Kids Activities in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho: Our Complete Local Guide

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho is a beautiful place to live, raise kids, and go on family adventures! Our family moved to the area from Seattle in 2014, two of our kids were born in CDA. We’ve spent years exploring every corner of North Idaho, from lakeside playgrounds and hiking trails to bounce houses on rainy days. Coeur d’Alene offers the best of two worlds: it feels like a safe small town, but there’s always something for families to do.

Whether you live here or you’re visiting on a family vacation, this guide covers our favorite kids activities in Coeur d’Alene. It’s organized so you can find exactly what you need. We’ve included downtown adventures, family hikes, lakes and beaches, parks and playgrounds, and local family attractions that make North Idaho special.

In this guide:

• Downtown Coeur d’Alene with Kids
• Family Hikes
• Lakes, Beaches & Fishing
• Family Bike Rides
• Playgrounds & Splash Pads
• Indoor Activities
• Favorite Family Food Stops
• Family Attractions
• Toddler Activities in CDA
• Seasonal Events
• FAQ

Downtown Coeur d’Alene with Kids

Downtown Coeur d’Alene is home to Sherman Avenue, lots of local restaurants and many things to do with kids. One weekend, we took a trip downtown to celebrate my daughter’s 6th birthday. Our kids enjoyed playing on the McEuen Park playground and running along the paved walking trails. We ate dinner at the Dockside, located in the Coeur d’Alene Resort. Our table overlooked beautiful views of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Explore Sherman Avenue

Downtown Coeur d’Alene is a great area to explore and go window shopping. The main thoroughfare, Sherman Avenue, is home to many stores that are fun to stop by. These include Figpickles Toy Emporium, Mrs. Honeypeeps Sweet Shop, and CDA Idaho Clothing Company. You could even put your family’s skills to the test at Escape Game Coeur d’Alene. You also have plenty of restaurants to choose from in downtown CDA, and of course, coffee shops. Coffee lovers can sample their favorite brew at Vault Coffee, Coeur d’Alene Coffee Co, Fine Brewed Cafe, Evans Brothers Coffee, or Calypsos Coffee Roasters, just to name a few. Additionally, it feels like there’s a coffee shack on every corner in the greater Coeur d’Alene and Hayden area.

Play at the McEuen Park Playground

McEuen Park is a really fun destination for kids, located in downtown Coeur d’Alene near the library. Nearby is a spacious grassy area and a splash pad. The playground has a bunch of slides, walkways, and climbing activities for kids to explore. My kids love playing follow the leader on the playground and using the kid-sized zip line. Nearby, a toddler area has lots of activities for younger kids to do, including chairs that twirl and a sandbox.

The McEuen Park playground can accommodate a lot of kids and parents can sit on the numerous benches around the playground. It’s a great park to meet up with friends for a playdate, or to take kids for a fun-filled afternoon. McEuen Park is just a short walk from Tubbs Hill hiking trails and Lake Coeur d’Alene, so families could bring a picnic and enjoy an activity-filled day.

Play at the Fort Sherman Wooden Playground

The Fort Sherman wooden playground is right next to the lake beneath the shade of cottonwood and chestnut trees, in Coeur d’Alene City Park near the Museum of North Idaho. This playground is one of our favorite downtown activities for kids. My kids love exploring the wooden pathways, scrambling up the climbing nets, and going down the slides. The fort-inspired wooden playground has all sorts of things to climb on including a wooden boat, monkey bars, ramps and stairs. My kids enjoy going on the tire swing and even playing in the toddler area, which has cool features such as a wooden motorcycle.

Andy sometimes plays hide and seek with the kids, although the wooden passageways can be a squeeze for an adult! The entire playground is surrounded by a sturdy wooden fence. It’s very helpful to know that your kids can’t wander off. Parents can sit on the many benches and enjoy the shade provided by magnificent trees surrounding the park, and the playground is close to the Fort Sherman Park public bathrooms.

Ride the Historic Coeur d’Alene Carousel

Kids can ride the historic Playland Pier Carousel, which the city restored to its picturesque building near Fort Sherman Park. Whenever they can, my kids always want to ride any carousel! The beautifully painted horses and whimsical allure of a merry-go-round creates an enchanting experience that never gets old. The Spillman Junior carousel was hand-carved in 1922 and has 20 ponies and 2 chariots. It was originally part of Coeur d’Alene’s Playland Pier on the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene from 1942 to 1974. The carousel is open seasonally, and kids can pick out their very own horse and experience a glimpse of CDA’s history.

If the carousel happens to be closed on the day you visit, you can take photos in front of these artistic angel wings, painted by local artist Christina Hull. When you share your photos, don’t forget to tag the hashtag #cdacarouselwings!

Walk the Boardwalk Marina

A walk along the boardwalk on Lake Coeur d’Alene is the perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon and get some exercise too. You can also rent a boat, buy fishing supplies or eat lunch near the Boardwalk Marina. Our family has enjoyed many gorgeous lake views from the downtown Coeur d’Alene wooden boardwalks. We’ve discovered that walking down the boardwalk is the next best thing to being on the water!

Visit the Beach at Lake Coeur d’Alene

Lake Coeur d’Alene is a very popular place for swimming and boating in the summer. We often hang out at the beach at the edge of the lake. Our kids can play in the sand and my husband Andy and I can enjoy the beautiful lake views. The beach is also a great place to meet other families for a sunny day of fun. We usually bring towels, sunscreen, and sometimes a picnic lunch.

We often take our kids down to the lake near Fort Sherman Park to walk along the sand. Closer to downtown, we can walk out onto the pier near Tubbs Hill and another closer to the Coeur d’Alene Resort. On an average hot summer day, hundreds of locals and tourists enjoy the beach at Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Visit the Museum of North Idaho

Run by local volunteers, the Museum of North Idaho has a collection of items and artifacts relevant to Idaho’s history. Families with older kids will enjoy examining the exhibits featuring beaded Indian bags, a steamboat model and old mining tools. A visit to the local museum is a great way to discover the local history of this beautiful area!

Family Hikes near Coeur d’Alene

Hiking is a great way to enjoy the outdoors at your own pace, and the Coeur d’Alene area has many great destinations for easy family hiking adventures.

Tubbs Hill

Our family has gone on lots of hikes in downtown Coeur d’Alene at Tubbs Hill. Just down the path from McEuen Park, several miles of hiking trails on the hill provide spectacular scenery and views of Lake Coeur d’Alene. The main 2-mile Tubbs Hill trail is good for all ages and skill levels, including toddlers, kids, teens and parents!

We’ve really enjoyed hiking Tubbs Hill with our kids. When our kids were toddlers, we took them on the main trail for an easy afternoon walk. Now older, they like scrambling down to the hidden beaches and climbing over rocks. Tubbs Hill has some great rock scrambling areas and part of the trail even goes over a suspension bridge! On a typical Saturday you will meet lots of locals exploring and getting some sunshine on the many large boulders and beaches scattered along the trails.

English Point (Hayden)

English Point in Hayden is another great hiking spot for families with kids, especially since it’s right down the road from our house! The English Point Yellow Loop Trail is perfect for an easy afternoon hike. The 3.2 mile trail is fairly flat and surrounded by beautiful forested scenery, with tall pine trees and trails lined with soft ferns. We’ve taken our kids hiking at English Point in all sorts of weather, on sunny days and snowy afternoons alike. The trails can get a bit muddy, and people can bring dogs as long as they are kept on a leash. Visitors commonly enjoy hiking, bike riding, horseback riding, or birdwatching along these trails.

Canfield Mountain

Canfield Mountain is another great destination for an afternoon family hike. Located near Coeur d’Alene, Canfield Mountain Trails create a 5.3 mile loop with lots of great views and pretty wildflowers. This area is also used by mountain bikers and off-road riders on dirt bikes.

Farragut State Park

Farragut State Park in Athol is a favorite local destination for camping, hiking and exploring. This spacious wilderness preserve covers 4,000 acres, with hiking trails, bike routes and equestrian trails. Our family has enjoyed many afternoon hikes at Farragut, and we’ve also gone camping at Farragut State Park in our RV. You can even hike down to the shoreline of Lake Pend Oreille, or take a boat out on the water for the day. Farragut is a great destination for a day trip because there’s so much to see and do. We could spend hours exploring the scenic hiking trails and soaking in the beautiful lake views.

Painted Rocks Scavenger Hunt

On your hike you can look for birds and wildlife or search for colorful rocks. The local CDA Rocks community creates and hides painted rocks along the local hiking trails for others to find. Some of the rocks are meticulously painted by true artists, and many are marked with the community group hashtag #CDArocks. Our own kids have also enjoyed painting rocks and hiding them along our Coeur d’Alene community hiking trails.

Lakes, Beaches & Fishing

Lake Coeur d’Alene

Exploring the lake is always an adventurous experience! Lake Coeur d’Alene is very accessible and you can enjoy it in so many ways. Families can go swimming and play on the sandy beaches. Kayaking and paddleboarding are other popular activities, or you can rent a boat and a few jet-skis for a playful afternoon on the water. If you have your own boat, the various boat launches make it relatively simple to enter and exit the water at your leisure.

Lake Pend Oreille

Located near Farragut, Lake Pend Oreille is our family’s favorite lake to explore. It’s Idaho’s biggest and deepest lake — 43 miles long, 1,158 feet deep in some places, with 111 miles of shoreline. This beautiful lake is a great destination for boating, fishing and tubing. The Farragut Boat Launch in Athol is an easy access point for small boats and kayaks, with plenty of parking and a large dock. Once on the lake, you can explore for hours, soak up the sun, and enjoy tubing behind your boat. Lake Pend Oreille is often not very crowded because it’s such a large lake, with beautiful wooded views of hills and valleys on all sides.

Honeysuckle Beach (Hayden)

Honeysuckle Beach is a great recreational beach park located in the Hayden neighborhood area. This beach is less busy than the downtown beaches. Families can swim in Hayden Lake, play on the sandy lakefront shore, or use the public fishing dock and boat access. This park beach is close to public restrooms and a concession stand, and it also has a picnic area and volleyball court.

Take Your Kids Fishing

If your family likes fishing, Lake Pend Oreille or Lake Coeur d’Alene are great destinations for fishing with kids. You can easily get a fishing license through Idaho Fish and Game. For our family, fishing is a great way to teach our kids patience, perseverance, and some handy life skills such as how to gut and scale a fish. Lake Pend Oreille near Farragut State Park is stocked with lake trout, rainbow trout, and northern pike among other fish. Lake Coeur d’Alene is home to Chinook salmon, largemouth and smallmouth bass, trout, and others. Regardless of what you catch, your family is bound to have a fun time out at the beautiful lakes.

Family Bike Rides

Downtown Coeur d’Alene is one of our favorite places to ride bikes, with some bike trails bordering the beautiful lakefront.

North Idaho Centennial Trail stretches 23 miles from the Idaho & Washington border to Higgins Point. It starts near City Park and eventually parallels the Spokane River as it runs to the state line. This paved trail is great for family bike rides or going on a run, and it’s part of the Rails to Trails program, which turned former railroad tracks into bike trails. The stretch right next to the lake and Fort Sherman Park is especially great for kids to practice riding bikes. If you don’t have your own bikes, you can rent adult and kid bikes in town.

The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes is another great route for a family bike ride. This paved trail is 73 miles long and runs across the Idaho panhandle from Mullan to Plummer. I’d love to take our kids on this bike trail when they develop a little more endurance. You can start and stop along the way at twenty different trailheads and entry points, and take a break at any of the twenty different scenic waysides and picnic sites.

Playgrounds & Splash Pads

Coeur d’Alene has a lot of playgrounds in the surrounding neighborhoods and downtown by the lake. Young kids especially will enjoy checking out the different playgrounds, climbing structures, and play accessories available at each park. On a playground, kids can feel independent, practice their climbing skills, and try new activities such as the monkey bars or a tire swing.

After Memorial Day, Coeur d’Alene opens up the neighborhood and city park splash pads. A handful of local parks have splash pads including McEuen Park, Landings Park, and Bluegrass Park. Splash pads add extra fun to a neighborhood park because kids can play in the splash pad and then dry off by playing on the nearby playground. Many of Coeur d’Alene’s splash pads have motion sensors to conserve water usage during less busy times of the day.

Nearly all of the parks have bathrooms and some CDA area parks have picnic pavilions. The local parks in Coeur d’Alene and Hayden are a great place for kids to burn off some energy and for families to meet up with friends. You can find more details in our guide to the best parks and playgrounds in Coeur d’Alene!

Indoor Kids Activities in Coeur d’Alene

In addition to lots of outdoor beauty, Coeur d’Alene has many great indoor activities to offer which are perfect for cold or rainy days. Our family loves going out for breakfast, stopping by Triple Play, or swimming at the Kroc Center. We can always find something to fill up an empty afternoon!

Bounce at Jump for Joy

Jump for Joy is a favorite go-to indoor playground with a variety of bounce houses and inflatable slides. My kids have loved playing at Jump for Joy, from ages 2 and barely crawling to age 8 and fully able to appreciate all the fun that bounce houses have to offer. Open jump times are available for kids ages 2 to 10, and under 5ft tall, and young kids can explore the toddler area. I’ve spent many afternoons sipping a latte and watching my kids play at Jump for Joy. It’s a great indoor recreation area for kids to get some exercise. Jump for Joy also hosts birthday parties!

Roller Skate at Skate Plaza

Furthermore, my kids enjoy roller skating at Skate Plaza in Coeur d’Alene. This indoor roller rink is well maintained and has a spacious skating floor, arcade, snack bar, and nearby tables for parents to sit at. Of course, parents can skate with their kids too! We’ve gone to many open skate days and an occasional birthday party at Skate Plaza. Kids can bring their own skates or rent skates at the rink, and younger kids can rent a very helpful PVC skate mate to help them practice balancing. The rink also offers discount admission on specific days of the week, as well as deals on skate rentals, and hosts roller derby. The snack bar offers cookies, nachos, soda, and other snacks.

Play, Bowl and Swim at Triple Play

On special occasions, my kids love going to Triple Play in Hayden. This family fun center has bowling, mini golf, a climbing rope course, laser tag, go-karts, bumper boats, lots of arcade games, and a spacious water park. Kids and adults can try out the low and high ropes courses. Triple Play often offers package deals and discount nights for families to enjoy all of its main attractions. It’s a popular destination for birthday parties and special occasions, and a great way to spend time with your kids and experience a really fun family night out!

Swim & Climb at the Kroc Center

Huckleberry Hollow at the Coeur d’Alene Kroc Center is another great space for young kids to climb and explore. This play area has a large climbing structure with enclosed platforms and tunnels, a climbing rock wall, slides, and a smaller toddler area. It’s styled to look like a large tree and forested scene. Huckleberry Hollow is open during specific hours, which can be found on the Kroc Center’s website. Parents can sit and watch their kids play, and a nearby attendant also supervises the kids. I found it very helpful that my kids could use the nearby Huckleberry Hollow bathroom without having to exit the play room.

Gymnastics Open Gym

Avant Coeur Gymnastics offers an open play time for kids to get exercise on the gymnastics equipment. Kids can practice their moves on the balance beams and take turns jumping on the trampolines. My kids’ favorite activities are the toddler-sized gravity rollercoaster, kids zip-line and jumping into the foam pit. During the two hour open playtime kids can use the gymnastics equipment with their siblings or little friends. We’ve gone to the Friday open gym morning several times so my kids can enjoy the unstructured playtime. The gym also has room for moms to sit and talk, and young kids can play in the toddler area with smaller-sized gymnastics equipment, or use the upstairs playroom filled with toys.

Story Time at the Library

Next, the Hayden Library and downtown Coeur d’Alene Library often offer kids story time sessions. Kids can sit with their moms or by themselves and listen to a story read by one of the library staff. Reading time is a great way to get kids interested in reading books!

Catch a Movie

If your family is looking for an indoor activity, you can head over to the Hayden Discount Cinema. This family-owned discount theater shows a variety of recently released movies on the big screen at budget-friendly ticket prices. Families can easily take younger kids to see a movie in a relaxed environment. It’s not disruptive for parents to take babies and toddlers out into the hall for a break if they get restless. The Hayden Cinema is also a great place to go with friends to re-watch a favorite movie. One summer we took our three kids to see the Lego Movie 2 there. We purchased drinks and popcorn (at lower than usual prices) and enjoyed the show in a half-full theater.

Alternately, Regal Riverstone Stadium 14 shows feature films using digital projection, with stadium seating, a game room, and concessions. Our family has seen several memorable movies at Riverstone including Avengers, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and The Greatest Showman.

Family Bowling Night

Bowling night is a fun and competitive family activity for all ages! Sunset Bowling Center has 24 high quality lanes for both standard and thunder extreme bowling. You can play a standard bowling game or test your skills in one of their bowling leagues. The center also offers discounted family bowling nights on select weeknights.

Favorite Family Food Stops

Go Out for Breakfast

We’ve enjoyed going to many local restaurants for breakfast on Saturday mornings. Our favorite breakfast places include:

Blue Plate Cafe: This whimsical breakfast and lunch cafe is very family friendly, with an attentive staff and a great breakfast menu. My husband usually orders a big breakfast plate and shares it with our kids. I really like the omelets. Most importantly, Blue Plate Cafe has good coffee!

Chomper Cafe is another great go-to breakfast place for our family, located on Prairie Avenue. The cafe even has a kids play area with a play kitchen for kids to explore while they wait for their food.

Belle’s Brunch House is the newest addition to our favorite breakfast places in Coeur d’Alene. The menu has unique dishes alongside family favorites. The restaurant’s style is subtly inspired by Beauty & the Beast, complete with a cute “Lil Belle” kids menu.

Eat at Dockside & Enjoy a Gooey

Our favorite place to eat as a family is the Dockside, located in the Coeur d’Alene Resort. We often order appetizers to share, or individual entrees. One time our kids tried out the kids buffet, which they loved. The Dockside has a well-rounded menu with something for everyone. After dinner, we usually order one of the Dockside’s signature Gooeys. These oversized sundaes come with ice cream, syrups, and toppings served in a large goblet. Gooeys come in a variety of flavor combinations. My kids usually order a “Reeses” Gooey with chocolate and peanut butter to share.

Go Out for Ice Cream

Of course, no family outing is complete without an ice cream stop. You can choose from classics such as Baskin-Robbins or Cold Stone Creamery (at Riverstone). Other stops for ice cream in downtown Coeur d’Alene include Roger’s Ice Cream & Burgers, Mrs. Honeypeeps Sweet Shop, and Gelato By The Lake. I think it’s safe to say that your family will enjoy the ice cream, wherever you decide to go.

And here’s a local secret: Super 1 Foods has one of the best treats in town! Kids can get 25 cent soft-serve ice cream cones at the grocery store’s deli, generously sized for a child. Once I get my kids their cones, I can also grab some extra milk or fresh fruit in the nearby produce aisle. Super 1 Foods is a fun stop after meeting friends or for a “mommy and me” ice cream date. You can find locations in Hayden, Rathdrum, and in Coeur d’Alene on Kathleen Ave.

Family Attractions

Silverwood Theme Park

Silverwood Theme Park is a memorable destination for families of all ages, located in Athol, a short drive north of Coeur d’Alene. This is the largest theme park in the Pacific Northwest, with 413 acres, 6 roller coasters, and more than 70 rides, slides, shows, and attractions. Our family often gets season passes to Silverwood. This allows us to go for the day and ride all the rides, or just visit the water park for a few hours one afternoon.

Our favorite theme park attractions include the Timber Terror wooden roller coaster, Tremors wooden roller coaster, and the magic show. When our 7-year-old daughter successfully reached the 54-inch height requirement for some of the high intensity rides, she was very excited to experience them all. She eagerly conquered the SpinCycle, which sends riders 104 feet up into the air upside down with legs dangling. Her response after the ride? Huge grins and excitement all around.

Silverwood’s kids area has a great selection of fun rides for young kids, including a small kids’ Krazy Koaster, Tiny Toot Train Coaster, and Frog Hopper. See our tips for taking toddlers to Silverwood! Of course, you can’t leave without sampling Silverwood’s generous servings of delicious ‘single’ scoop ice cream.

Boulder Beach Water Park

In addition to the roller coasters, families can visit Silverwood’s Boulder Beach water park. Our favorite attractions include the Elkhorn Creek lazy river, wave pool, Riptide Racer water slide, and Rumble Falls. Kids of all ages can play in the splash zone at Boulder Beach’s huge water playground. Near the wave pool, toddlers can explore a scaled-down splash pad, complete with fountains and spraying curtains of water. Boulder Beach includes rides and attractions that parents, kids and toddlers can all enjoy together.

Bunco Off-Roading Trails

For adventure enthusiasts, the Coeur d’Alene area has many forested destinations and off-road riding trails. One of our favorite off-road riding areas is in the Coeur d’Alene National Forest, near the Bunco Road trailhead. Visitors can park at the lot near the trailhead and take their off-road vehicles, dirt bikes, RZRs, and side-by-sides into the forest. This area offers a variety of trails and terrain to explore for all ability levels.

Toddler Activities in Coeur d’Alene

Because two of our kids were born in CDA, we’ve spent several years doing lots of activities with our babies and toddlers. If you’re visiting Coeur d’Alene with very little ones, here’s our short list of the best toddler activities from everything above:

• Jump for Joy – the toddler area is perfect for little bouncers, ages 2 and up
• Huckleberry Hollow at the Kroc Center – enclosed, supervised, with a dedicated toddler space and a bathroom right in the play room
• Avant Coeur Gymnastics open gym – toddler-sized equipment and an upstairs playroom filled with toys
• Library story time – at both the Hayden and downtown CDA libraries
• McEuen Park’s toddler area – twirling chairs and a sandbox, right next to the splash pad
• The main Tubbs Hill trail and English Point loops – flat, easy trails we walked with all of our kids as toddlers
• A soft-serve cone at Super 1 Foods – the perfect “mommy and me” ice cream date

Local Seasonal Events

Coeur d’Alene has some great seasonal events all year round!

Summer: Families can go to the weekly farmer’s markets, Street Fair and the North Idaho State Fair. Toddlers and kids will love watching the local Fourth of July parade, and the city hosts an impressive Independence Day fireworks show on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Fall: Young kids and toddlers will love going to Prairie Home Farm. Picking out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch is one of our family’s favorite fall activities. Back downtown, the city also hosts an annual post-Thanksgiving holiday parade.

Winter: Just in time for the holidays, the Coeur d’Alene Resort lights up downtown Sherman Avenue for the Holiday Lighting Ceremony. Families can also take a holiday cruise Journey to the North Pole on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Coeur d’Alene with Kids FAQ

What is there to do with kids in downtown Coeur d’Alene? Downtown CDA packs a lot within walking distance: the McEuen Park playground and splash pad, the Fort Sherman wooden playground, the historic hand-carved carousel, Tubbs Hill hiking trails, the lakefront beach, the Boardwalk Marina, and Sherman Avenue’s toy stores and sweet shops.

What are the best rainy day activities for kids in Coeur d’Alene? Our go-to indoor spots are Jump for Joy bounce houses, Skate Plaza roller rink, Triple Play family fun center, Huckleberry Hollow at the Kroc Center, gymnastics open gym at Avant Coeur, library story times, and the Hayden Discount Cinema.

Is Coeur d’Alene good for toddlers? Yes! Two of our kids were born here, and toddler favorites include the enclosed play areas at Jump for Joy and Huckleberry Hollow, McEuen Park’s dedicated toddler zone, easy flat trails at English Point, and the neighborhood splash pads in summer.

What easy family hikes are near Coeur d’Alene? Tubbs Hill’s main 2-mile trail in downtown CDA works for all ages, English Point in Hayden has flat forested loops of 2–3 miles, and Farragut State Park offers kid-friendly trails with Lake Pend Oreille views. Keep an eye out for painted rocks hidden by the #CDArocks community!

When do the Coeur d’Alene splash pads open? The city and neighborhood splash pads, including McEuen Park, Landings Park and Bluegrass Park, are typically turned on after Memorial Day.

How far is Silverwood Theme Park from Coeur d’Alene? Silverwood is in Athol, about 30 minutes north of Coeur d’Alene. It’s the largest theme park in the Northwest, and the Boulder Beach water park is included with admission.