Although Priest River and Priest Lake are both great places to fly around in, no priest or prist (at least in the summer) are required to fly around Northern Idaho. I had heard wonderful things about “the Coeur d’ Alene (CDA) area” from fellow seaplane pilots. Some referred to it as “a mecca” for float flying. I had to check it out for myself. So, hubby and I jumped in the motorhome (having made reservations back in February) and spent a month in the area this summer. As many of you know, renting a seaplane isn’t as easy as renting a landplane, unfortunately. In fact, I don’t know any person/company who will rent you one without a flight instructor, checked out on the plane and acknowledged by the plane’s insurance provider. So, CDA Seaplanes is the company I flew with, using their Cessna 172 on straight floats (well, during the summer that is). I flew twice with them. I highly recommend them. Our mornings started and ended from a "beach" on the Pend Oreille River, east of Priest River. From there, we explored many pristine lakes, rivers, and even a waterfall. As much as I like lakes, river flying is much more fun to me. It’s more challenging. I enjoyed all the twists, turns, and obstacles (yes, including boats and logs) of the Pend Oreille River. Although I really enjoyed the Clark Fork area of Lake Pend Oreille as well. The landscape was beautiful and the Gauntlet (as Bob Del Valle referred to it as), a horseshoe shaped portion of the Clark Fork river, was fun. Can you spot the floatplane hanging out on the sand beach below? And now? As far as scenery, I really enjoyed landing on Sullivan Lake and admiring Pewee Falls (both in Washington State, actually) from the air. Although a local travel brochure said the waterfall can only be seen from a kayak on the water, we proved them wrong. Known as Idaho’s crown jewel, Priest Lake, beneath the Selkirk Mountains, is somewhat unspoiled, remote, and uncrowded as compared to others further south. (I promise you these are not pictures of the Bahamas!) If you are not (yet) a seaplane-rated pilot but want to join in the fun, you are in luck. Both lakes have awesome backcountry airstrips, you can camp out at them, and have direct access to the respective lakes (pack your swimming suit!). The first picture below shows Sullivan Lake State Airport (09S), which is owned by WSDOT’s Aviation Division and has a 1,765 by 100 ft grass runway. The second picture below shows Cavanaugh Bay Airport (66S), which is owned by ITD’s Division of Aeronautics and has a 3,100 by 120 ft grass runway. 66S even has a restaurant across the street. What a deal! As you may imagine, they are only open in the summer (probably June to September) as snow/ice is prevalent in the area. The Tanglefoot Seaplane Base (D28) is near 66S. Preeeetty cool! In addition, the area has multiple restaurants with docks where one can park a plane to grab some food. One example is Forty One South, by the Long Bridge, across from Sandpoint. Coming back... for a full stop :( But, seaplanes aren’t just “fun machines to fly,” they serve an important purpose in this part of the country where wildfires are all too common in the summer. It was not rare to see multiple aircraft (including helicopters) picking up water to dump it on active fires. In fact, we saw with our own set of eyes the positive impact these aircraft have in containing and extinguishing fires along the Snake River. Please be sure to look out the window, exercise situation awareness, and maintain visual separation from them. In the next two pictures, you can see a Sikorsky S-4 Skycrane actively picking up water from the Snake River and then dumping it on the side of the mountain where there was an active fire that burned many acres. The following picture shows three seaplanes departing Hayden Lake after loading up with water. We enjoyed our time so much that Central Idaho may be on our list for next summer. I appreciate any suggestions any of you may have regarding airstrips and bodies of water to check out. In the meantime, fly safe and fly often!
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