Winter Activities

Looking for a fun and adventurous way to take in the fresh mountain air and beautiful views? Whether you’re a hiker or biker, Schweitzer Mountain Resort offers more than 20 miles of trails with amazing alpine scenery and see-forever views. Start in the village and warm your legs up as you head out to Picnic Point – with only minor climbing – to take in the sweeping views of the mountains and Lake Pend Oreille. From there, your options are wide open. For those looking for a pure downhill biking thrills, Schweitzer has many intermediate to expert options with a chairlift assist to the top; all downhill trails begin at the top of the Great Escape Quad and descend 1700 feet to the Schweitzer Village. Pick up detailed trail maps in the village.

Pine Street Woods is a unique place where people of all ages and abilities have the opportunity to be outside. The wide trails welcome strollers, wheelchairs, or friends walking side by side, and nordic skiers in the winter. Almost a dozen trails make for miles of hiking and biking or cross-country skiing and fat-biking in the winter.

Trails are for non-motorized use. Electric bikes are welcome. Horses are not encouraged at Pine Street Woods because of the numerous off leash dogs and mountain bikes that frequent the property. Also, our access road and parking lot do not accommodate horse trailers.

There are no usage or parking fees. Pine Street Woods is open to all and is supported through generous trail donations and gifts from users just like you.

Pine Street Woods sits adjacent to two other public access properties. Collectively, the three properties comprise the Syringa Trail System. As is the case for Pine Street Woods, the Sherwood Forest and VTT properties are also privately owned, but are not owned or managed by KLT. The owners graciously allow the public to enjoy these special places, only requesting that everyone respect the land, wildlife, and other visitors.

Pine Street Woods Trails »

Printable Trail Map »

With more than 9 miles of groomed trails, Farragut offers easy terrain and great views of the lake. Located on the southern tip of Lake Pend Oreille, about 40 minutes driving time from Sandpoint via U.S. Highway 95, Farragut is a crown jewel of Idaho’s state parks.

This intimate park, 10 miles south of Sandpoint on Highway 95 and two miles west on Dufort Road, offers seven miles of marked and groomed cross-country trails. Depending on conditions, there may also be opportunities for ice skating, sledding, fishing or a picnic, often served up with a roaring bonfire. $2 per vehicle fee; annual Idaho State Park passes are available for $15. For a map or more information, call 208-263-3489; or click parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/round-lake/.

Priest Lake State Park lies just 30 miles from the Canadian border, nestled deep below the crest of the Selkirk Mountains. Surrounded by the natural beauty of Northern Idaho and mile-high mountains, Priest Lake State Park sits along the eastern shores of Priest Lake, a 19-mile long, 300-foot-deep waterbody.

Visitors to the park will enjoy the dense forests of cedar, fir and tamarack and will be able to observe the park’s year round inhabitants such as the whitetail deer, black bear, moose and bald eagles. Noted for its extremely clear water, fed by streams cascading from the high Selkirk peaks, the main body of Priest Lake extends north-south for 19 miles. A two-mile thoroughfare connects the main lake to the remote Upper Priest Lake that is accessible only by foot, mountain bike, or boat.

Our nationally recognized mountain resort is only 11 miles from downtown Sandpoint, with 2900 acres for skiing, hiking, biking and magnificent alpine views and a resort village featuring premium lodging, dining, bars, fine outdoor clothing and gear, shopping, artists studio, and seasonal activities.

Family Fun Center, Bowling, Arcade, Good Food and Drink, and Pool Tables!

Discovery, connection, and lifelong learning through books and other resources; accepts library cards from around the world.

Creations’ mission is to promote the arts, creativity, discovery and STEAM learning. 

Creations partners with families, businesses and local organizations to provide educational activities that support student learning.

Creation teaches educational art classes for adults and youth through our Creative Hands Expand the Mind Program. The program’s key component is to offer skills based art instruction classes that are accessible to all Bonner and Boundary County children and adults.

Sandpoint has over 20 parks, public gathering spaces, or designated community locations. Here is a roundup of major parks that offer just about something for every recreational interest.

City Beach. Sandpoint’s premier park on Lake Pend Oreille is 22 acres comprising the tip of the Sand Creek peninsula. Its sandy beaches provide swimming in protected waters, with adjacent tennis and volleyball courts, playground, basketball court, covered pavilion available for event rental, boat launch and two marinas with tie-ups for itinerant boaters. There’s also an RV park. 102 Bridge Street.

Travers Park at 2102 Pine Street is the keynote park for what’s actually a complex of sporting park. Travers itself includes multiple sports fields for baseball, softball and soccer, a bike and pedestrian path, playground and tennis courts. Other features, and the immediately adjacent parks, include:

• James E. Russell Sport Center. New in 2024, the sport center provides indoors tennis and pickleball courts.
• Centennial Park. Just north of Travers Park, with soccer fields and picnic shelter.
• Great Northern Park. The next step north of Centennial, with soccer fields and restrooms.
• Concrete Lake Skate Park. New construction doubled the size of this popular skate park – which now abounds with features to challenge skaters and by square foot, is the town’s most-used parks.

War Memorial Field. Home for Sandpoint High School’s football, soccer, baseball and softball teams, this 4.5 acre multiuse sports was rebuilt in 2017 with a new 1,500-capacity grandstand and artificial that provides play from March through October. In summer, the field is home to the Festival at Sandpoint concert series. 801 Ontario Street.

Lakeview Park. Along Lake Pend Oreille adjacent to Memorial Field, this park features the Native Plant Arboretum as well as the Bonner County Historical Museum on site. There are tennis and pickleball courts, a playground, seasonal boat launch, and paths. 901 Ontario Street.

Farmin Park and the Town Square. Located at Third and Main, Farmin has a bandstand and in warm months hosts the Sandpoint Farmers Market on Saturdays and Wednesdays; right across the street is the Town Square with chess tables, benches and water fountains for kids in summer.

Hickory Street Park. This quiet park at 812 Hickory Street has basketball courts, a playground, small skatepark, picnic shelter and spacious lawns for frisbee and other games.

Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail and Sand Creek Trail. These trails frame both sides of the Sand Creek Peninsula. The multi-use Sand Creek Trail on the west side is paved and extends north for a mile-plus along the creek to the Popsicle Bridge from its starting point at 102 Bridge Street, just before the entrance to City Beach. On the east side, starting a quarter mile north of City Beach, the Bay Trail follows the lakeshore two miles northward with an unpaved path. Sandpoint Avenue trailhead.

Outdoor Shooting Range. Located outside city limits, approximately 4.5 miles west on Baldy Road, the range accommodates multiple shooters with rangemaster during its set hours of operation. 113 Turtle Rock Road.

See additional parks, get more information and find forms to reserve facilities at the City of Sandpoint Parks and Recreation Department.

At the 219 Lounge, we have been serving up the best drinks and live music in Sandpoint for over 80 years. Our full service bar offers a wide selection of liquor, beer, and wine, and we have the most beers on tap in town. Our outdoor patio and bar is the perfect spot to enjoy a drink with friends, and our live music every Friday and Saturday night is not to be missed.

Located at the East end of the Bonner Mall, Sandpoint Cinemas is a standard multi-screen movie theater with a full concession stand, showing new film releases. Check the website for showtimes and more info.

We are a Sandpoint art gallery and cooperative of local artists practicing in a variety of mediums. We invite you to stop in, see our creations, and be inspired!

This museum full of memorabilia reflecting military life and interesting photo opportunities is a must see for anyone who has served in the military or who has family who has done so.

The Brig stands guard over the grounds of what was the world’s second largest naval training facility. The Farragut Naval Training Station (FNTS) was a 4000+ acre land-locked seaman training facility. Built in response to the December 7, 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, the FNTS’s buildings and infrastructure were hurriedly constructed in 11 months by 22,000 civilian workers at a cost of $160 million. The Brig building served as a confinement facility for unruly naval recruits with its barred windows and gates, jail cells and support facilities. It houses a museum of boot camp, naval and war memorabilia dedicated to to the 293,381 naval recruits who received their basic training here.

Free, walk-in tours are available. These tours include the movie “The Power and Play of the Pend Oreille” and a walk with an interpretive ranger across the dam spillway and to the powerhouse generator viewing area. This tour takes approximately 1 hour and includes approximately 1/2 mile of walking up and down a paved trail. Tours of the dam and outdoor education programs are also offered year-round to community and school groups. Those interested may schedule a tour or program by calling a Park Ranger at 208-437-4617. 

Ranger-Led Activities

Interpretive Rangers from Albeni Falls Dam offer FREE outdoor education presentations, hands-on activities, tours or even a visit from Bobber the Water Safety Dog all school year long! Schedule a visit from a Ranger to your classroom or ask about field trips to the Albeni Falls Dam for a tour!

Programs Include:

• Animal Tracks
• Ants
• Bats
• Bears
• Beavers
• Birds of Prey
• Butterflies
• Fish
• Flowers
• Hydropower
• Insects
• Lewis & Clark
• Moose
• Native Americans
• Owls
• Orienteering
• Pollinators
• Rocks & Minerals
• Trees
• Watersheds
• Water Safety
• AND MANY MORE!!