Make this destination your summer or winter recreational outing. The community of Sandpoint sits on the northwest shore of Lake Pend Oreille, surrounded by the Selkirk and Cabinet Mountains. You can fish, boat or swim in summer and snowmobile, ski or snowshoe in winter. A few RV parks are open year-round to accommodate visitors.
Winter Activities
Wax your skis and get your snowmobile winterized when the snow falls at Sandpoint. You can downhill at Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort, 11 miles from town, or head for more than 400 miles of groomed trails at Priest Lake. The Inn at Priest Lake RV Park is open year-round and allows you to access the trails from the park. At the Priest Lake Golf Course you can cross-country on a 9-mile trail. This area is about 15 miles north of Sandpoint.
Fishing
You can catch big fish in Lake Pend Oreille. The 65-mile long lake is Idaho's largest, and surround most of Sandpoint. Rainbow and lake trout are caught from the shore, or from your boat. You can clean your fish at the Hi Dee Ho RV Park, where the campground has cable TV, 50 amp hookups, showers and a laundry.
Boating
Get on the water in Sandpoint. You can bring a canoe, kayak, motorboat or jet ski to the lake and water ski, swim or fish. You can access the water from public or private boat ramps near town. Make your way south about 30 miles to Farragut State Park, where you can park your RV and camp overnight. It has 220 sites, picnic facilities and a dump station.
Hiking
Choose from three RV campsites on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille in the Kaniksu National Forest. If you choose the Sam Owen Campground, you can hike Sam Owen Trail #4, across the road from your front door. The first mile can accommodate wheelchairs and strollers and ends at an overlook on Owens Bay, with a beautiful view. Hundreds of miles of trails weave through the national forest. The campgrounds will accommodate large RVs but do not have hookups. They have toilets and potable drinking water.
Campground Considerations
If you're heading to northern Idaho in winter, make sure your RV is insulated and you carry a generator for weather conditions. In summer the national campgrounds offer sites that range from primitive to those that offer restrooms and some RV service. At some private campgrounds near Sandpoint, you'll be able to access 50-amp service, Internet, Cable TV, hot tubs, laundries and showers.
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