Lake Pend Oreille

Thanksgiving week in the Sandpoint area offers a combination you will not find anywhere else: a fall fishing derby with more than four decades of tradition, and the tentative start of Schweitzer's ski season the day after the holiday. It is a week built for people who refuse to choose between a rod and a pair of skis.

October is when Lake Pend Oreille's walleye start to roam. Recent tagged-fish data shows that walleye cover more ground in early fall than at any other time of year, spreading out across the lake but reliably turning up in the same handful of places year after year. For fall anglers, the map is clear.

Right now is the sweet spot for fall color in North Idaho. WeatherBug's October 7 foliage report had peak color widespread across Idaho's higher terrain, and the western larch, the tamaracks, are turning the mountainsides gold from mid-October into November. There is no better way to take it in than the International Selkirk Loop.

About half an hour down the mountain road from Schweitzer's village sits one of Idaho's loveliest small towns. Sandpoint is where the mountain goes to play on its days off — and it makes a perfect day trip whether you are staying on the hill or just passing through the panhandle.

The chairlifts have gone quiet, the bike racks are empty, and Schweitzer's 2026 summer season is officially in the books. From late June through Labor Day weekend, the mountain traded snow for singletrack — and this was one of the best riding summers yet.