Pend Oreille County

 

Pend Oreille conty is easily accessible and surprisingly undeveloped, yet it has a sophisticated fiber optics system through the county. Just 30 miles  north of Spokane and stretching to the border with British Columbia, this sparsely populated territory and its towns closely follow the course of the broad, north-flowing  river of the same name.

 

The Pend Oreille River and the area's  plentiful lakes provide natural habitat for many species of game fish as well as eagle, osprey and heron. Deer, Elk, black bear, mountain goat, mountain lion, moose and grizzly bear also make the mountains and valleys their home.

 

The county seat of Newport sits on the southern banks of the Pend Oreille and the western fringes of Idaho. This time-gone-by town of 2,000 offers music in the town gazebo, a weekend farmers' market and treasure chest of local history.

 

Snowmobiles race across the river in Ione-in midsummer! As part of July's Downriver Days Celebration, the event draws stunned onlookers year after year. Seasonal  excursion trains take visitors through the spectacular foothills, crossing a 200-foot trestle above the Box Canyon Dam

 

Usk hosts the Kalispell Indians' annual Tribal Pow-Wow and puts on a spectacular Forth of July fireworks show. Just a couple miles up the highway, neighboring Cusick fills  the air with fragrance during the Pend Oreille  Valley's  Lavender Festival in July, then hosts the Pend Oreille County Fair and Rodeo  in August.

 

The North Pend Oreille Scenic Byway, part of the International Selkirk Loop and newly dedicated as an All-American Road, parallels the river to the Canadian border. Numerous diversions beckon along the route: historic, artsy Metaline Falls; the thin-arch Boundary Dam; pristine, pendant-shaped lake Sullivan; and nature's subterranean artwork in Gardner Cave in Crawford State Par.

 

 

 

Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge provides important habitat for almost 200 species of birds, 58 mammal, 8 reptile, and 6 amphibian species. It is an important area for birds, particulary migratory songbirds. It provides habitat for the threatened Canada lynx and other forest carnivores, and critical winter range for white-tailed deer. During winter, deer migrate from the north, east, and south to the west side of the Refuge, where the snow is not as deep as at higher elevations. bald eagles winter along the Little Pend Oreille River and have nested at Bayley Lake. Forest bird communities include a mixture of eastern and western species. Refuge, in combination with adjacent public lands, provides for species. Refugee lakes and marshes provide a spring and fall stopover point for migratory waterfowl. The Refuge, in combination with adjacent public lands, provides for species that require large tracts of forest habitat.

 

Wildlife Viewing Tips