Sandpoint, ID

Snowshoeing in Sandpoint

I have always wanted to try snowshoeing and this year was going to be the year that I tried it. I started shopping around for a set of shoes and remembered my dad had an extra pair. I suggested to him to let me have the extra pair and I could try them out. He agreed and brought me the snowshoes. I thought it would be a good idea, since I was new to the sport, to try them out somewhere easy before I started trekking off on some long adventure. I grabbed the snowshoes, a pair of old ski poles and headed over to Traver’s Park. I wore my Sorels since I did not have gaiters to wear incase I got into snow that would be deeper than my ankle high hiking shoes. I found the snowshoes relatively easy to put on. I started out on the snow plowed path and got the hang of it pretty quick. I was ready for a bit more of a challenge. I carefully stepped off the path into the perfectly smooth snow. I began to “break trail” and suddenly found myself quite tired, quite quickly! I made my way back to the path and continued on. I now remembered that my dad told me they were quite a workout, now I see what he was talking about. To get to Traver’s Park, it is located on Pine Street, near the intersection of Pine and Lincoln. It is across from Sandpoint West Athletic Club.

snowshoeing around Travers Park

About a week later my friend borrowed my snowshoes and fell in love with them. She decided to go out and buy a pair for herself.  I was now lucky as I had someone to go snowshoeing with. We made plans to find trails around town to go on. I had also found on Schweitzer’s website that they offer snowshoeing classes. I contacted them via email asking when the intro to snowshoeing class was happening. They emailed back letting me know that the following Saturday a class would be offered and the charge for the class was the best part as it was free. I unfortunately had plans that came up and was unable to make the class but I intend to go before the season is over.

snowshoeing around Round Lake

My friend and I decided to go to Round Lake and trek around. She had been to Round Lake a few weekends before and thought it would be fun for both of us as it was a pretty easy hike. We arrived at Round Lake, paying the $4 entrance fee for the day use of the park and got our gear on. We headed over to the trailhead and began our walk. The path was slightly narrow so it did not allow my friend and I to walk next to each other. I followed behind her, stopping occasionally to take a photo or two. The 58 acre lake may be small but what is lacks in size it makes up in beauty. There were many people there, which surprised me as I had not realized it was a winter destination spot as well as summer.  We even saw someone camping, which I thought was a little hard core. Granted it was not 50 below, but I still gave them props as it is winter. Most of the people there were ice fishing, and a few like us were snowshoeing. We finished our lap around the lake in about an hour and a half. To get to Round Lake from Sandpoint head south on highway 95 for about 8.5 miles, turning right on Dufort road. Travel almost 2 miles and Round Lake will be on your left.

snowshoeing at Round Lake

We had been lucky with a few days of awesome sunny weather so we thought we would take advantage of it and head down to the Black Rock Trail with our snowshoes. It had been a while since we had gotten any new snow and the trail was well traveled. My friend and I hopped off the trail and headed down to the shoreline. This was a much better solution since it was wide open, allowing my friend and to walk next to each other and the snow.  Although the snow was hard as a rock in some places, it was unmarked for the most part, with only a few cross-country ski trails. We spent about two hours walking on the shoreline, making it all the way down to the Black Rock and back. On our way back we were awarded with the siting of three bald eagles. The trail is free, but they do request that you ask permission to be on the trail. You can go on to their website and register at http://www.penddoreillebay.com/ or call 866-877-3995. To get to the trail from 1^st street, turn right onto Bridge Street. Turn left at The Beach House restaurant and follow the road through The Seasons, about a 1/3 of a mile. You will reach a parking lot where there are several signs that say “trail” pointing to the trail head. The trail leads left out of the parking lot, towards the railroad tracks.

snowshoeing near Black Rock

The above are just a few suggestions from a newbie to snowshoeing. I am positive there are several paths out there in the Sandpoint area, but these will get you started.

snowshoeing by Black Rock