Neighborhood of the Week: The Great White North

So much snow.

With all the white stuff on the ground in the Inland Northwest right now, it’s pretty hard to differentiate one neighborhood from another.

Put the shovel away and rest your back for a minute. There are opportunities to embrace the winter wonderland and pretend you’re taking a trip over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house.

Ski cabin rentals are a popular vacation option for North Idaho’s mountain resort communities. After a disappointing snow season last year, the recent heavy snowfall is setting Schweitzer, Silver Mountain and other local resorts up for a stellar ski season.

Renting a snow-covered home while hitting the slopes may be a more economic and luxurious option compared to the typical hotel stay, especially if you’re bringing family and friends together.

“You can get a hotel environment anywhere,” said Jesse Hehn, office manager at Sandpoint Vacation Rentals. “With a home everyone is staying together, there’s a full kitchen and amenities and you can make your meals as a family. Ultimately you get your own little chunk of property, and it can be less expensive than renting several hotel rooms.”

Hehn said Sandpoint Vacation Rentals has 10-12 homes for rent at the Schweitzer ski resort, and it’s peak season for those properties. Depending on the size of properties, you can pay anywhere from $350/night up to $1,500/night. After the holidays and away from popular weekends like Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, the range drops to $250 to $1,000/night. Booking properties early is always a good idea, as space can fill quickly.

But there are significant savings closer to Sandpoint. Hehn said the company has 60-70 vacation properties available, most of them waterfront, that are running at off-season rates. Perfect for the skiers open to traveling up the mountain, and to those just looking for a relaxing winter escape.

There are numerous winter rental options around North Idaho, so long as you’re willing to put in a little online research. Local outlets, like Sandpoint Vacation Rentals, or Resort Property Management out of Coeur d’Alene, provide a place to start your search. You can also check out property listings on sites like HomeAway.com or FlipKey.com.

If you’re looking for something a little more off the map, the forest service offers cabins and lookouts for rent. However, most of those local offerings aren’t available in the winter months. A Google search of “North Idaho cabin and lookout rental” will lead you to a direct link of informative local offerings from the U.S. Forest Service, as well as seasonal information.

Of course, you can always just stay in town and make your winter excursion a day trip. Snowshoe and cross country skiing opportunities are readily available with so much snow on the ground. The Fourth of July Pass area is a popular spot, but there are options right here in town as well. For extensive information on the local scene, check out the Panhandle Nordic Cross Country Ski and Snowshoe Club at www.PanhandleNordicClub.com or find the group on Facebook.

Let us know about more standout neighborhoods and developments that we may feature in an upcoming Neighborhood of the Week. Contact Tyler Wilson at twilson@cdapress.com.

Real Estate Agents, take advantage of Neighborhood of the Week by sending in your suggestions for featured areas, including sites outside the normal confines of Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Hayden.