Heyburn State Park is 40 miles south of Coeur d’Alene in Idaho.

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe are the native people of the region. They lived here for thousands of years before the arrival of the fur traders, prospectors and settlers who came in and overran their homeland.

President Grant established the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation in 1873, granting the tribe a greatly reduced homeland of roughly 600,000 acres. Over the next 35 years, the reservation dwindled further to 345,000 acres. One of the reductions was to establish Heyburn State Park.  

The park was established in 1908 by President Taft and named for Weldon Heyburn, U.S. Senator from Idaho.  It is the oldest state park in the Pacific Northwest.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) performed much of the early construction.  Between 1934 and 1941, the CCC built roads, trails, bridges, campgrounds, picnic areas, shelters, and the Rocky Point Lodge. Today, many of these facilities are still in use and are a proud legacy of the CCC.

Site Review:

There are 72 standard sites and 57 serviced sites at Heyburn State Park. Of the serviced sites, 8 have full hook-ups.

The sites are located in 3 campground areas:

• Chatcolet Campground –this campground is located closest to most of the amenities within the park. The sites are unserviced
• Hawley’s Landing Campground- The Hawley’s Landing Campground features 52 campsites. Forty-two of these campsites have water and electricity hook-ups. The remaining ten campsites are for tent camping and are on a separate loop of the campground. The campground access roads and parking spurs are all gravel surfaced. A short trail leads down to the lake shore where a dock is provided for those who wish to moor their boats while camping. 
• Benewah Lake Campground- this campground is the furthest away from the park’s main hub. You will have to drive if you want to access the other areas. The full-service sites are located here.

Benewah Lake Campground

Benewah Campground has 39 sites: 24 are unserviced, 7 have electricity and water and 8 have full hookups.

We stayed on site #211 when we visited Heyburn State Park. This was a full-service site.

The RV sites have paved parking pads. Six of these sites are pull-thru.

The campground has a centrally located washroom with flush toilets and free hot showers. All sites have a picnic table and a campfire ring. 

You should note that Benewah Campground does not have an RV sanitation dump station.

RV Sanitation Dump Station:

The RV sanitation dump station is located at Hawley’s Landing Campground. It is easy to access. You will find potable water there as well.

You must drive to access many of the park’s areas, as Heyburn State Park is quite spread out. Highway 5 runs along the edge of the lake and joins the various sections of the park. 

Highway 5 through Heyburn

This is a well-travelled road used by logging trucks, 18-wheelers and people passing through the park en route to somewhere else. It is not a campground road. It is busy with many twists and turns. I would not recommend this road for biking as the shoulders are non-existent. It is also not recommended for pedestrians.

Activities:

Boating:

Heyburn State Park incorporates multiple lakes:

• Chatcolet Lake
• Benewah Lake
• Hidden Lake
• Round Lake
• The St. Joe River is the highest navigable river in the world at 2,128 feet elevation. 

However, after the dam was built on the Spokane River in 1906  the water levels increased. The lakes became connected bodies of water and essentially became part of Lake Coeur d’Alene. The meandering remnant river banks of the St. Joe River still provide some degree of separation and the four lakes with their historic names persist. 

Heyburn State Park is a boater’s paradise. The park operates two marinas and 3 boat ramps. Rocky Point has a four-lane boat ramp and Chatcolet has a two-lane boat ramp. There is a boat ramp at the Benewah Day Use area, but it is narrow and a bit “primitive.” There are gravel parking lots adjacent to all three boat ramps that can accommodate vehicles with their boat trailers. 

Kayak/Canoe/SUP

There are many ways to enjoy self-propelled watercraft at Heyburn State Park. As with motorboating, the possibilities are vast. The Rocky Point Marina store rents paddle boats, canoes, and kayaks.

Benewah Lake for Paddling:

I like Benewah Lake for paddling. I have a kayak and it was easy to put in at the boat launch area. The water is calmer on Benewah Lake than on Chatcolet Lake.

The railway bridge is fun to paddle under and provides some visual interest. There are marshy areas to explore. The sunsets are beautiful as well.

Swimming:

You can swim at any of the park’s shorelines, but swimmers should avoid using the docks as they are designed for boating use. The park provides two roped-off swimming beaches, one at Rocky Point and one at Plummer Point. Lifeguard services are not provided, you must swim at your own risk.

Fishing:

 A variety of fish ranging from largemouth bass to northern pike, to yellow perch can be caught in Heyburn State Park’s lakes. The marina store at Rocky Point sells fishing gear and tackle.

Lake Coeur d’Alene has the appearance of a pristine lake, unfortunately, it is anything but. The biggest problem is invisible. Tailings were deposited directly into the Coeur d’Alene River’s south fork during the early mining days. As a result, the lake became the repository for 75 million tons of sediment polluted with lead, cadmium, arsenic and zinc. Due to the Clean Water Act and because mining operations have become more efficient, much less pollution is being deposited than in the past. But because of the huge amount of mine tailings in the Silver Valley, the toxic legacy will be there for many years, likely forever.

Anglers should consult the Idaho Fish Consumption Advisory for more information about the contamination of Lake Coeur d’Alene. 

Hiking:

With about 44 miles of trails through the woods, Heyburn State Park can offer a “semi-wilderness” experience for those who get out on the trails. The trails are suitable for mountain biking, horseback riding and hiking.

Popular trails at Heyburn:

The Lakeshore Loop Trail: rated as easy

Plummer Creek Trail: a short trail with boardwalks and information signs that meanders through a marshy section of Plummer Creek.

Trestle Trail: accessed from the Benewah Campground that takes you along the lake to the train trestle that crosses Benewah Lake and to a train tunnel.

For more detailed information about the trails at Heyburn State Park click here for a detailed map.

Biking:

The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes runs right through Heyburn State Park. This is a 73-mile paved path built on the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way and is open to bicycles, rollerblades and foot traffic (horses are not permitted). The trail extends from Mullan, ID, taking you from mountain grandeur through the Silver Valley, along the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene, over the Chatcolet Bridge through Heyburn State Park, and on to Plummer ID. People camp at Heyburn State Park for easy bicycle access to the trail.

The access point is from the Chatcolet Day Use Area located approximately 2.5 miles north of the Visitor Center. There is plenty of parking.

Trail Amenities:

You can obtain a map of the trail from the Visitor Center, or refer to the maps posted at the various trail access points along the route.

The trail is flat with very little elevation except for when you cross the 3100-foot Chatcolet trestle bridge that spans the St. Joe River.

Along the trail you will find:

• washrooms
• picnic tables
• bike repair stations

The trail is impeccably maintained. The views are some of the prettiest I have seen while biking.

Harrison is a nice stop with a beach and an ice cream shop.

I did about 30 km of the trail ( a 60km round trip).

Things to Know:

1. You will see signs directing you to “Headquarters” and/or “Visitor Center”. They are the same thing.
2. Go directly to your campground to check-in. There will be a kiosk with instructions. Or you can go to the Visitor Center and get a parking permit sticker to be placed on the dash of your vehicle.
3. The Visitor Center is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
4. It is best to make a reservation and to know your site info before arriving. 
5. The closest store is in Plummer.

IMO:

I loved it here. Top-notch biking, kayaking and hiking. The only problem is that you have to drive to get anywhere. If not for that I would have given Heyburn State Park a 5/5. Definitely, an RV Place to Go.