Coeur d’Alene, Idaho’s largest city, is often referred to as simply CDA and is a haven for outdoor pursuits. Ever hit a golf ball on a free-floating green? Only if you’ve already been to CDA. Nicknamed the Lake City, CDA is the perfect blend of city life, resort town, and natural oasis. The lake offers endless fun in the summer, many resorts are ready to cater to your every whim, and the city is filled with good restaurants, bars, and shopping centers.

Coeur d’Alene is also a great jumping off point for exploring the surrounding portion of Idaho and a bit of Washington State. It’s close to Spokane, which is known for its gorgeous parks and the annual Lilac Festival. Several ski resorts are also located within a 90-minute (or less) drive of CDA. You could even stay in Coeur d’Alene and do a single skiing day-trip on your winter vacation to Idaho.

Lake Coeur d’Alene is a water sports paradise in the summer. You could simply swim in the lake, but why do only that when you can also parasail and wakeboard? Waterskiing is also big business on this lake. You can rent a boat, water skis, and even a guide to drive the boat for you. If you’d rather stay in the boat, but still want to put forth a little effort, why not take a kayaking trip on the lake? It’s quite a large lake so there’s plenty of space to take on all these activities and more. If you like fishing, you can do that in Lake CDA, too – bass, trout, and salmon can all be found in the depths.

CDA is extremely popular and is one of the biggest tourist areas in the region. But all that means is there are plenty of resorts, restaurants, and tourism workers ready to help you orient yourself to the area. It also means there is an abundance of ice cream stands in the summer (because we all know that a good ice cream cone is one of the best parts of summer vacation).

Several festivals attract tourists every year and the city is busiest at those times. In June Coeur d’Alene becomes Car d’Alene for a car show where just about any style of car, new or old, can be shown off with pride. In the same month, the town hosts an Ironman Triathlon called Ironman Coeur d’Alene in which participants swim in Lake Coeur d’Alene, bike a course through surrounding rural areas, and then run through the city and along the lake.

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