Schweitzer Mountain, Sandpoint, ID

Recreation activities abound in the Sandpoint, Idaho area. There is Lake Pend Oreille and Schweitzer Mountain to draw visitors to the community. Several well known businesses are headquartered in Sandpoint such as Litehouse, salad dressing manufacturers, Coldwater Creek, a women's apparel firm, and a large film festival.

Theodore Roosevelt went caribou hunting in the Selkirk Mountains in 1888. He felt the area was beautiful but very rough and tumble. Timber harvesting and railroads were the main industries in Sandpoint for many years after that and there are still Amtrak trains that run from Sandpoint to Chicago, Seattle and Portland.

Schweitzer Mountain is now home to a ski resort. It is eleven miles from Sandpoint. The mountain overlooks Lake Pend Oreille on the southeast side and three mountain ranges, the Selkirk, Cabinet and Bitterroot. Visitors to Schweitzer Mountain are just forty five miles from the border of Canada.

With a vertical drop of 2440 feet the skiing at Schweitzer Mountain Resort offers all levels of skiers a great time. They have ninety two runs and open bowls. They have a run that is 1.7 miles long called the Little Blue Ridge Run.

There are ten chairlifts which include: a high speed six pack, two high speed quads, one fixed triple, three doubles and three surface lifts. The skiing terrain is broken down to twenty percent for beginners, forty percent for intermediates, thirty five percent advanced and five percent expert.

When the weather doesn't allow for skiing, there are plenty of outdoor activities to keep visitors busy. Adults and children can play giant chess or checkers in the village daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. There is a climbing wall and bungee trampoline open daily from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. The cost for a jump is seven dollars and two climbs are five dollars. A combination package will give visitors the same activities for only ten dollars.

Self guided hikes in the Selkirk Mountains can begin from the village or at the top of the mountain after a chairlift ride. Disc golf is a different type of golf using a Frisbee; discs can be rented at the activity center. Treasure hunters will have fun using a rented GPS and finding hidden caches on the mountain. A photo scavenger hunt begins with the visitors own camera and a map from the activity center.

Tennis and lawn games like croquet, bocce ball, badminton and donkey ball are available during the summer months at Schweitzer Mountain. Horseback riding through the meadows with views of Lake Pend Oreille begin daily at 9:00 am and 1:00 pm. Visitors must be at least eight years of age.

Children's activities, mountain biking and huckleberry picking are more outdoor activities to be found at the resort. They also have a spa with massages, body treatments, spa scrubs and reflexology. Appointments are needed for any service.

There are three options for lodging at Schweitzer Mountain: Selkirk Lodge, White Pine Lodge and condos. They have swimming pools, deluxe rooms and several restaurants for their guests to enjoy. Sandpoint is just a short drive for more dining choices and shopping.