At Tour CDA, owners Gary and Linda Cooper invite guests to join them on a scenic meander through downtown Coeur d’Alene not by foot or bus, but through the fascinating medium of a Segway. Never ridden a Segway before? Their staff is ready and willing to teach you how.
Wondering how interesting a two-hour tour through old neighborhoods, McEuen Park and Independence Point can be when you’ve already seen them countless times? Tour CDA guides keep riders entertained in a way that make these all seem new, regardless of whether you’ve lived in the area 20 years or 20 minutes.
An outing with Tour CDA begins in their lot off 17th Street behind Jimmy’s Down the Street. We are greeted warmly by Gary, Linda and their staff on a breezy but sunny Idaho spring day. After getting geared up with helmets, safety vests and a wireless headpiece, we are given a brief safety orientation and introduction to Segways. Linda explains how to properly step on and off the machines, safely maneuver and stop and, of course, that it’s all about having fun.
Now it’s our turn to give it a go. The guides hold a Segway ready for each rider, our human training wheels. I place my hands one on top of the other in the center of the handles and step up with ease. Although Segways have motors, accelerating and braking are controlled by weight distribution through our feet, which takes most people some practice to wrap their minds around. The machines’ responsiveness to slight shifts and turns of the handle is both impressive and initially intimidating. To help us get comfortable before venturing out, we take turns weaving, stopping and turning through a little cone course set up in the lot.
Once guests have shown a proficient level of control over their mechanical steeds, Gary gives anyone still feeling nervous a final chance to admit it’s not for them. I may have almost taken out a cone or two, but am starting to get the hang of it. The guides promise it will become intuitive once we get going. We all consent to the adventure, and then one by one, follow Gary’s lead out of the parking lot: a line of high-visibility green vests, stuttering starts and stops and beaming grins.
Our 9-mile tour begins heading south on 17th Street towards the lake. Once past Sherman Avenue and surrounded by older homes, I feel less nervous about somehow running into a passing vehicle and tune into the hum of the Segways, the excited springtime chatter of birds and Gary’s guiding voice through my earpiece.
The road ends in a wall of lush foliage and continues west. I realize I haven’t been in this area before and am surprised there could be a corner of my hometown that feels so foreign. We pass a street sign indicating we’re now on Lost Avenue, and I’m struck by the sense of getting lost in a new perspective on such a familiar landscape.
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Watching for potholes in the road that might threaten my fledgling balance on the Segway, Gary’s discourse in my ear begins to spout historical facts, ranging from the random corner on our right that’s frequently littered with lounging rabbits, to the history of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe that once inhabited the region. I’m reminded as he speaks that “Coeur d’Alene” means “heart of the awl”, and was originally a nickname given to the native Schitsu’umsh Tribe by early traders because of their sharp trading tactics.
We wind our way through the neighborhood to the Jewett House overlooking Coeur d’Alene Lake and Sanders Beach. Currently used as a community space and senior citizen center, construction of this grand home began in 1915. It became a company house in 1940 for entertaining Potlatch Forests Inc. staff and guests, and was then granted to the city of Coeur d’Alene in 1978. Although impressive, the Jewett House is only one of many stunning mansions gracing Lakeshore Drive. My attention is split between watching the road and admiring these homes, each with its own unique architectural style, private beach access and intriguing history.
Our path to the backside of Tubbs Hill, named for Tony Tubbs who had been granted the 120 acres as a homestead in 1884, takes us past fragrant trees flush with impossibly pastel pink and white flowers. I brace for some uneven terrain as we merge onto Centennial Trail and head to McEuen Park. I can still remember the park before its 2014 remodel and recall as Gary narrates how the three 70-foot light posts adorned with osprey nests are remnant light posts from the old baseball field. After visiting one of the five Mudgy and Millie statues by the main Tubbs Hill entrance, we park the Segways against benches at the K27 Memorial to give our feet a rest. We take a moment before the thoughtfully landscaped memorial to Coeur d’Alene Police Department’s Sgt. Greg Moore, the first Coeur d’Alene officer to be killed on duty. Gary draws our attention to the three waterfalls’ individual designs, which correlate to the three values of Respect, Honor and Remember.
We’re now about at the halfway point, and, as predicted by the guides, have all pretty well tapped into the intuitive aspect of riding the Segways. I feel a slight decelerating pulse as we cruise past the Coeur d’Alene Resort, indicating that the Segway is slowing itself down because it reached its maximum speed of 12.5 mph. We ride up the sloping path to Independence Point, which was home to the Playland Pier amusement park from 1942 to 1975 when it was destroyed by a fire.
I’m particularly fascinated by the history of the giant metal die displayed by the entrance to City Park. I’ve noticed it plenty of times but didn’t realize no one actually knew what it was or where it originally came from. Gary tells us how the mysterious metal box had washed up on the shore at Independence Point, sparking various theories, and was only recently installed as an art piece in its current location.
Our entourage slowly hums down the sidewalk between the beach and City Park. Under the influence of Gary’s narration, my imagination begins to picture what the grassy lawns might have looked like in the early 1900s when it was known as Blackwell Park, a gorgeous park built by successful lumberman Frederick A. Blackwell. Visitors would flock from all over the Inland Northwest to see it and were able to do so with ease through the nearby Coeur d’Alene & Spokane Railroad Company station.
As we ride onto the North Idaho College campus, Gary excitedly gets into facts about Fort Sherman. “I’m a bit of a history buff, so my favorite historical site on the tour is the Magazine Room,” he says. “Once part of the Fort Sherman Military base, it dates back to what are really the early beginnings of Coeur d’Alene becoming a city in the late 1800s.”
Of the fort’s 52 buildings, only the powder magazine, fort chapel and officers’ quarters remain, placing them among the oldest surviving buildings in North Idaho. Those visiting the Magazine Room and informational panels used to pass beneath a white-painted, wooden arch reading Fort Sherman, Idaho 1878 before it was tragically blown over during one of the recent windstorms.
After another break off the Segways, we ride past the Fort Sherman Officers Quarters building, — one of my favorite buildings on campus — which the college currently uses for faculty offices. We take our time admiring the barn-red Army Chapel where it sits cozily at the edge of campus, still available to rent for weddings and events.
We have only one stop left on our tour and my feet are beginning to feel the distance we’ve covered. Squinting into the golden, late afternoon sun, we follow Gary to the restored Playland Pier Carousel, which he describes as having become more like a 100-year-old piece of functioning art. Built by hand in 1922, the carousel had been part of the Playland Pier amusement park from 1942 to 1973, and after some time away from Coeur d’Alene, was returned to the area in 2017 by John and Pat Foote.
I feel one with my Segway as we glide back to the Tour CDA lot, capable of tight turns, delicate maneuvers around fellow riders and cruising along stretches of road at the Segway’s wild 12.5mph. In addition to the Explore Coeur d’Alene Segway Tour, Tour CDA also offers a food-themed Segway tour and e-bike rentals, both of which I make a mental note to investigate as future summer activities.
Combined with the energetic buzz of Coeur d’Alene finally emerging from winter’s lingering grasp, Gary’s pleasant voice and the murmuring motors of our little Segway fleet have merged into the soundtrack of a vibrant glimpse into a past I found I knew little about.
Tour CDA has given me a greater appreciation for my beloved city, which is part of Gary and Linda’s heart in starting it now four years ago.
“We hope that our guests discover the rich history of Coeur d’Alene and the many activities that are available for them to enjoy,” Gary says. “And what better way to see it all than effortless gliding along on a Segway.” N
By Abby Owens
Photography By Joel Riner
As Featured In: Summer/Fall 2022