COEUR D'ALENE INSIDER

Tuesday - Saturday  |  9 am-3 pm

BIRD AVIATION MUSEUM & INVENTION CENTER

2678 W. Cessna Ave., Hayden, ID

208-758-8355

​

Located at the Pappy Boyington Field (Coeur d'Alene Airport), Bird Aviation Museum & Invention Center is open year-round Tuesday through Saturday. 

 

DR. FORREST BIRD flew airplanes from age 14 to 91, was an inventor (National Inventors Hall of Fame, 1995), & bio-medical engineer.

 

About 20 aircraft from pre-WWI to the present are rotated. Visitors (drive there or fly in) will also see a remarkable collection of medical & aerospace inventions. Kids can enjoy an educational play area too.

​

Admission is FREE; however, a suggested donation of $5 per adults/$3 per child is appreciated. The museum is available for seminars, workshops & private events. 

​

Varies - Free!

May 14  |  5-8 pm (F)

June 11  |  5-8 pm (F)

MUSEUM OF NORTH IDAHO

115 Northwest Blvd., Coeur d'Alene, ID

208-664-3448

​

On the 2nd Friday of each month during "ArtWalk" (April - Dec) & "MusicWalk" (Jan - March) in downtown Coeur d'Alene, admission to the museum is FREE (during open season).

 

Upon arrival be sure to request a 1-hour FREE parking voucher from the desk. 

​

Discover the history of North Idaho through carefully-constructed exhibits. Admission costs are: $5, adults; $1.50, children. For hours, membership & more, click HERE.

​

2nd Friday - Free!

Tuesday - Saturday  |  noon-8 pm

NORTHWEST TATTOO MUSEUM

2934 N. Gov't Way, Coeur d'Alene, ID

208-665-6565

​

Housed in 1,600 sq ft of space, along with an active tattoo shop, this artistic museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, noon-8 pm, for self-guided or guided tours.

​

Look for an extensive collection of artists' design sheets or "flash", historical documents from early 1900-1980s tattoo subculture in North America, artifacts, vintage photographs & implements. 

 

Ask for historian/curator, Jay Brown, who is happy to provide a personalized tour & educational experience for museum-goers.

​

Admission is FREE; although donations are appreciated.

 

Varies - Free!

TBA  |  noon-4 pm

KOOTENAI COUNTY JAIL MUSEUM

7940 W. 2nd St., Rathdrum, ID

208-625-0014

​

Experience the first Kootenai County jail, built in 1892 - now a museum, thanks to the Rathdrum/Westwood Historical Society.

​

Visitors will see exhibits & news records; antiques, photos, artifacts & more - all contributing to the heritage of Rathdrum.

 

Open to the public, the museum is open from late Spring to Labor Day on weekends. A donation of $2 for adults; $1 for kids is suggested.

 

Group tours are available year-round upon request, weather permitting

​

Varies - Free!

Varies  |  Varies

SPRAG POLE INN & MUSEUM

(Walt's Historical Museum)

6353 Prichard Creek Rd., Murray, ID

208-682-2009

​

Adjacent to "Sprag Pole Steak & Rib House", this unique community museum features memorabilia from the late 1800s gold rush days - a world record hand-carved wooden chain (121' long with continuous links), expansive rock/mineral displays & much more!

​

Exhibits include: logging/forestry, Fire of 1910, mining, Molly B Damm, furnished rooms (school room, barber shop, doctor's office, parlor, Cataldo Mission, blacksmith, kitchen, post office) & more antiques that you can imagine. 

​

So what is a "sprag pole"?  It is "a word of Scandinavian origin meaning to support or brace with a stake or pole, used to support the building for snow load in the old days" - from souvenir Sprag Pole menu.

​

Admission is FREE (although donations are appreciated)! Dress warm.

​

Varies - Free!

Varies  |  Self-guided tour

POST FALLS HISTORY WALK

Post Falls locations 

​

For "locals" & visitors, this self-guided tour takes walkers to historical sites & provides insight into the lives & times of past significant Post Falls citizens.

 

These tour locations are on the National Register of Historic Places:

​

• Samuel & Ann Young's home, an unaltered late Victorian-Queen Anne style structure built in the 1900s

• Jacklin Center of Arts & Culture at the Old Church

• Treaty Rock Archeological Site with pictographs

• Washington Water Power Bridges

• Spokane Valley Irrigation Canal & Corbin Ditch Head Gate

• Falls Park, a 22-acre park with sensational views of the Spokane River & Falls, as well as a children's fishing pond

• Q'emiln Riverside Park, with a 40-acre trail system on the west side. Also has beautiful beach & picnic areas. What does Q'emiln mean? (Answer: "throat of the river")

• Captain John Mullan 14' Marble Statue

​

Wednesday - Saturday  |  10 am-4 pm

POST FALLS MUSEUM

101 E. Fourth Ave., Post Falls, ID

208-262-9642

​

See exhibits showcasing timber & tourism, along with military items & reminders of Post Falls schools no longer in existence. A favorite exhibit for many is a room full of 1950s furniture & household items.

 

Staffed by volunteers, admission is FREE (although donations are always welcome). Stop by mid-week through Saturday.

​

Varies - Free!

Varies  |  Self-guided tour

AVERY MUSEUM COMPLEX

10 Depot Rd., Avery, ID

​

A town full of history - Avery!

 

Lock yourself in the jail, stroll through Twin Grove Rail Car, get close to rainbow trout in the fish pond & observe a room full of history at the train depot (now a community library & post office) - all FREE & self-guided.

​

The complex, built in 1909 by Milwaukee Railroad as part of its Pacific NW extension, became part of the town of Avery in the 1980s when the railroad went bankrupt.

 

The depot served as an evacuation site during the "GREAT FIRE OF 1910". It has been placed on the "National Register of Historic Places".

​

The train car & jail are always open, & fish continue to swim in the pond & nearby St. Joe River. Depot is open on weekdays & Saturdays when Post Office is open. 

​

Varies - Free!

Call ahead for hours of operation

ANTIQUE GUN SHOPPE & MILITARY ITEMS MUSEUM

2658 E. Ponderosa Blvd., Post Falls, ID

208-773-1320

​

Open to the public & FREE! Glen Mattox's private collection features antique military items from numerous wars - rifles, handguns, cannons, swords, daggers, coins & Native American items.

​

Varies - Free!

Varies  |  Self-guided tour

FOREST CEMETERY HISTORICAL WALKING TOUR

1011 N. Government Way, CdA

208-769-2252 (cemetery office)

RIVERVIEW CEMETERY

1065 N. Lincoln Way, CdA

​

Stroll through at your leisure, map brochure in hand. Forest Cemetery is rich in history! Dating back to the early 1900s, the terrain is gentle & the 20.7-acre site is tranquil & lush.

 

Highlights are gravesites of Capt. Peter Sorensen, Frederick Blackwell, Joseph White, Edward Pulaski, Francis Bond, Clayton Henley, William Hawkins, the Betsy Ross Monument, Burl Hagadone, veterans' & infants' sections.

 

Learn about pyramids, obelisks, ledger stones, & symbols of Eastern Star, Elks, Eagles, Freemasons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Daughters of Rebekah, Masonic Keystone, Shriners & Woodmen of the World.  

​

Download narrative walking tour brochure/map HERE.

​

Varies - Free!

Varies  |  Self-guided tour

COEUR D'ALENE PUBLIC ART TOUR

Coeur d'Alene locations 

​

Take a FREE self-guided tour of public art found at various sites in & around CdA - including parks, trailheads, beneath bridges, in the center of traffic round-abouts, on utility boxes & bike racks - even on the ceiling of a library!

​

The whole family can view over 130 sculptures (metal, rock & carved wood), painted structures/murals/wraps, door inserts & more - look up, down, forward & backward - so none are missed.

​

Look for umbrellas, cutthroat trout, fiddler crab, dung beetle, sailboats, "Arocknaphobia", fireman's helmet, a bun to sit on, stegosaurus, giant bike chain, fish skeleton, "Forks in the Road", octopus, moose, blue heron, allium, rainbow bridge & much more.

​

Click HERE for the self-guided map & info about each piece of artwork & the creators. You'll find the names of the artwork clever as well.  

​

Varies - Free!

TBA  |  10 am, 2 pm

BUCK KNIVES

660 S. Lochsa St., Post Falls, ID

800-326-2825, ext172

​

See how Buck Knives are made in its Post Falls factory - made in the U.S.A.! Tours are FREE of charge on Mondays through Thursdays, but reservations are required, so call 800-326-2825, ext 172, to choose a date/time.

 

Tours last 45 minutes. Participants must wear fully-closed shoes (closed toe & heel). Children age 7+ are welcome.

​

Varies - Free!

Varies  |  9:30-11 am, 1-4 pm

CITY OF COEUR D'ALENE FIRE STATIONS

Headquarters: 300 Foster Ave.

Station 1 - 320 E. Foster Ave.

Station 2 & Training Tower - 3850 N. Ramsey Rd.

Station 3 - 1500 N. 15th St.

Station 4 - 6564 N. Atlas Rd.

​

Tours of local fire station are available upon request & last about 20 minutes. Included are viewing the fire engine & fire-fighting equipment. Talk to firemen too!
 

Birthday parties & groups are welcome but may not hold party festivities at the station.

Group size must be less than 30 with one adult per every 5 children.

​

Tours should be scheduled at least 7 days in advance. Call 208-769-2340 from noon to 5 pm, or email . 

​

Varies - Free!