr., offers lodging, cafe and a lounge. Info: (509) 238-9114. Grandview Resort on Priest Lake, offers lodging, cafe and gas. Info: (208) 443-2433.
2. FOR MORE INFORMATION Silver Country, a Wallace-based consortium of snowmobiling services throughout North Idaho and Western Montana, serves as a clearinghouse for accommodations, guided snowmobiling tours, rentals, maps and other services for roughly 1,000 miles of snowmobiling trails. Info: (888) 326-4611.