The Coeur d'Alene Resort

Overview

The Coeur d'Alene Resort occupies the north shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene in downtown Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, roughly 35 miles east of Spokane, Washington, in the state's northern Panhandle region. The property traces its site to an industrial past: the Rutledge, later North Shore, sawmill operated on the same shoreline from 1916 until 1987, and the original North Shore Resort opened here in 1965. Hospitality entrepreneur Duane Hagadone acquired the property in June 1983 and redeveloped it into the resort that stands today, adding the Lake Tower, an 18-story structure that opened in May 1986 and, at roughly 216 feet, remains the tallest building in northern Idaho.

The resort now comprises about 338 rooms and suites spread across the Lake Tower, Park Tower, North Wing, and Sherman Tower, supported by more than 40,000 square feet of meeting and event space, a full-service spa and salon, pools, and a fitness center. Its defining feature, though, is offshore: an 18-hole golf course whose 14th green floats on the lake and physically relocates each day, a novelty unmatched by any other course in the world. That singular attraction, paired with a marina, extensive dining, and lake-based recreation, has made the resort a fixture of the Idaho Panhandle's tourism economy for decades.

Winter at the Resort

Winter transforms the resort's waterfront into its most photographed season. The Coeur d'Alene Holiday Light Show, which strings millions of lights along the shoreline and marina, runs through the season and draws visitors well beyond the immediate region. It pairs with seasonal Journey to the North Pole cruises on the lake, a family-oriented outing that layers the light display with a scripted holiday theme.

Guests based at the resort are also well positioned for downhill skiing: Silver Mountain Resort and Schweitzer Mountain Resort, two of the Panhandle's principal ski areas, sit within reasonable driving distance, making the Coeur d'Alene Resort a plausible lodging base for skiers who prefer a full-service hotel over slopeside accommodations. The golf course, notably, closes for the season, since the floating green cannot operate once the underwater cable system and course conditions turn wintry -- a detail that underscores how much of the resort's identity shifts from golf-and-lake recreation in summer to light shows and cruises in winter.

Summer at the Resort

Summer is the resort's high season, anchored by golf on the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course and by the lake itself. Guests can rent boats, book scenic cruises, try parasailing, paddleboard, kayak, or fish on Lake Coeur d'Alene, and the resort supplies complimentary bike rentals for guests who want to explore the shoreline and downtown on land.

The marina is ringed by a floating boardwalk that stretches roughly three-quarters of a mile -- promoted as the longest floating boardwalk in the world -- giving pedestrians a car-free route along the water lined with shops and restaurants. Hiking trails in the surrounding hills add an inland option. For golfers, summer is the only realistic window to play the course, since the floating green's daily repositioning and the boat shuttle that carries players to the island depend on ice-free water and stable warm-weather conditions.

Where to Stay

Accommodations span four connected structures. The Lake Tower, an 18-story building completed in May 1986, holds the resort's most recognizable rooms and views and, at about 216 feet, is the tallest building in northern Idaho -- a striking profile for a city of Coeur d'Alene's modest skyline. The Park Tower, North Wing, and Sherman Tower round out the roughly 338 total rooms and suites, offering a mix of lake-view, city-view, and standard accommodations at varying price points.

Shared amenities include a full-service spa and salon, indoor and outdoor pools, and a fitness center, all supplementing more than 40,000 square feet of meeting and event space that makes the property a regional venue for conferences and weddings as well as leisure travel. Because the resort sits directly downtown on the lakefront, guests can walk to the marina, the floating boardwalk, and much of Coeur d'Alene's compact commercial core without a car.

Dining

The resort's dining lineup is unusually deep for a single property. Beverly's, on the top floor with sweeping lake views, is the award-winning fine-dining flagship, built around an extensive wine cellar and a seasonally driven menu. Dockside is known chiefly for its desserts and casual lakefront setting. Whispers and Tito's Italian Grill round out the sit-down options, the latter focused on Italian cooking. Taphouse Unchained serves a more casual, beer-forward menu, while the Boardwalk Bar caters to guests moving along the floating boardwalk itself.

Out on the golf course, two more venues extend the dining footprint onto the water: the Cedars Floating Restaurant and the Floating Green Restaurant, both positioned to let golfers and boaters eat within sight of the course's signature hole. Taken together, the roster covers everything from a special-occasion dinner to a quick lakeside drink, and it means guests rarely need to leave the property, or even the immediate waterfront, to find a meal that matches the moment.

Getting There & When to Go

Spokane International Airport, about 35 miles west, is the nearest major airport and the practical gateway for most visitors, with Coeur d'Alene reachable by a straightforward drive along Interstate 90. The resort operates as a year-round property, but its two seasons pull in different crowds: summer, roughly June through September, is peak season for golf, boating, and the floating boardwalk, while winter draws a smaller but dedicated audience for the Holiday Light Show, North Pole cruises, and access to nearby ski areas.

Shoulder seasons, spring and fall, tend to be quieter and can offer better value, though some lake-based activities and the golf course itself operate on a seasonal schedule tied to weather. Travelers planning a golf trip should confirm the course's operating dates in advance, since the floating green is a fair-weather feature by necessity.

The Floating Green

The resort's defining attraction is the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course, an 18-hole, par-71 layout designed by Scott Miller that opened in spring 1991. Its 14th hole carries a floating, movable island green, installed in September 1990, believed to be the only one of its kind anywhere in the world. The green itself is a substantial structure, weighing an estimated 2,200 to 2,300 tons, and it is repositioned daily using an underwater cable system, which means the hole plays anywhere from roughly 90 to 220 yards depending on where the green sits that day.

Golfers reach the island not by walking or driving a cart across a bridge but by a small shuttle boat nicknamed the Putter, and each group is assigned a forecaddie to assist once they land. Getting to the course at all is part of the experience: guests board a custom mahogany lake shuttle for an approximately seven-minute ride from the resort to the clubhouse. The gimmick has real consequences for the local ecosystem of lost golf balls -- divers recover thousands of them from the lake each year -- and for the course's reputation, which has consistently ranked among the best resort courses in the country. The floating green has become the resort's signature image, appearing in most marketing and press coverage, and it is the primary reason golf travelers seek out Coeur d'Alene specifically rather than any other Panhandle destination.

Frequently Asked Questions