Coeur d’Alene, Idaho – McEuen Park, Tubbs Hill, Luby Bay (up north) and more. . .

As I’ve mentioned before – we spent 10 wonderful days in the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho area (see our post about the 4th of July here). During that time we did a LOT of free activities and I thought I’d share some of our favorites.

We spent at least two different afternoons down at McEuen Park – this is a must-see park, it has so much to offer.

On one particularly hot day (temps were reaching into the 90s!) we took the kids down to the McEuen Park spray pad. This free public spray pad was a lot of fun.

The kids LOVED all the water features.

They ran around for over an hour, playing and giggling, with their second cousins from the area.

They got SOAKED – that’s the point of a spray park, right!?!  It was definitely the perfect remedy to beat the heatwave we were experiencing. The adults sat at a picnic table in some awesome shade with a great view of the water fun. I got to catch up with my cousin, who lives in the area and I haven’t seen in awhile. 🙂

After playing in the spray park we headed over the playground and the kids played there. It’s also a fantastic place for kids to get the wiggles out.

The playground even has a musical instrument feature, which my kids took full advantage of.

Rock to climb looking over the spray park.

On another hot afternoon we decided to hike Tubbs Hill. It was highly recommended by friends and local guide books. The hike around the perimeter of the hill is about two miles, the terrain is mild and the views spectacular.

If it’s a hot day – I recommend packing WATER, we definitely went through the water we packed. If I was to do this again, on a hot day, I’d pack our Camelbaks. The kids did a great job with the hike – but I think the primary reason for this was that we did some geocaching during the hike! This really motivates my kids to hike with a purpose and I find we get a little less whining.

The first geocache we found we near the main of the trail. It was well hidden – it took us about 20 minutes to find it, but the kids were so excited when we finally did. My daughter found a Minnie Mouse ring and we left behind a pin. {Learn more about geocaching here}

A little farther down the trail there was another geocache – but to access it you had to hike UP! We walked nearly to the top of Tubbs Hill and found a big geocache – the kids were so excited! It was a bit of a hike up in elevation, but so many treasures it was worth it. . .

And the view was amazing! Liam signed the logbook, which had lots and lots of other visitors before us.

Another shot to show you the view from up here – it’s worth the hike, for sure. Whether you’re geocaching or not, I definitely recommend taking an afternoon and hiking Tubbs Hill. And if you have little ones – be sure to check out the spray park. You can find both of these at McEuen Park.

The day before we left Coeur d’Alene we took a day trip up to Priest Lake – Luby Bay. My aunt and uncle have a cabin up near there and they love this area so much. I can see why! We spent nearly the entire day playing in the water. The Luby Bay beach area has really mild slope – so the water says pretty shallow for quite a ways out. This makes it especially good for kiddos! The beach is a soft sand, not too rocky, which also adds to it’s charm. Here my son paddle boards for the first time!

My daughter paddle boarding for the first time. They played in the water all day. I even hopped in a kayak and headed out to the lake. It’s so peaceful and definitely worth checking out. They have a campground at Luby Bay, too – in case your interested in tent camping. We didn’t take our trailer up here because we heard the campground can be hard to navigate with trailers – maybe we’ll go back after we get some more experience towing and maneuvering!

The general theme of our stay in Coeur d’Alene was WATER FUN.  My kids LOVED it. We did too.

Whether we were watching the fireworks over the lake, swimming in the Couer d’Alene river at our RV park (we stayed at Blackwell RV Park), playing in the McEuen spray pad, playing in Priest Lake at Luby Bay, or enjoying the breathtaking views of the lakes and rivers in the area – it definitely is a community built around water recreation.

If you have a favorite activity, place or restaurant in the Coeur d’Alene area – leave a comment and let us know!

Last summer, for a trip to Disneyland, we ordered these CamelBak Kid’s Mini M.U.L.E. Hydration Pack for our kids and we LOVE them. They are the perfect size for a couple snacks and they hold plenty of water for the kids. Definitely worth the investment if you’re out with your kids hiking or on the go. They use them with and without the water insert, depending on what we are doing. We have adult Camelbaks that we take as well and again – they are worth every penny not having to lug around a water bottle or in my case, a purse.

Best Easy Day Hikes Spokane/Coeur d’Alene (Best Easy Day Hikes Series) – $8.56