West
West
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Northern Idaho lake country at 2,200 feet, where the only floating green in golf gets its own boat and the better course is 25 miles south.
Overview
Coeur d'Alene sits at about 2,200 feet in the forested lake country of the Idaho Panhandle, a half-hour east of Spokane and built around a 25-mile-long glacial lake that the whole town orients itself toward. It is a resort town in the honest sense: marina, boardwalk, downtown blocks you can actually walk after dinner, and a summer season that runs hot and bright from June through September. Groups come here for a bucket-list photograph and stay for the scenery, which is genuinely the equal of anywhere in the Northwest.
The golf is a two-course trip, and the two courses do different jobs. The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course, a Scott Miller design from 1991, plays 6,803 yards to a par 71 along the lakefront and is famous worldwide for its 14th hole, the only floating green in golf, anchored out in the water and reached by a boat shuttle. It is a gimmick and everybody knows it, and it is also enormously fun. Circling Raven Golf Club, 25 miles south in Worley at the Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort, is the real golf course of the pair: 7,189 yards of Gene Bates routing through wetland and pine, routinely ranked the number one casino course in America, and roughly a third of the resort's green fee.
Practically, this is a two-full-days destination with a car. The courses are 25 miles apart, so pairing them in one day is possible but rushed and misses the point of each. At 2,200 feet the altitude bump is modest, in the neighborhood of four percent of carry, enough to matter on a long iron and not enough to rewrite your yardage book. The town suits mixed groups well, since Lake Coeur d'Alene absorbs non-golfers all day with boats, paddleboards, and the scenic drive down the east shore, and the resort itself keeps everything within a short walk.
Courses · 2
The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course
Resort · Moderate
$225-$270
Best for: The photograph and the experience. It is a manageable, scenic, resort-conditioned course that a mixed-skill foursome will enjoy without getting beaten up, and the 14th is a genuine once-in-a-lifetime.
Insider tip: Embrace the floating green rather than fighting it. Take the photo, take the boat, bring a spare ball, and enjoy doing something you cannot do anywhere else. At 2,200 feet you pick up roughly four percent of carry, which on the short par-3 14th means one less club than your gut says. Plenty of players fly the island long.
Circling Raven Golf Club
Resort (Casino) · Championship
$85-$150
Best for: Serious golfers and anyone who wants the best pure golf on the trip. At 7,189 yards from the back it has real teeth, but generous fairways keep it playable for a mixed group from the correct tees.
Insider tip: This is the better golf course of the two and it costs roughly a third as much, so do not skip it chasing the floating green. Play it early in the trip while your legs are fresh, because 7,189 yards walks long. The 2,200-foot elevation adds about four percent of carry, most noticeable on the long par 4s where an extra ten yards changes your approach club.
Lodging
Premium
The Coeur d'Alene Resort
$200-$600The lakefront anchor of the whole town, with a spa, a marina, and Beverly's and Dockside on site. Staying here is the practical route to prime tee times on the resort course. Lake-view rooms carry a premium worth paying for at least one night, and the property handles groups comfortably.
Mid-Range
Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort (Worley)
$100-$250A full casino resort in Worley with Circling Raven directly on site, about 25 miles south of town. Rooms are large and well priced, and the stay-and-play math is excellent if Circling Raven is the course you care most about. The trade-off is distance from downtown and the lake, so it suits golf-focused groups more than mixed ones.
The Roosevelt Inn
$150-$300A historic bed and breakfast in downtown Coeur d'Alene, walkable to the boardwalk, bars, and restaurants. Rooms are individual and characterful rather than uniform, so a group will not get matching accommodations. Good value and a nice change of pace from resort sameness for smaller parties.
Dining
Beverly's at the Coeur d'Alene Resort
$$$$American / Fine Dining
The resort's signature restaurant on the seventh floor, where the lake views do a lot of the work and the wine cellar does the rest. This is the big group dinner of the trip. Reserve well ahead in July and August and ask for a window table at sunset.
Dockside Restaurant
$$$American / Seafood
The resort's casual waterfront option, right on the marina level. Easy lunch after a round or a low-key dinner when nobody wants to change clothes. Known locally for oversized ice cream desserts, which is a fine way to end a day.
The Cedars Floating Restaurant
$$$Seafood
A restaurant literally floating on the water where the Spokane River leaves the lake, moored and turning slowly in the current. Steak and seafood done well, and the novelty pairs neatly with a trip built around a floating green. Reserve for groups.
Moon Time
$$American / Creative
A downtown local favorite with a strong beer list and an inventive pub menu. This is where you go when the group has had enough resort dining. No reservations, so arrive early or expect a wait on summer evenings.
Pro Tips
- 1
Do not skip Circling Raven. It is the better golf course by a clear margin and costs roughly a third of the resort rate, so the value math is not close. Build the trip around playing it well rather than treating it as a filler round.
- 2
The floating green is a gimmick and that is fine. Take the boat, take the photo, and bring a spare ball. Fighting the novelty is the only way to have a bad time on the 14th.
- 3
Give each course its own day. They are 25 miles apart, and a 36-hole day means a rushed lunch in the car and two half-appreciated rounds. Two full days is the right shape for this trip.
- 4
At 2,200 feet you gain about four percent of carry. That is roughly six yards on a 150-yard shot and a full club on a long iron. It matters most on the short par 3s, where flying the green is the common error.
- 5
Book July and August months ahead, or go in September. The peak-summer window is genuinely full at the resort, while September delivers 70s, gold larch in the hills, and far easier tee sheets.
- 6
Take a non-golf half day on the lake. Boating, paddleboarding, or the scenic drive down the east shore to Harrison is what separates this trip from a generic two-course weekend, and it keeps non-golfing partners happy.
Sample Itineraries
weekend getaway
3 daysDay 1: Fly into Spokane, drive 45 minutes east on I-90, check into The Coeur d'Alene Resort, and shake off the travel with a walk on the boardwalk and dinner at Dockside. Day 2: Early run south to Worley for a full round at Circling Raven, lunch at the casino, then back to town for dinner at Beverly's with the lake going gold out the seventh-floor windows. Day 3: Morning round at The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course, boat out to the 14th and take the photograph, quick lunch on the marina, and drive back to Spokane. Tight, but it hits everything.
full trip
5 daysDay 1: Arrive from Spokane, settle in at The Coeur d'Alene Resort, and get dinner and a beer list at Moon Time downtown. Day 2: Full day at Circling Raven while everyone is fresh, 7,189 yards and worth the legs, then dinner at The Cedars Floating Restaurant on the water. Day 3: Round at The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course with the boat ride to the floating green, afternoon on the lake with a rental boat or paddleboards, dinner at Beverly's. Day 4: Replay whichever course the group argued about, or take a golf-free day for the Lake Coeur d'Alene Scenic Byway down to Harrison and a stretch of the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes on bikes; casual dinner at Dockside. Day 5: Optional early nine, a last walk around Tubbs Hill, and the drive back to GEG. Five days lets you play both courses twice and still use the lake properly.
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