Pend Oreille River Trail Proposed

Liz Johnson-Gebhardt of Priest Community Forest Connection stands near Priest River on Thursday while talking about creating a 26-mile, nonmotorized trail from Dover to Old Town, Idaho. “Having the National Park Service on board gives you clout,” she said. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)

From his office window, Steve Linton sees a growing number of cyclists on U.S. Highway 2, who share the road with heavy traffic that includes logging trucks, RVs and boat trailers. “It’s become a really popular bike route,” said Linton, a business owner in Old Town, Idaho. “I just wish we could provide an alternate route for them.” That’s the goal of the Pend Oreille River Passages Trail, a community-led effort to build a nonmotorized trail along 26 miles of Highway 2. The trail would follow the Pend Oreille River, linking the Idaho communities of Old Town, Priest River, Laclede and Dover, and traversing a corridor rich in scenery and history/Becky Kramer, SR. More here.

Question: Have you ridden some of the longer trails in the region, such as Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, Hiawatha Trail, or even a considerable distance on the Centennial Trail connecting Kootenai and Spokane counties?