A river of opportunity

COEUR d’ALENE — Bill Greenwood is confident two watercraft rental businesses recently opened at Harbor Center on the Spokane River will do exactly what he expects.

“They’ve been great to work with,” the Coeur d'Alene city parks director said of Hayden Lake Paddleboard & Jet Ski and KJ Watersports. “They’ve done all the things we’ve asked.”

Both offer watercraft rentals from new docks on the Spokane River, just east of the U.S. 95 bridge, with easy access to Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Greenwood believes having docks at the site for the first time in about 30 years will ease traffic congestion at the popular Third Street launch next to The Coeur d'Alene Resort and generate income for the city.

Last year, Greenwood recommended the city seek proposals for the construction of private docks to provide business operations for public recreation on the Spokane River near Harbor Center. Docks had been there in the '90s.

The city would then annually lease the 26-slip commercial dock sites for about $20,000 each.

The City Council approved the request by a 3-2 vote.

Seth King, owner of Hayden Lake Paddleboard & Jet Ski, said it’s a great location.

“It lets us help the community a little bit more,” he said on a cloudy Friday morning.

Hayden Lake Paddleboard & Jet Ski rents watercraft at Honeysuckle Beach on Hayden Lake and opened the rental site on the river Memorial Day weekend.

Previously, when patrons rented and launched from the Third Street site, King said they had no control over where they went.

“This allows us to send everybody to the lake. We know who’s going where. That allows us to limit the traffic on the river,” he said, “which is important to the community at large and to us.”

The no-wake zone on the river is ideal for allowing people to take their time while getting familiar with the pontoon, Jet Ski or paddleboard they just rented, King said.

“They can learn at a slow pace as we train them here without the crazy business of the Third Street dock,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to learn the ropes of the boat.”

King also provides a slip to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.

He expects a busy summer and is already seeing passersby stop in from the neighboring North Idaho Centennial Trail.

“We’ve seen good traffic," he said.

Kevin Prather, owner of KJ Watersports, located on Northwest Boulevard for 15 years, is pleased with the opportunity on the Spokane River.

He said people have easy access to rent a watercraft and head out on the water.

“It’s so close to the lake, yet we’re a little bit protected right over here,” he said.

Like King, Prather said the no-wake zone is a positive.

“That’s a huge benefit to our boats and the dock," he said.

Greenwood said KJ Watersports was one of the larger users of the Third Street launch.

“Having them not launching from that site is helpful,” he said.

The new docks are also part of the Bureau of Land Management's master plan, Greenwood said. It will eventually have more green space, parking, a gazebo and restrooms.

“This is another step in fulfilling that master plan,” he said.