Best Day Trips from St. Maries, Idaho
Day trips from St. Maries, Idaho — Old Mission State Park, Heyburn, Coeur d'Alene, the upper St. Joe, and garnet digging, with honest drive expectations.
The best day trips from St. Maries fall into three directions. North takes you along Lake Coeur d'Alene toward Old Mission State Park, the Silver Valley, and the town of Coeur d'Alene. West reaches Heyburn State Park and the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes in under an hour. East and south follow the St. Joe River upstream into national forest, or lead to the Emerald Creek garnet area. Most of these are comfortable half-day or full-day outings, and all of them require a car.
One honest note up front: this is rural North Idaho, and drive times stretch. Roads follow rivers and lake shores rather than running straight, and winter conditions change everything. Treat every estimate as approximate and check your own route before setting out.
Comparison
| Destination | Direction | Time needed | Best for | Best season | Key caveat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heyburn State Park | West | Half–full day | Cycling, lakes, easy trails | May–Oct | Check current closures at Chatcolet |
| Old Mission State Park, Cataldo | North | Half day + drive | History, indoor option | Year-round | Confirm your own drive time; longer than some listings suggest |
| Emerald Creek Garnet Area | South | Full day | Families, something genuinely unusual | Late May–early Sept | Reservation only, Thu–Sat, no cell service |
| Upper St. Joe to Avery | East | Full day | Scenic driving, fishing, solitude | Jun–Oct | Limited services; confirm fuel before leaving |
| Hobo Cedar Grove | Southeast | Half day | Old-growth cedar, short easy walk | May–Sept | Rough forest roads; seasonal access |
| Coeur d'Alene | North | Full day | Restaurants, shopping, lakefront | Year-round | Roughly an hour each way |
| Silver Valley / Wallace | Northeast | Full day | Mining history, skiing in winter | Varies | Longest drive on this list |
State parks and lake days
Heyburn State Park
The closest major destination and the easiest day out. Created in 1908, Heyburn is the oldest state park in the Pacific Northwest — roughly 5,700 acres of land and 2,300 of water at the south end of Lake Coeur d'Alene, holding Chatcolet, Benewah, and Hidden lakes.
What to do: ride a flat section of the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes out across the Chatcolet Bridge, a converted rail trestle around 3,100 feet long over the water. Walk the 2.3-mile Indian Cliff loop, which is foot-traffic only, or the flatter Plummer Creek Fire Trail. Get out on the lakes — Idaho Parks and Recreation lists kayak, canoe, and paddleboard rentals in season.
Practical: Idaho charges a per-vehicle day-use fee, generally $7–$14. Day-use areas run 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. under state code. Check the official park page before you go — IDPR has posted marina work affecting parking and boat launch access at Chatcolet, and that materially changes what a day there looks like.
Old Mission State Park, Cataldo
The most significant historical site within day-trip range, and worth the drive.
The park preserves the Mission of the Sacred Heart, built between 1850 and 1853 by Jesuit missionaries and members of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, and designed by the Italian missionary Antonio Ravalli. It is the oldest standing building in Idaho, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and listed on the National Register in 1966. Alongside the church are a restored parish house, a historic cemetery, and a visitor centre with the "Sacred Encounters" exhibition on the relationship between the Tribe and the missionaries.
There's a direct St. Maries connection worth knowing. Accounts hold that Father Pierre-Jean De Smet established the original Mission of the Sacred Heart along the St. Joe River near present-day St. Maries in 1842, and that repeated flooding forced the move to the Cataldo site in 1846. The mission you visit at Cataldo is the successor to one that stood on your river.
Practical: most visitors spend an hour or two. Idaho's per-vehicle park fee applies. Winter hours have been listed as 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; check IDPR for current times, which vary seasonally.
On the drive: Cataldo sits on the Interstate 90 corridor, reached from St. Maries by heading north along the east side of Lake Coeur d'Alene. Some listings understate this considerably. Check the route in your own maps app before you plan the day — it's a real drive, not a quick hop.
Historic sites and scenic drives
Up the St. Joe to Avery
The finest scenic drive in the area, and a full day if you go the distance.
St. Joe River Road (Forest Highway 50) follows the river east from St. Maries. Ten and a half miles out you reach Shadowy St. Joe Campground, with docks, a boat ramp, and a day-use picnic shelter — a good turnaround point for a half day.
Keep going and the character changes. Roughly thirty miles beyond, at Avery, the St. Joe enters its federally designated Wild and Scenic stretch. In total, <cite>66.3 miles of the river carry Wild and Scenic designation — a 26.6-mile wild segment and a 39.7-mile recreational segment reaching down to Avery</cite>. The water runs exceptionally clear; the Forest Service notes you can stand on a bridge thirty feet above it and see the bottom through fifteen feet of water.
Avery has a renovated railroad depot connected to the historic Milwaukee Road line, and a small store and café have operated there. Confirm fuel and food availability before you commit — services in the upper river are limited and can change.
Best for: fishing, photography, and people who genuinely enjoy driving. Not for: anyone in a hurry, or anyone who hasn't checked their tank.
Coeur d'Alene
Roughly an hour north, and the answer when someone in the group wants a restaurant scene, shops, or a lakefront town. It's a full day by the time you drive both ways and do anything worthwhile.
Coeur d'Alene is also where you'll find the airport renamed Pappy Boyington Field in 2007, after the Marine fighter ace who spent his childhood in St. Maries — one of several national figures with roots here. More in our famous people from St. Maries guide.
Silver Valley and Wallace
The longest drive on this list, northeast along the I-90 corridor into the historic mining country. Wallace is the draw — a compact, well-preserved mining town with museums and a downtown listed on the National Register. Silver Mountain Resort at Kellogg is the region's ski area, reached by a gondola from the valley floor, with published figures of 1,600 skiable acres across 67 trails and about 2,197 feet of vertical.
Realistically this is a winter destination or a committed full-day summer outing. Check what's actually operating before you drive.
Trail and cycling excursions
The Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes is the region's premier cycling asset: 73 paved miles from Plummer to Mullan, with twenty developed trailheads, twenty waysides, and a famously gentle grade. Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are permitted.
It does not pass through St. Maries. Every ride here begins with a drive. The two nearest access points are the Plummer trailhead and the trail sections within Heyburn State Park — and the Heyburn-to-Harrison stretch, crossing the Chatcolet Bridge and running along the lake shore, is widely considered the best section on the whole trail.
Management is split: the Coeur d'Alene Tribe administers the 14.5 miles from Plummer to Harrison, and Idaho Parks and Recreation the remainder to Mullan. Full trailhead and section detail in the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes guide.
Forest and something different
Emerald Creek Garnet Area
The most distinctive day trip in the region, and the one that needs the most planning.
You sluice for star garnets — Idaho's state gem — at a Forest Service site south of town. The Forest Service supplies garnet-bearing gravel and sluice boxes, and provides all tools; you're asked not to bring your own sifters, shovels, or buckets.
Everything below is non-negotiable:
- Reservation only. Tickets through Recreation.gov or 1-877-444-6777. No walk-ups, no tickets sold on site.
- Thursday, Friday, and Saturday only, from the Thursday of Memorial Day weekend through the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. Closed the rest of the year.
- $15 adults, $5 ages 6–12, free under 6, plus a $1 processing fee per transaction. Bring your printed ticket.
- 2 lb of garnet per person; one permit per person per year.
- No pets. No shaded parking for cars with animals.
- No cell service within 15 miles.
- No drinking water on site, limited shade. Bring plenty.
- Permits and the sluice area are a half-mile hike up a gated road from the parking area.
Getting there from St. Maries (per the Forest Service): Highway 3 south about 24 miles to Road 447, then southwest about 7 miles to the parking area. Watch for active logging traffic. Questions: St. Joe Ranger District, (208) 245-2531.
Hobo Cedar Grove
A quieter half-day, and genuinely special. The Hobo Cedar Grove Botanical Area protects 240 acres of old-growth western red cedar, designated a National Natural Landmark in 1980. Some of the trees are estimated at around five centuries old.
Trail #255 is a self-guided interpretive loop — roughly a mile — through the grove. The Forest Service describes a gentle gradient and a tread about forty inches wide, with occasional log benches, and notes it's manageable for older visitors and those with moderate physical limitations. There's a picnic area with vault toilets, no fee, and no potable water. The site is listed as May through September.
Access from St. Maries is via Forest Highway 50 to Forest Road 321 at Marble Creek, then Forest Road 3357. These are forest roads — expect gravel, potholes, and logging traffic, and check conditions with the ranger district before setting out. Not a route for a low-clearance car after weather.
How to choose
- Short on time? Heyburn. Closest, most to do, least driving.
- Travelling with kids? Emerald Creek if you can get a Thursday-to-Saturday slot in season. Otherwise Heyburn.
- Bad weather? Old Mission — the visitor centre and exhibition give you an indoor day.
- Want to drive and see country? Up the St. Joe toward Avery.
- Cyclists? Heyburn to Harrison on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes.
- Want a proper restaurant meal? Coeur d'Alene.
- History? Old Mission, then Wallace if you have the appetite for the drive.
Know before you go
- Confirm your own drive times. Distances in rural North Idaho are longer than they look on a map, and some published figures for this area are unreliable.
- Fuel up in town. Services thin out fast in every direction.
- Cell service is unreliable to nonexistent outside town. Download maps before you go.
- Book Emerald Creek in advance. It cannot be improvised.
- Check forest road conditions with the St. Joe Ranger District, 222 S. 7th St. Suite 1, St. Maries, (208) 245-2531, before any drive on unpaved roads.
- Check state park closures with Idaho Parks and Recreation before Heyburn or Old Mission.
- Winter changes everything. Check Idaho 511 for highway conditions and carry chains.
- Fishing anywhere requires a current Idaho licence and compliance with Idaho Fish and Game rules.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best day trip from St. Maries? Heyburn State Park for most visitors — it's the closest, has the widest range of activities, and involves the least driving. If you're more interested in history, Old Mission State Park at Cataldo is the standout, preserving the oldest standing building in Idaho. Families with a summer Thursday-to-Saturday window should look at garnet digging at Emerald Creek.
How far is Old Mission State Park from St. Maries? It's north, on the Interstate 90 corridor at Cataldo, reached by driving up the east side of Lake Coeur d'Alene. Some listings substantially understate the distance — check the route in your own maps app before planning your day. Most visitors spend one to two hours at the park itself, so budget accordingly.
Can I ride the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes from St. Maries? Not directly. The trail runs 73 miles between Plummer and Mullan and does not pass through St. Maries, so every ride starts with a drive. The nearest access is the Plummer trailhead or the sections inside Heyburn State Park. The Heyburn-to-Harrison stretch, crossing the Chatcolet Bridge, is the most popular section on the entire trail.
How do I dig for garnets near St. Maries? At the Emerald Creek Garnet Area, south of town off Highway 3. It's reservation-only through Recreation.gov — no walk-ups — and open Thursday through Saturday from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. Adults are $15, children 6–12 are $5, and there's no cell service within fifteen miles, so book and download directions before you leave.
Is Coeur d'Alene a good day trip from St. Maries? Yes, if you want the things a bigger town offers — restaurants, shops, a lakefront. It's roughly an hour north, so it's a full day by the time you drive both ways. Many visitors do it once mid-stay, when they want a change of pace.
Are the forest roads passable in a regular car? Sometimes, and it depends heavily on the road and the season. Routes to Hobo Cedar Grove and Emerald Creek involve forest roads with gravel, potholes, and logging traffic. Conditions change with weather and are not maintained to highway standard. Call the St. Joe Ranger District at (208) 245-2531 before committing, especially outside midsummer.
735 Elm Drive sits close to the highway junctions that lead to everything above — north toward the lake and the Silver Valley, east up the river, south toward the garnet country. Our weekend guide covers how to fit a day trip into a short stay.