10 Best Lakeside Towns in Idaho
Sandpoint sits on Lake Pend Oreille at the foot of Schweitzer Mountain on Idaho's biggest lake. Fish Haven and St. Charles share the turquoise water of Bear Lake on the Utah border. McCall and Donnelly anchor the Payette and Cascade lake country in the central mountains. Hayden Lake and Spirit Lake hold the panhandle's mid-size lakes in the Selkirk foothills. Each of these ten towns runs its downtown and its recreation within walking distance of a public boat ramp.
Sandpoint
Sandpoint, on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille in northern Idaho, runs a real year-round outdoor-recreation calendar on a 43-mile-long lake. The town of about 11,300 fills out with summer water-sport visitors and winter ski crowds heading 20 minutes up the access road to Schweitzer Mountain Resort. The Selkirk Mountains northwest of town hold the regional mountain-biking network.
The Pend d'Oreille Bay Trail runs a 3-mile out-and-back waterfront path from Sandpoint north toward Ponderay with views of the Cabinet Mountains across the lake. City Beach and the Sand Creek mouth handle the summer-evening crowd downtown.
Fish Haven
Fish Haven is a quiet community of 200 to 300 year-round residents on the west shore of Bear Lake, with the population swelling sharply through summer when visitors come for the kayaking and paddleboarding. Glady's Place Fresh Deli handles most of the lunch traffic, and Bear Lake Lodge runs the overnight side.
Bear Lake itself is sometimes called the "Caribbean of the Rockies" for its turquoise water and runs fishing for sculpin, Bonneville whitefish, Bear Lake whitefish, and the endemic Bonneville cisco. The Oregon Trail Bear Lake Scenic Byway runs along the east edge of town with historical scenery and overlooks.
Donnelly
Donnelly sits on the east shore of Lake Cascade in Valley County, with Payette Lake a 30-minute drive north. The town runs about 257 year-round residents and swells with seasonal traffic between the two lakes.
The lake is the standard option for boating, kayaking, and fishing (rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, coho salmon), with the City of Donnelly Boat Ramp 4 minutes south of the town center for public access. Tamarack Resort just south draws year-round traffic for golf, water sports, skiing, and mountain biking. Huckleberry Campground and the City of Donnelly Campground handle the camping option along the east and west shores.
McCall
McCall is a lakeside mountain town of about 4,300 residents on the south shore of Payette Lake, a 5,330-acre glacial lake in the central Idaho mountains. Ponderosa State Park covers about half of the lakeshore on the peninsula, with hiking, camping, and the Narrows Overlook giving the postcard view of the lake.
The Peninsula Campground on the west side of the park is the convenient public option. Downtown McCall holds the dining and outfitter scene a few blocks from the public beach, and Brundage Mountain Resort 8 miles up the road handles the winter side.
Cascade
Cascade is a small Valley County town of just over 1,000 people at the south end of Lake Cascade, with year-round fishing access and the trail network into the Boise National Forest behind it. The Crown Point Trailhead just north of town runs hiking with regular deer, elk, and bald eagle sightings.
Lake Cascade itself holds Kokanee salmon, yellow perch, largemouth bass, and rainbow trout, with ice fishing in winter and open-water fishing the rest of the year. North Main Street downtown holds Gramma's Restaurant and Palooza Basecamp & Eatery for the meal options.
Hayden Lake
Hayden Lake the town (population about 680) sits along Hayden Lake the body of water in the Idaho Panhandle, with about 40 miles of shoreline and multiple public launch points including Honeysuckle Bay on the southeast side. The bay also runs a public beach for jet skis, kayaks, and the family swimming crowd.
Downtown holds Parallel 47 on North Government Way and the Porch Public House on East Miles Avenue (the latter closer to the lake), with the Coeur d'Alene metropolitan area 15 minutes south for the bigger services and the Spokane Airport about an hour west.
American Falls
American Falls is a town of about 5,000 on the banks of the American Falls Reservoir, the largest body of water on the Snake River in Idaho. The reservoir runs serious rainbow trout, yellow perch, and whitefish fishing, with three public boat ramps and a visitor center at the southwest end.
The visitor center covers the area's history and the construction of the American Falls Dam, originally built in 1927 and rebuilt in 1978. Massacre Rocks State Park, 17 minutes south of town, runs trails along the Snake River and past preserved sections of the Oregon Trail.
Spirit Lake
Spirit Lake is a small town of about 2,000 people on the south edge of its namesake lake in the Idaho Panhandle. The lake covers about 1,500 acres with 12 miles of shoreline and views of the Selkirk Mountains to the west and north.
Fireside Park on the west edge of town off West Spirit Lake Road has public picnic tables, a pavilion, and a public boat-launch ramp. The Empire Trails on the northwest side of the lake run hiking and mountain-biking loops with the best of the lake views.
Ponderay
Ponderay is a town of about 2,400 immediately north of Sandpoint on Lake Pend Oreille, sharing the lake access and the Schweitzer-bound traffic. The Pend d'Oreille Bay Trail runs from Sandpoint up through Ponderay a few blocks off the main street, an easy bike or walk for the lake views. The Sandpoint Elks Golf Course on the south side of town is open to the public and runs nine holes with lake glimpses from some tees.
Farmhouse Kitchen + Bar and Sweet Lou's Restaurant and Bar handle the local dinner scene, and North 40 Outfitters in town stocks the outdoor gear for visitors heading up to the Selkirks.
St. Charles
St. Charles is a town of fewer than 200 year-round residents on the northwestern shore of Bear Lake, with the summer population spiking sharply with families coming up for the lake season. Bear Lake State Park is about 25 minutes south of town and runs 933 acres of natural lakeshore, with fox, jackrabbits, and moose all turning up in the brush.
The shoreline south of Lifton Road has public access pull-offs for sandy beaches and small-boat launches. The St. Charles Canyon Trail runs hiking and mountain biking up into the canyon behind town for visitors who want to leave the lakeshore behind for an afternoon.
Clear Waters in Idaho's Best Lakeside Towns
The ten towns above cover the spread of Idaho's lake country, from the panhandle's deep glacier-fed lakes to the south's Bear Lake turquoise and the central mountains in between. The year-round populations stay small and the summer populations multiply by an order of magnitude, which is the usual lakeside pattern. The towns stay small and the lakes do most of the work.
