One of America’s Best Mountain Towns is Right Here in Idaho

Meetings. Deadlines. Too many responsibilities, too few hours in the workday. When your friends ask you “how’s it going” you give them a fake smile and say “fine.” You know darn well that by “fine” you’re actually picturing KC Green’s famous “This is Fine” dog. 

You know you haven’t done a fantastic job at the whole “work-life balance” thing and are getting dangerously close to burnout. You’ve recognized that and now it’s time to put yourself back on the top of your “to-do” list by treating yourself to some time away from the office! You’ve earned those vacation days so where do you want to go?

READ MORE: Stunning Idaho Lake Named One of the Best Lakes in America

According to Thrillist, the perfect vacation destination could be right here in the Gem State! They recently released some travel inspiration in the form of a list called “America’s Best Mountain Towns Have Beauty, Adventure and a Frozen Dead Guy Festival.” Their list wasn’t one of those lists where they pick the best “something” from every state in the country. This one looked at the entire country and narrowed it down to the 15 best mountain towns in the U.S. 

Sure enough, an Idaho town found itself among the best of the best! It’s a bit of a drive from Idaho’s capital city, but Coeur d’Alene earned the superlative. In choosing CDA, Thrillist said: 

The deep-blue waters of Lake Coeur d'Alene combined with vibrant pine forests, colorful sunsets, lazy beaches, and a chill vibe conspire to make this a perfect mountain/lake getaway, especially in the quiet, relaxed bubble when summer crowds have already peaked but the weather’s still lovely.

They recommend hiking the Northern Idaho Centennial, grabbing a burner at Hudson’s Hamburgers and making a detour to visit one of the quirkiest historic towns in the state, Wallace. 

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We’ve only been to Coeur d’Alene once, but agree that it’s worth the trip! Here’s some of the reasons we think you should burn some of those remaining PTO days on the drive to North Idaho.