A chill settles over my body as the dark tunnel swallows my bike and me. I pedal hard, pushing for the light at the end of the 2.7-kilometre dungeon and keeping a sharp lookout for deer, moose and elk. The animals are elusive on the day I'm burrowing into the innards of Idaho's Bitterroot Mountains, but the tunnel's moisture leaves me a triumphant stripe of mud down my back.
The rugged Bitterroots stretch between Idaho and Montana, and the best way to traverse them is by bike. The 24-kilometre trail, known as the Route of the Hiawatha, was part of the Milwaukee Railroad, which was built in 1909 to transport cedar logs, and later moved freight and passengers until its bankruptcy in 1977.
Twenty-one years later the railroad was lifted and the gravel trail, complete with seven massive trestles and 10 tunnels, became a mountain biker's paradise.
One of the reasons is its gentle downhill grade that demands little if any physical exertion. The slope perfectly accommodates kids as young as five and seniors in their 80s and 90s. Over the course of 90 minutes riders drop 300 metres in altitude and find themselves surrounded by magnificent forests of fir, birch, pine and cedar, with spectacular views from trestles suspended 70 metres above the lush valley floor.
Along the way you pass the grave of a railroad worker who jumped off a moving train to avoid a fire in 1910 and was buried alongside it. Informative signs describe the riotous gambling, drinking, fighting and dancing that took place at the construction camps erected over the three years it took to build the railroad.
History hangs heavy over North Idaho's Silver Valley, seeping out and informing everything you do. After our ride we stop in Wallace, a small city that grew exponentially when deposits of silver, lead and zinc ores were discovered in the 1800s.
Some miners made a fortune from those claims but others were not as lucky. We venture into one of the latter, the Sierra Silver Mine, where Lenny Hoiland, a 30-year mining veteran, leads our tour. Walking us into the dark bowels of the mine, he describes the daily challenges and dangers of hard rock mining. By the end of the tour we wonder out loud why someone would choose such dangerous work.
Hoiland's eyes go misty. "I loved it," he reflects. "There was camaraderie, a sense of accomplishment and good money working in the mines. If I could, I'd go back in a heartbeat."
Idaho's summertime temperatures climb quickly into the high 30s, and with our kids clamoring for a swim we head to Coeur d'Alene, a city located steps from the lake that bears its name. Joining the locals we plunge into its deliciously cool water while around us parasailers soar into the sky and pleasure boats zip through the still water. We dry off on board a cruise of Lake Coeur d'Alene, as the captain delivers a narrative on some of the exquisite waterfront homes we pass.
While we're impressed with the lake and Coeur d'Alene's funky downtown, filled with gift shops and galleries, our kids are after a different area attraction: Silverwood Theme Park. The largest theme park in the Pacific Northwest, its 165 hectares in nearby Acton are divided into Boulder Beach Water Park, with lazy rivers, waterslides and pools, and Silverwood's land-based entertainment.
Idaho is known as potato country but those words don't come close to describing its majestic mountain ranges, exquisite lakes and plethora of outdoor activities. This hidden gem of the Pacific Northwest is full of surprises that keep the whole family engaged, exhilarated and entertained.
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