The Center of the Universe, Wallace, Idaho
Wallace, Idaho is one of my favorite places ever. It is a tiny, old mining town in North Idaho, about an hour east of Coeur d’Alene. It is a town with a population of 800 that has had to restart many times. In the late 1800’s, miners discovered one of the largest silver deposits in the country. Economic booms and crashes, floods, and fires have all had their turns at defining Wallace, but silver has kept it alive. Wallace is tucked between mountain passes, making it more remote than other towns in the region, which also made it a mecca for illegal behavior like gambling and prostitution. The stories go that the politicians and local law enforcement were profiting in multiple ways from gambling and prostitution, so when the Big Government would periodically send outside enforcements to Wallace, the town would have a lead because the politicians and local law enforcement would help all activities appear legal enough that the attention would be short-lived.
If you look for information about Wallace on the Google machine, you will probably find several sources saying that it is a thriving mining town, even 100 years after mining began. It certainly remains a mining town, however, I think whether it is thriving or not seems questionable. It seems like every other house is adorable, with contemporary updates, and the others are dilapidated and you worry that people may actually live in them. Maybe that is mining life. I love it. The people here live a hard life, yet they are welcoming to tourists like myself. They are so friendly, whether it be hanging out at the corner coffee shop all morning or joining a Halloween party where you know no one. I once did a tour by their Chamber of Commerce, and the tour guide confirmed that it is hard living in this town, where houses are literally built into the side of the mountains and the weather on the mountain passes often create additional isolation. But, they care about people. They have adult recreation clubs where they routinely fundraise, and they have successfully paid for the college educations of every kid that graduates from their high school. It is a really special town with really special people.
Why is it The Center of the Universe?
ON THE CORNER OF BANK Street and Sixth Street in the quaint mining town of Wallace, Idaho, you will find a manhole. Initially, it may seem like an unremarkable sewer cover, but step a bit closer and you’ll realize it is much, much more: It is the Center of the Universe.
The town of Wallace is four by nine blocks and has a current population of 784 citizens. But in 2004, the mayor made a proclamation: “I, Ron Garitone, Mayor of Wallace, Idaho, and all of its subjects, and being of sound body and mind, do hereby solemnly declare and proclaim Wallace to be the Center of the Universe.”
You may be wondering what this claim is based on. Shauna Hillman, one of the original four behind the idea, explains as follows:
“Why not? That’s the answer to why is it the Center of the Universe.”
The second answer: “Prove it isn’t.”
The real answer, Hillman continues, relies on the theory of probabilism: If you cannot prove that Wallace is not the Center of the Universe, then it must be the Center of the Universe.
If you look closely at the Center of the Universe manhole cover, you’ll see four sets of initials bordering the figure of a miner. These initials–HL, CDE, SRLM, and BHM–represent four prominent mining companies: Hecla Mining, Coeur d’Alene Precious Metals, Sunshine Silver Mine, and Bunker Hill Mining Company. This is because up until it became the Center of the Universe, Wallace called itself the Silver Capital of the World. Since the first mining efforts in 1884, over 1.2 billion ounces of silver have been found in this small town.
But the town did not come up with probabilism on its own. They discovered the theory during an unwelcome visit by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which announced that due to mining, the local water and soil were polluted. They declared Wallace a Superfund site; however they also admitted that they couldn’t prove whether the lead in the water was due to continued mining operations, or whether it was naturally occurring.
Tammy Copelan, who moved to Wallace just two years ago and is now the executive director at the Wallace Mining Museum, says that since none of the causes could be disproved, the EPA expanded the Superfund site from 21 square miles to 1,500, devaluing local homes and businesses.
Every building in Wallace’s historic downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places. (This was part of a very deliberate effort to prevent the district from being completely bulldozed for the construction of the interstate highway.) The town is nestled within 600 miles of national forest, and there are ample opportunities for hiking, biking, snowshoeing, skiing, fishing, zip-lining, and spotting wildlife in the center of the universe.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/center-of-the-universe
The Evergreen Escape
As you know, I have stayed in many different accommodations during my wanderings around this continent. Backpacking tents, fancy tents, yurts, schoolies, brothels, hostels, motels, boutiques, 5-star hotels, and sometimes just sleeping on the plain, wonderful earth. This weekend I am sitting here writing to you while wrapped up in some blankets, with Sam Dog and my man meat beside me, in a beautiful, contemporary, cozy cabin in Wallace, Idaho. Life can be so good. This cabin is listed on AirBnb and VRBO, by the name The Evergreen Escape. It is EXACTLY how it appears in the listing photos, which is a rare experience. Barbarian Scientist and I are heading into our fourth year of cancer trying to run the show, our third year of marriage, and our first year as empty-nesters. Being wrapped up in this practically perfectly sweet cabin for the weekend reminds us that life is still good.
I am all tucked in here, trying to think of all the things I hope you try in this area. It is a long one. That is what she said. Also, you are welcome.
Oasis Bordello Museum
There were many successful brothels in Wallace, and the Oasis Bordello Museum is exactly how it was when it closed its doors to prostitution in 1988. The walls, the carpet, the decorations, the smell. It is actually pretty impressive how Wallace remains dedicated to its history and recognizes the importance of their history in relation to the present. I had no idea what to expect, but I definitely did not expect to be taking three of my boys to a place that has nude women on display everywhere, from the brochures to the walls. As you can see, only one of them was particularly shy about the displays of lady parts.
There are brothels in Wallace where you can reserve rooms for lodging. Similar to the Oasis, they have left everything intact from their original days, which makes a unique experience. The beds are not great, nothing is that great. The rooms of everyone other than the Madam have to share a hallway bathroom, which is a strange thing to think about. It leaves me imagining men and women coming in and out of the bedrooms after sex, needing to clean up, and there being one bathroom with one toilet and one sink. Kind of hot. Kind of gross.
Sierra Silver Mine
If you are visiting one of the most successful mining towns in history, you probably should visit an actual mine. The Sierra Silver Mine tour begins in town, where you meet a trolly driver who takes you to the mine.
DISCOVERED AROUND 1900, THE SIERRA Silver Mine was thought to be rich enough in silver and lead to warrant mining activity. During the early years, it was mined by hand. Once the technology developed, miners used power tools to dig their way through, which is actually visible once entering the mine.
Minimal ore was found, despite showing the classic signs of large silver deposits. This caused the mine to pass through several hands. The new owners would see the signs of a rich mine, only to yield minimal amounts, then sell the mine because it wasn’t producing. Although the ownership changed a few times, it wasn’t consistently mined until the 1960s, when an incline shaft was sunk, running several hundred feet of drift.
Unfortunately, sinking the shaft did not improve the conditions. Rather than continuing to mine here, the mine was turned into a lab for local high school students to learn the mining trade, considering there were plenty of operating mines in the area. Shortly after offering this vocational course, the surrounding mines lost their demand for employees, causing the class to be canceled. In 1982, some locals started the non-profit organization, the Sierra Silver Mine Tour.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/sierra-silver-mine
Crystal Gold Mine
Nine hundred feet underground is the Crystal Gold Mine, in Kellogg, Idaho. This mine is one of the first hard rock mines in the Silver Valley. Just minutes from historic downtown Wallace, this preserved mine was worked during the 1880’s and then shuttered and forgotten for over a hundred years. Through a series of fascinating events the mine was rediscovered in 1991 and reclaimed in 1996. Crystal Gold Mine is now operated as historical tourist attraction with loads of educational insight.
You will learn about the miners’ process of back-braking labor done by hand and in candlelight. The guided underground tour explains how they drilled with “Hand Steels” using “Single Jacks” and “Double Jacks” (Hammers), how they traced the quartz vein using 1880 methods, and how they tested the vein for gold. You will be able to see beautiful stalactite crystals of smithsonite in an array of colors that coat the walls (the source of Crystal Gold Mine’s name) and the wire silver that is still in the quartz vein. Best of all there is still gold to be seen and touched!
https://www.goldmine-idaho.com/
Burke Canyon Ghost Town
This is one of my favorite reasons to visit Wallace! It is absolutely incredible.
BURKE, IDAHO, IS NOT YOUR run-of-the-mill ghost town. Its story starts out familiar: The mining town rose up after rich deposits of silver and lead were discovered in 1884. But the boomtown that developed was situated in a comically narrow canyon, resulting in some wonderfully creative architecture.
Burke Canyon is long and thin, only 300 feet wide at its narrowest point. It’s a seemingly impossible space to fit a whole town into, and yet they did. The train tracks and the road for vehicles both shared the main street, so cars and carriages had to pull over when the train rolled by. Stranger still, the railroad was built right through the lobby of the town’s hotel.
The Tiger Hotel was built in 1896, straddling the main street and the creek that ran through the canyon. When the railroad expanded in 1906, the lack of space forced it to run right through the hotel. A covered walkway crossed over the tracks connecting the two sides of the building, and five cars of the Northern Pacific Railroad passed through the tunnel in the hotel each day.
Like so many mining towns in the Old West, Burke began to decline at the beginning of the 20th century and the mines starting shutting down. By 1990 there were reportedly just 15 residents left in town. The last of the mines closed in 1991, and within a few years, there was no one left in Burke.
Some of the old buildings have been destroyed by fire, floods, or time, including the unusual Tiger Hotel, which shuttered in 1954. But the decaying remains of many of structures, deserted mining equipment, and abandoned artifacts can still be seen around town. A twisted railroad track, strewn with old massive tools, runs through the town, and there is an unmarked, unknown cemetery with most of the headstones destroyed. You can also see the remnants of the town’s unique architecture, such as the cave-like holes carved into the side of the hills where the former residents of this unlikely village built their houses.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/burke-ghost-town
Upper Glidden Lake
Burke Canyon Creek Road takes you from Wallace, through the ghost town, to the wilderness of the Coeur d’Alene National Forest, on the Idaho and Montana border. The road gets really rough. I accidentally busted the BMW on it, but the Suburban does great. The road is only accessible during the summer, as it is not maintained. There are some ORV paths back there, as well as hiking trails. Upper Glidden Lake Trail is a really nice and easy trail, approximately 7 miles roundtrip and 1,000′ of elevation gain. It is a great novice backpacking trip and is where Barbarian Scientist and I took his spawn for his first backpack trip. The trail is well maintained and there are a few tent sites around the lake. We had taken him there with the intent of staying two nights, but Sam Dog got scared in the middle of the night and popped both of our new sleeping pads, making sleep impossible.
The lake is so beautiful. It is that unique PNW turquoise color we all love. It is crystal clear and ice cold. My big hope has always been to return and do a loop of Upper Glidden Lake, Lower Glidden Lake, and Burke Summit, found here.
Pear Lake
Off the same road is the Pear Lake Trail trailhead. I have found the trailhead. I have hiked the trail. I have hiked the trail straight past the lake, never finding the lake, but only adding a bunch of distance and a ton of elevation to be lost. I mean, I was not lost. I was on a trail in the national forest and I hiked straight through the forest to the Montana Secondary Highway. Sometimes I am the absolute least impressive person anyone could imagine.
Pulaski Tunnel Trail
While escaping to our AirBnb, we hiked this trail two days in a row. At 4 miles round-trip and less than 1,000′ of elevation gain, the reward was far greater than the work. It is in the appendix of 100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest, but I do not have the book with me, so you will either need to not care or just trust me.
The Pulaski Tunnel Trail is a two-mile trail in Idaho’s Panhandle National Forests. It’s named after Edward “Big Ed” Pulaski, a US Forest Service firefighter who led his crew to safety during the Great Fire of 1910.
In August 1910, Pulaski and his crew used the Edward Pulaski Tunnel and Placer Creek Escape Route to escape the fire. In a last resort, Pulaski ordered his men and two horses into the Nicholson adit, a small prospecting mine only 250 feet deep. He threatened to shoot anyone who tried to leave, saving the lives of all but six of his 45-man crew. After surviving the night, Pulaski led his crew to the hospital in Wallace, where Pulaski was burned over much of his body and blind in one eye.
Today, the trail and the mine are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
We had The Best Day. The trail is easy to find because there are many signs through town directing you to it. The trailhead has about 5 parking spots, but there is plenty more space along the road. We were really lucky that only a couple of other people wanted to be out in this weather. The trail is across the road from parking, and begins on the pretty bridge Sam Dog is modeling for you.
There are many little waterfalls and bridges along the way, as well as trail markers every 1/4 of a mile.
The trail gradually climbs through the Copper Gulch, and because of how deep the snow is right now, I cannot tell you what the trail is made of. Love. Perhaps it is just made of love.
The beginning of the trail provides some details about the historical importance of the location, setting the stage for the experience at the end. When you reach the two mile turnaround, you meet with a lookout down to the mine entrance that saved many lives during that fire. It is quite a reverent place…until Sam Dog realizes you slowed down (because you are reading all the posted graphics at the lookout spot) and starts whining for treats.
Cranky Gulch Trail
Cranky Gulch Trail is also in Wallace, just up the road from Pulaski. It is about as long as the Pulaski Tunnel Trail, with a few hundred more feet of elevation gain. It is a beautiful trail, but less of a conversation piece than Pulaski.
Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes – Route of the Hiawatha
As I wrote here, from The Cycle Haus: The Route of the Hiawatha and the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes are part of a 300K Rail to Trail System known as the Bitterroot Loop. The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes is a paved 73 mile, mostly flat trail that wanders through the Silver Valley, the Coeur d’Alene River Valley, the Chain Lake Region, and along Lake Coeur D Alene. The crown jewel of the Bitteroot Loop, and perhaps the crown jewel of the entire Rails to Trails system, is the Route of the Hiawatha. The Route of the Hiawatha is a 15 mile downhill route, beginning in Montana and ending in Idaho. The packed dirt and gravel path takes you over spectacular soaring train trestles and into miles-long deep dark tunnels. See waterfalls and remnants of the people who built the West all while gliding through the hills and forests of Idaho and Montana’s National Forest land.
“The Rails to Trails Crown Jewel” is a must-do for the area. The only downside are the logistics of organizing passes and shuttles, but it is only fun once you are on the trail. In addition to the usual bike safety gear, a headlamp is required. There are 10 train tunnels that you ride through and 7 trestles that you ride across. The tunnels are pitch black, cold, and often muddy. The trestles are sometimes a little windy, but the views are impeccable.
Lone Lake Trail (and Stevens Lakes)
This trail is ridiculously special. It is everything. The Bitterroot Mountains and the Idaho Panhandle National Forest are the home to this incredible place. The trail to the lake is two miles with 1,600′ elevation gained. The trail brings you through thick brush, and then a waterfall, and then wide views of the valley. Every step you take is more beautiful than the one before.
Lone Lake is a pristine alpine lake that is reward enough for your climb up the mountainside, but if you walk around the lake to see the small waterfall flowing into it, you will see you can climb up further. That will bring you to the most colorful mountain scene, as you can see above. Thing 4 and I spent a lot of time there. We climbed the ridge and were quite tempted to continue onto Stevens Lakes, which are right on the other side. Stevens Lakes Trail is near the trailhead for Lone Lake, but the best adventure would be to begin at one and continue on to loop to the other. I wrote about Stevens Lakes here. A friend of mine wrote a trip report here about connecting the lakes into one hike.
Revett Lake Trail
Revett Lake, in the Lolo National Forest, near Wallace, Idaho (one of my favorite towns), is my go-to recommendation for new hikers and backpackers. It’s an easy and beautiful 90-minute drive from Coeur d’Alene, with an easy and beautiful trail to a big payoff.
It is hike 24 in 100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest, where it is described as: A short, easy hike to a clear mountain lake above an area that was heavily mined beginning in 1882 when gold was discovered in Prichard Creek. The hike is especially popular with beginning backpackers and families. Small brook trout can be caught in the lake and huckleberry begin to ripen here in late July…Passing in and out of trees and rocks, the trail finally gains the lip of the hanging valley where the lake lies in a bowl, nearly surrounded by steep slopes.
You will first arrive at a large paved parking lot. This is the trailhead for Blossom Lakes, but you can park here to add some distance to your Revett Lake hike. There is a bathroom where the dirt road begins to drive the short distance to the Revett Lake trailhead. Depending upon the growth of bushes, trees, and other traffic, your vehicle may be subject to “redneck pinstriping” on this road. When you get to the end, that’s the trailhead. Park along the edge. There are often rock fire rings from campers at the trailhead, so you have that option, too.
The trail is a well-maintained path in and out of forest cover and over mountainside rock slides, with a little waterfall and epic views. When you reach the lake, you will find ample space to spread out for your day – fish, float the lake, hang a hammock, or throw down a campsite. When I went there last, it was a midweek adventure, so there were very few people and no children, which was perfect because I brought Barbarian Scientist with me for a naked adventure. I think only one other set of hikers saw us, but they kept their space – I’m certain that if I had come across naked adventurers, my response would have been the opposite of giving them space, but I’m sure Barbarian Scientist appreciated them!
Blossom Lakes Trail
Blossom Lakes, in the Lolo National Forest, is hike 25 in 100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest: Trail 522 contours south for about 0.5 mile before making a camel-hump climb up the broad ridge and descending toward the lake. The forest consists of small, subalpine timber, mainly hemlock with some white pine, whitebark pine, lodgepole pine, Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, western larch, and alpine fir. The trees are small and thick, so views are scarce. After climbing most of the trek’s 950-foot gain in two gradual steps, this remarkably straight trail curves around to a view, about 0.2 mile short of the lake. Standing on a glacier-carved bedrock, you can look out toward the northeast and the heavily forested ridges of Driveway Peak. The trail soon begins to contour above a creek set in a narrow, precipitous, rocky gorge only a short way from Lower Blossom Lake.
The views and recreation at Lower Blossom are a satisfying reward for the short and somewhat steep climb up (6 miles round-trip, 1,200’eg), but for more adventure, maybe go off-trail a bit and find Upper Blossom. Depending on when you go, you may find unofficial paths to Upper Blossom Lake that have not grown over yet from those before you. If you follow the map in 100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest, you could make a pretty epic trip by adding Pear Lake to your adventure before heading back to the Blossom Lakes trailhead. I attempted to find Pear Lake while everything was under the snow, and although it was a really fun adventure, I had no luck. Hiking a Loop Trail in Two States and getting to Blossom Lakes, Pear Lake, and Revett Lake will be my next excursion in that area.
Settlers Grove of Ancient Cedars
Settlers Grove of Ancient Cedars is an underrated gem in this area. It is a three mile hike with nearly no elevation change, so I think it might be considered too easy to be worth the stop. Some of the cedars are aged to when Columbus landed in America and spread his devastation. Any time I venture to Revett or Blossom Lakes, I stop here. If you want to make the hike more fun, you can continue hiking past the cedar grove for approximately four more miles to reach the Idaho and Montana border. If you simply want some peaceful time with some giant trees, stay within the grove. The trails are well-maintained with some bridges crossing the West Fork Eagle Creek that wanders through. After surviving more than a thousand years of natural disasters, in 2015 a wildfire swept through the ancient forest that caused permanent damage. Between the life and the death that you face while standing among these giants, I cannot help but think whatever question you have, it will be answered.
Silver Mountain
Silver Mountain is one of our local ski resorts. There was a homeschooling family connected to the program manager for the resort who was always able to set up homeschool families with a steep discount on gondola and ski passes, but the restriction was the the boys had to take ski lessons. It has made for really fun winters. Silver Mountain has the world’s longest gondola (I am not sure that is any more important the Coeur d’Alene having the world’s longest floating boardwalk), and a huge resort with an indoor water park. This picture is from years ago, but is a sweet one that should be here.
Arid Peak Lookout
Mountains, huckleberries, and a night in another lookout tower with my boy. Perfection. We took the Kyle Creek to Arid Peak Trail, in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. It was a three mile hike up to the Arid Peak Lookout, with a 1,200′ elevation gain. Huckleberry bushes full of the blue and purple gems lined the entire trail.
Arid Peak Lookout is a 1934 20′ L-4, originally built to watch for fires from the Milwaukee Railroad as it came down Loop Creek from the Montana line to the North Fork of the St. Joe River near Avery, Idaho. In 1969 the legs of the tower were replaced, but the lookout was not used again. In 1996 and 1997, the Idaho Chapter of the FFLA and the St. Joe Ranger District joined in a restoration project; all of the beams atop the legs and underneath the cab were replaced, as were the stairs which had collapsed in 1970. The fully-restored lookout is now on the Recreation Rental program, as it sits overlooking a companion project, “The Route of the Hiawatha”, a rail-trail being developed over the trestles and through the tunnels of the abandoned Milwaukee line. The tower is on the National Historic Lookout Register.
https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/st-joe-clearwater-region/arid-peak-lookout-2/
Upper Coeur d’Alene River National Recreation Trail
Hike 33 in 100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest, described as: an easy 14-mile hike that appeals to day hikers, overnighters, and fly fishers alike. It parallels the Upper Coeur d’Alene River, sometimes high above the stream, passing through Great Burn areas devastated by the 1910 fire. Scenic attractions along the trail include Steamboat Rocks and Cathedral Rocks, which tower above the river. Incidentally, Spion Kop, the unusual name of a mountain east of the trail near Jordan Camp, was named after a famous battle in the Boer War.
The trail was beautiful. The perfect weather gave us beautiful, warm, sunny, and shaded sections. The first half mile of the trail had four downed trees across the path, but I think they are there intentionally to discourage dirtbikes from using the trail. The rest of the trail was well-maintained. It was an easy trail with mostly slow-rolling ups and downs. My Strava says that the elevation gain was 1,348′. We crossed paths with countless dragonflies and a handful of wild mushrooms, but what I loved the most were the incredible rock formations.
I wrote more about this here.
Old Mission State Park – Cataldo Mission
The Coeur d’Alene’s Old Mission State Park spotlights the oldest building in Idaho. The Mission of the Sacred Heart was constructed between 1850 and 1853 by Catholic missionaries and members of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Sacred Heart Mission and the Coeur d’Alene’s Old Mission State Park provide an educational experience not found anywhere else, giving visitors an opportunity to examine the dynamics and complexities between Jesuit missionaries and the tribal people among whom they settled in a beautiful park setting. The park features the Sacred Heart Mission church, a restored Parish House and a historic cemetery.
https://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/coeur-d-alenes-old-mission/
Wow. This post is a doozy. I am sorry. But, I would like to clarify that I did not force you to read it. I actually feel better when I assume no one will read what I write. If you did, now make it worth it and go visit Wallace and try something new. It is the only way we know who we are. Visiting Wallace is not the only way, I meant trying new things. Go try new things, even if it means you do not visit Wallace. Try a new skill, new food, new face. Fail. And keep going.
But also – visit Wallace, Idaho.