Abandoned places in Coeur d'Alene
10 abandoned and forgotten places around Coeur d'Alene, Forest Cemetery Walking Tours (Museum of North Idaho), Pulaski Tunnel Trail and Burke Ghost Town among them — and for each one, whether you can legally visit. Ruins, ghost towns and shuttered industry, with the ones that are trespassing or genuinely unsafe marked as such rather than romanticised. They spread across Coeur d'Alene, ID, Wallace, Burke, Idaho, Commonwealth Mine and 5 more areas, so two or three can make a whole afternoon. 9 of them cost nothing. Every entry is hand-vetted against real sources — not scraped off a top-ten list or averaged out of crowd ratings.
Every abandoned place we've verified, nationwide — with its legal-access status →
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Forest Cemetery Walking Tours (Museum of North Idaho)Open to visit
Forest Cemetery began as the Fort Sherman Cemetery, owned by the U.S. Army from 1877 until the post was decommissioned in 1900. When the fort closed, 37 soldiers and family members were disinterred and moved to Fort George Wright in Spokane, but Pvt. Timothy Shea of the 4th Infantry, an Irish immigrant from County Kerry, was left behind. His grave was never relocated, even though records list him as reinterred in Spokane. The Museum of North Idaho's seasonal "Legends and Leaders" walking tour leads visitors through the headstones to tell the stories of the town's founders, leaders, and rougher characters who shaped early North Idaho.
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Pulaski Tunnel TrailOpen to visit
This two-mile-each-way trail follows Placer Creek to the abandoned mine adit where ranger 'Big Ed' Pulaski herded 45 firefighters during the catastrophic 1910 'Big Blowup' that burned three million acres. Trapped by walls of flame, he forced his crew face-down in the tunnel at gunpoint, saving all but six. Interpretive signs and bridges line the route, ending at an overlook across the creek from the actual tunnel mouth.
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Burke Ghost TownView only
Crammed into a canyon barely 300 feet wide, Burke was once a silver town so tight that a hotel was famously built straddling the railroad and creek, with trains running through the lobby. Today it is a genuine ghost town: hulking boarded-up Hecla mining structures, twisted rail, and dwellings carved into the hillside still cling to the gorge seven miles up the road from Wallace. The buildings are private and posted, so it is a look-but-don't-enter drive-and-stroll.
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Star MineView only
Operating from the 1890s until its final closure in 1991, the Star Mine was once the deepest mine in North America, plunging 8,100 feet underground to extract silver, lead, and zinc. Following a devastating 1923 fire, the Hecla Mining Company rebuilt the surface facilities with concrete and brick, leaving behind the towering, skeletal mill ruins that still loom over the canyon today. The site is currently part of an active EPA Superfund cleanup, with its massive concrete structures slowly being reclaimed by the elements.
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Commonwealth MineAccess unclear
Discovered in 1892, the Commonwealth Mine was an underground copper, silver, and gold operation in the Hayden Lake Mining District. It featured a 300-foot-deep vertical shaft and multiple tunnels, and was historically served by the Ohio Match Company logging railway in the 1920s. Today, the site is completely abandoned and sits quietly within the Coeur d'Alene National Forest.
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Portland Group MineAccess unclear
The Portland Group Mine is a historic, long-abandoned lead and silver mine located in the Pend d'Oreille mining district near Garfield Bay in Bonner County, Idaho. Dating back to the early 20th century, the site was once part of the region's silver-lead mining boom. Today, the mine is completely inactive, with its old shafts and workings reclaimed by the dense forests of the Idaho Panhandle.
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Last Chance MineView only
Discovered in 1885, the Last Chance Mine was a prolific silver and lead producer in Idaho's historic Silver Valley before being acquired by the Bunker Hill Company in 1910. Today, the extensive underground workings are sealed and flooded, and the historic surface structures have been dismantled. The site has been heavily reclaimed under the Bunker Hill Superfund program, leaving a massive capped tailings pile visible at the end of Wardner's Main Street.
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Bellville MineView only
The Bellville Mine is an abandoned underground lead and zinc prospect located in the historic Lakeview Mining District of Bonner County, Idaho. Situated within the Kaniksu National Forest at an elevation of 4,173 feet, the site features the historic Bonner Bellville portal along the old mountain road connecting the Idaho Lakeview and Keep Cool mines. Today, only overgrown tailings, geological shear zones, and the collapsed remnants of the portal remain hidden in the dense forest.
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Silver Leaf MineView only
The Silver Leaf Mine is a historic underground mine located in the Lakeview Mining District of Bonner County, Idaho. Developed in the early 20th century, the site was primarily worked for silver, lead, zinc, and gold across several tunnels. Today, the mine is completely inactive, leaving behind overgrown tailings piles, collapsed adits, and remnants of old mining roads within the Kaniksu National Forest.
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Conjecture MineView only
Discovered in 1894, the Conjecture Mine was a historic silver and lead producer in the Lakeview Mining District of northern Idaho. The site once featured a 200-foot inclined shaft and multiple adits, but it underwent extensive EPA and Forest Service cleanup in 2007 to remediate heavy metal contamination. Today, the surrounding area is a quiet, forested landscape along Gold Creek, with the historic mine workings mostly sealed or reclaimed.
Abandoned places in Coeur d'Alene — FAQ
Is it legal to visit abandoned places around Coeur d'Alene?
It depends on the site, and each listing here says explicitly — with the reason. Of the 10 with a verified access status: 2 are legal to enter (like Forest Cemetery Walking Tours (Museum of North Idaho) and Pulaski Tunnel Trail), 6 are view-only from public land or roadside, and 2 are private property or genuinely unsafe — those are marked "do not enter" rather than romanticised.
Which abandoned & forgotten places in Coeur d'Alene are the strangest?
Ranked by how strange they actually are: Forest Cemetery Walking Tours (Museum of North Idaho), Star Mine and Last Chance Mine. Forest Cemetery Walking Tours (Museum of North Idaho) — Forest Cemetery began as the Fort Sherman Cemetery, owned by the U.S.
Where in Coeur d'Alene are they?
Across Coeur d'Alene, ID, Wallace, Burke, Idaho, Commonwealth Mine and Portland Group Mine and 4 more. Each listing gives the neighborhood and address so you can cluster a couple into one outing.
Are any of the abandoned & forgotten places in Coeur d'Alene free?
Yes — 9 are free to visit, including Pulaski Tunnel Trail, Burke Ghost Town and Star Mine. The rest are mostly low-cost.
Is this a good weird date in Coeur d'Alene?
That's what the list is built for. Every entry has a specific move rather than a vague recommendation — at Forest Cemetery Walking Tours (Museum of North Idaho), for instance: Buy tickets to a fall Leaders & Legends evening tour and wander the old Fort Sherman graves while actors deliver their first-person eulogies.
How were these abandoned & forgotten places chosen?
An agentic research system digs for the genuinely obscure — the spots even locals miss — and every one is verified against real sources before it makes the list. We deliberately skip the landmarks already on every Coeur d'Alene guide.