Idaho is a land of variety and contrasts: bustling modern cities and vast primitive wilderness; rich farmlands and sweeping expanses of lava and sagebrush;rushing rivers, solitary streams and placid lakes.
Lewis and Clark were the first white men to see the land that is now Idaho. After them came the fur trappers and traders, hunters and missionaries. Following the discovery of gold and the arrival of prospectors in 1860, pioneers trekked into Idaho settling the land and developing it for farming.
Northern Idaho is blessed with more than its share of rivers and lakes. There’s Lake Pend Oreille, Priest Lake, Hayden Lake, Lake Coeur d’Alene, Spirit Lake, Rose Lake and Black Lake. The St. Joe River is believed to be the highest commercially navigable river in the world. Fishing is a way of life here. Pend Oreille Lake holds the record for the world’s largest Kamloops trout, Priest Lake for the largest Mackinaw. Moose, elk, whitetail and mule deer and even the rare mountain caribou live in this rich north country.
