Hikes Bonner County, Idaho
Gold Hill - Sandpoint, Idaho
One of north Idaho's best Lake Pend Oreille viewpoints. Hike up from Bottle Bay Road, or drive USFS 2642 and walk the short half mile down to the lookout.
When we first moved to north Idaho in the summer of 2012, one of the first places we explored was Gold Hill. From the top you get one of the most beautiful views of what became our home — Lake Pend Oreille spread out below, Sandpoint and the long bridge to the west, Hope and the Cabinet Mountains to the east. It felt right to make it our first trip report here: a well-loved spot that, somehow, plenty of locals have still never stood on top of.
There are two ways up. If you want to earn the view, the trail climbs from Bottle Bay Road just south of Sandpoint past the Long Bridge. If you’d rather save your knees, you can drive most of the way up the back side and walk the short half mile down to the lookout on a gentle grade — a good option with young kids or grandparents along.
We went up in early November, right after the first snow. The trees were frosted, the light kept shifting, and we had the whole ridge to ourselves — not another boot print in the fresh snow. The gallery below is that day. For the turn-by-turn and the trailhead pin, use the route card in the sidebar.
Gallery
