#14 Twin Lakes, Idaho

Read story
SpokanePlanner
read story

Metro Spokane Places to Live

2020 population: 1,040
Drive time to downtown Coeur d’Alene: 25 minutes
Drive time to downtown Spokane: 1 hour

Lake & Timber Towns of the Spokane Metro

Overall Character: ★★★☆☆
Urban: ☆☆☆☆☆
Suburban: ★★★★★
Walkability: ☆☆☆☆☆
Market Activity: ★☆☆☆☆
Farm Town: ☆☆☆☆☆
Timber Town: ★☆☆☆☆
Lake / River Town: ★★★★★

Twin Lakes Community Description

Traditional vestiges of north Idaho linger in Twin Lakes, yet investment is seen in all directions. Downtown Twin Lakes has a wonderful down-home joint called the Lightning Bar. In fact, the Lightning Bar is downtown Twin Lakes. The locals make strangers feel welcome, and they are sure to regale with energetic, booze-fueled stories of the old days, which is indeed quite entertaining.

Functionally, Twin Lakes is only a city by legal definition. In the end, Twin Lakes is a large cluster of lake cabins that surround upper and lower Twin, upper Twin being the larger lake of the two. Twin Lakes is easy striking distance from downtown Spokane and one could easily live in a lake home and manage the commute. Additionally, there is a high-caliber golf course in Twin Lakes that includes an above average restaurant. Thus, us food snobs are not stuck with the Lightning Bar as our sole source of Twin Lakes’ cuisine.

The golf course is also the investment part of the picture. Old vestiges of north Idaho are dominant in Twin Lakes but those old cultural traits are indeed waning as the ever increasing din of outside money creeps its way up the Rathdrum Prairie.

(Photo courtesy of Twin Lakes Golf Club)

(Featured photo courtesy of Stan Peterson)

Story tags: