Coeur d'Alene, ID

Silver Mountain held their annual brewsfest event this weekend and my boyfriend and I decided to head up to the mountain and check it out. With our ticket purchase we were granted a ride up the gondola, a plastic collectors mug, 6 beer tasting tickets, free rides on the operating chair lifts and some music being performed in the amphitheater. After attending last year I made sure we arrived early this year since they had run out of most of the beers by 3pm with the event ending at 7pm. The gondola rides began at 9:30am and the brewsfest started at 1pm. We arrived shortly after 1pm and briefly waited in line for our tickets and then to get on the gondola. There was a quick bag search as no outside alcohol or weapons were allowed. Cameras were allowed, except in the amphitheater, so we were asked to not take photos while we were enjoying the music. Luckily my boyfriend and I were between two larger groups so we got our own gondola. It was a nice treat since it was very warm inside the gondola and more people would have made it even more warm. The 3.1 mile, 20 minute gondola ride takes you from the parking lot to the main mountain top. The ride up gives you quite a view Kellogg and the valley floor along with the surrounding mountains. I always enjoy the ride, however there are a few steep areas where the gondola travels, especially over some residential areas that make me a little uneasy, however it is still an enjoyable experience.

We had arrived to the top and stepped outside where it was thankfully about 10 degrees cooler. We walked over to the beer tents and began to decide which beer we would like to taste. With your six tickets you are allowed six tastings, however if you would like more than a taste you are allowed to give the bartender more tickets, 2 usually filled up your glass half way and 3 tickets would give you a full glass. There were additional tickets for sale, 1 ticket for 75 cents each or 8 tickets for $5. The beer tents did not just have beer, but also merchandise for sale such as shirts and a few freebies such as posters and coasters. After I tasted a few beers I tried to tear my boyfriend away from his favorite beer tent so we could find some shade and enjoy the music. We did not bring a blanket or chairs with us, which are both allowed in the amphitheater, but we chose to stand near the side as we listened to the music.

I wanted to take the other chairlifts up to the top of the mountain so we filled up our beer mugs and headed over to the chairlift heading down the backside of the mountain. After a short ride we stepped off and walked over to our next lift which brought us up to about 6400 feet. We stepped off the lift and I had remembered there was a old fire lookout on top of the mountain. After a short hike we found the lookout and mountain views all around. The lookout is no longer manned, however there was a former lookout tower ranger who was there to answer questions. The lookout was filled with old photos of the lookout and historical pamphlets. The building was filled with history and was very interesting to walk around and the ranger provided stories about when he use to man a lookout tower in Montana.

We had decided to go back to the brewsfest and took the chairlifts back to the tents. We enjoyed some more beer and music before we headed home. It was a great experience and kegs of beer were still being delivered at 5pm to the tents which ensured that they were not going to run out of beer this year! We took the gondola down to the parking lot, which was a little more enjoyable than the ride up since there was a slight breeze that cooled us off as we rode down.

If you would like to enjoy brewsfest, it is an annual event at Silver Mountain. Tickets this year were $24.95, which I think is a great deal since a gondola ride is $18 for adults. For more information about the brewsfest check out www.silvermt.com under the activities & events tab. There is also plenty to do at Silver Mountain during the summer so it is worth checking out their activities, such as hiking and mountain biking. To get to Silver Mountain Resort from Coeur D’ Alene go east on I-90 for about 30 miles. Take exit 49 and follow Bunker avenue for about a ½ mile. The parking lot is located on the right of the gondolas.