The reason for the trip to Spokane was not to cycle but instead to run one of the largest road races in the US, Bloomsday 12k. Cycling to Coeur d´Alene from Spokane and back was actually added later taking advantage of the opportunity of going to Spokane. Cycling the Centennial Trail to Coeur d´Alene has been something I´ve wanted to do for awhile now and it was a wonderful trail to follow.

From Spokane´s downtown to Coeur d´Alene it is about 35 miles, or a couple hour bike ride. It is an idyllic ride of about 20 miles along the Spokane River, until you enter Idaho where the route changes to highway, towns, forests, more rolling hills but also some great views!

I decided to take the bus to Spokane and of all the buses, the slowest one, the Amtrak bus, which takes Highway 2 instead of I-90. So the journey was 8 hours instead of the 4-5 it takes to drive (most just drive). Even the 5 hours on the Flixbus or even Greyhound would have been better but whatever. I was caught up in taking the Amtrak train over but since it left at a later hour I opted for it´s early bus option without researching. Completely insane! I will say it was the cheaper option because the bike was at no additional cost and it didn´t need to be boxed like some transit options might require. The bus ride seemed perfect for a trip to Leavenworth and was fine until Wenatchee…halfway there…but otherwise do not do this to yourself! Because it took so long and I wasn´t expecting it to the trip really gave me vibes as if I was traveling in West Africa again except without knowing it. Imagine a bus that takes way longer than needed and all sorts of entertaining stuff happens along the way (like the kid vomiting the next seat over while we went over the mountain pass, etc). I even had an actual West African guy behind me speaking French on the phone for half the trip lol. I got off the bus basically speaking French again myself…and beyond relieved to be outside and free to ride my bike!

A good chunk of the Centennial Trail is a paved bike path away from cars. However, there are definitely parts where you are on the shoulder of a road but at least it is a wide shoulder most of the time. Even in Idaho the route is mainly a bike path but again some parts are on the road. The reason for heading over Thursday was so that once off the bus I could jump on the bike and ride over to Idaho. My plan was to camp over night then return the next day back to Spokane. This would give me a whole day to rest for the actual 12k race. Once back in Spokane I also camped a night, but the night before the race I did stay at an Airbnb.

When I arrived to Spokane it was 80 degrees! Eastern Washington is normally warmer, but early May is a bit early for that. Given it was 50 degrees where I was coming from in Seattle, this was a real treat and well a little concerning for the race! The weather the next few days though was forecasted to be much cooler and there was even rain so the 80 degrees was just a fortunate blip. Once at the Amtrak station in Spokane I filled my water bottles and set off to Coeur d´Alene via the bike path along the river (just a few blocks through downtown from the station). I made sure to really take it easy, enjoy the ride over and take plenty of photo breaks because the weather blip although fabulous wasn´t going to last.

My experience along the trail was lovely; it was full of spring flowers in various shades of purple and yellow, trees with fresh foliage, some even flowering along the path, lovely shadows from the high desert pine trees lining a good chunk of the trail (Spokane is at 1700 feet elevation…this never dawned on me), the river was wide and full of plenty of water (sometimes raging by), gooselings ever so often appeared waddling near their parents, idyllic bridges needed to be crossed, people were out and about enjoying the warmth and I took in all the new places I´d never seen before!

The wide spring time Spokane River made the trip extra lovely as there are many parts where you ride literally along side it and even a few crossings. It was nice to be away from the busy roads almost the whole way and taking in the scenery. My favorite spot along the trail was an viewpoint that overlooked Post Falls in Idaho. It was gushing so much you couldn´t take your eyes off of it so I had to head over to the actual park to see it up close…it was only there that I realized a dam is built here to control flow. Either way springtime views of Post Falls is quite impressive!

The whole trip took under 3 hours for me and most of it was in Washington State…20 miles of the 34 miles of trail (to my campground in Idaho it was another 3 miles).

The last 10 miles heading into Coeur d´Alene was aweful though…in all honesty and being completely open that it was not for any reason other than it was that time of the month and menstrual cramps decided to hit at that exact moment. I thought I was just hungry but quickly learned no food was going to cure this. It was quite debilitating in fact…it was a struggle to keep going and all I wanted to do was get off the bike and crawl into a ball. Instead I missed my turn and was no longer on a bike path but instead Seltice Way…which is basically a highway with nothing around. The pain literally had me just wishing a car would hit me and put me out of my misery…thankfully that didn´t happen, I survived the menstrual cramps and as I later learned, this highway was actually the flattest and most express way into Coeur d´Alene besides I-90. I was actually quite grateful I accidentally took this route in the end because in as much pain as I was pushing back this route at 8pm was also luckily low on car traffic and the actual bike path is rolling hills!

Once in Coeur d´Alene I headed straight to the campground. There was no way with this pain I was interested in visiting Downtown Coeur d´Alene (plus I´ve been a few times) so I headed straight to the Tamarack RV Park (which has 4 tent sites). I quickly set up my tent for the night then went to the grocery store across the street for meds and such and found food before everything closed and that off in the distance rumbling of thunder rolled in!

I found a burrito place nearby and headed back to eat the whole thing very slowly at a picnic table as I waited for the pain meds to kick in and the warmth of the hot day to sizzle out. I couldn´t believe, I of all people, could be in a t-shirt at 9pm outside especially in early May! True luxury coming from Seattle! (Even through the pain I could enjoy that fact.)

It rained all night and I decided I would leave later in the morning because the forecast and radar showed it might clear up for the afternoon. It was pure luck this campsite was next to a great breakfast joint called The Garnet Cafe so I spent a bit of time hiding from the rain here and devouring a few items on the menu…lol before returning to pack up my tent in the rain…I should have waited longer because literally as soon as I was packed to go and biking a few blocks the rain stopped but whatever, at least I was on my way.

Feeling better today, I headed straight into downtown to wander for a bit then followed the lake back out toward Spokane. There is a new Mudgy and Millie statue by the waterfront (or at least I didn´t see it 3 years ago, last I visited) so I spent plenty of time getting a selfie with them ha ha. Once the trail ended I popped up to catch the Centennial Trail I completely missed taking on my way into town. It follows the I-90, has rolling hills, passes a freeway rest stop and travels under plenty of pine forest. The trail in Idaho was my least favorite overall because it literally was along the I-90 most of the time plus it seemed to be the hilliest portion of the entire trail (don´t quote me here). Though the bridge crossing into Idaho was definitely my favorite.

Basically once in Post Falls I took the same bike path the rest of the way back. The only difference on the return is I added about 10 miles and went even slower. The 10 extra miles were from exploring or shall I say revisiting the cute town of Coeur d´Alene (which is a must) and from biking through Spokane over to Riverside State Park (highly recommend this area to ride) where I camped the second night. This part was somewhat hilly yet fun, just above the river and seemed to attract many cyclists, which I totally understand. To arrive I went down a huge hill, which was the Doomsday Hill for the race. As I cycled down it I thought, ¨woah, where did this steep hill come from…, wait, is this the hill they speak ooooof?¨, maybe not the best news but at least I saw it before hand. The State Park had great but basic amenities and had tons of hiking trails across the Bowl and Pitcher bridge. I must say the river was moving very fast under that bridge…you would not want to have fallen/jumped in!

By the time I got here it was almost 5 PM, obviously I had taken more time on the return mainly because I had plenty of hours to waste lol. To my joy as soon as I arrived so did the rain cloud…so again I was quickly setting up my tent in hope to escape. The only problem was I needed dinner, so I stayed a bit but then decided to bare the rain to bike 20 minutes up the hill to get some pizza in the neighborhood. I was a bit soaked so I took my time again waiting out the rain so I could at least return drier.

In the morning I met with a friend and ran some of the trails at an easy pace given we had a race the next day. After packing it was off to the race expo for packet pickup before slowly (it was still early) making my way to an airbnb.

Exploring Spokane more this time I went the opposite direction along the Centennial Trail´s Northwest bank (along the river) to check out that area too before making my way to North Monroe neighborhood where I had an airbnb. This West side of Spokane along the trail was very residential with a lot of new modern builds and the path here had great views as well. North Monroe was more run down and residential, still nice, or even up and coming with hip bars and restaurants sprinkled in among the antique shops.

My suggestions for a visit:

This was the first time I actually got to know Spokane, Washington besides the usual passing through/overnight on I-90 or for a work conference so this time I had a chance to explore a bit more and this is what I suggest.

• Don´t miss Riverfront Park, built for World´s Fair in 1974 and be sure to search for the runners sculpture, the Radioflyer, the early 1900s carousel, the garbage goat and of course the Falls with it´s many view points at the park´s center
• Kendall Yards area and beyond
• Davenport Hotel
• Manito Park
• North Monroe or just Monroe (for antiques or a different vibe)
• Riverside State Park!
• …Next time I would like to hike up Mount Spokane
• Food/Beverage favorites this trip were Elliotts (unique food and brews), Hello, Sugar!, (yummy mini donuts) and Method Juice (smoothies and acai) and I wish I went to For the Love of God for pizza instead of The Flying Goat. Click here for more.

A much smaller city, but in Coeur d´Alene, Idaho I would recommend the following:

• A stroll along the lake (definitely jump in if it is summer) and through the college (North Idaho)
• Wander the main street (Northwest Blvd)
• Get a selfie with Mudgy and Millie
• Check out some great restaurants and breweries off N. 4th St.
• Most visit the Coeur d´Alene Resort (for shopping, etc) but I must say I keep avoiding it
• If you can, ride a bike out to Higgens Point…
• If not, check out the many easily accessible parks in town!

Bike Rentals in Spokane

Tamarack RV Park (Coeur d´Alene) SELECT TENT

Riverside State Park (Spokane)

More Details on Centennial Trail Trip

Spokane To Do Options