coeur d'alene resort holiday lights cruise

Coeur d’Alene Christmas Cruise returns, this time with a renovated North Pole

Everyone needs a home for the holidays, especially Santa. The Coeur d’Alene Resort made St, Nick a priority by recently constructing the Santa House, which is an all-glass structure with a welcoming lamp house vibe. The design includes an abundance of lighting and sound effects.

“The Santa House is a significant change we’re very excited about,” Coeur d’Alene Resort President Bill Reagan said. “Santa is such an important part of our winter show. We wanted to make the Santa experience unique and extra special.”

Children who embark on the 40-minute Journey to the North Pole Cruise, which runs through Jan. 2, visit Santa’s home which is on a barge for the 26th annual Christmas event.

“The new home for Santa is such an improvement since we can do so much more now that Santa is on a barge,” Reagan said. “We were limited when Santa was in a stationary spot.”

More than 250 holiday light displays and millions of lights illuminate the path as children trek to Santa, Mrs. Claus, elves and even the Grinch. After Santa reads each child’s name from the nice list, the evening concludes with a fireworks display.

“We’ve taken a step forward but we’re always trying to enhance the experience here at Coeur d’Alene Resort,” Reagan said.

The annual holiday light show has been enhanced.

“The fire breathing dragons we have in the marina area have had some offspring,” Reagan said. “The flames shoot out 15 to 20 feet from them. It’s a sight you have to see.”

It feels like Christmas inside the resort since carolers are singing every night through the holiday season.

“Victorian singers parade through our lobby,” Reagan said. “And every night there are activities for kids.”

S’mores are made each evening as families relax while toasting marshmallows on Whispers Patio.

“All of this is a part of a tradition,” Reagan said. “We have to keep the tradition alive. We don’t want to see traditions end at Coeur d’Alene Resort.”

But alas one special tradition is concluding. After ten years and 150 shows. this is the final run for Ellen Travolta’s beloved “Christmas Eve” production, which is filled with uplifting stories and performances by vocalist-pianist Jen Shotwell, bassist Kristina Phillips and a rotating cast, which features Travolta, Molly Allen, Ruth Pratt and Craig Catlett.

“This is Ellen’s final Christmas show and it’s amazing and totally sold out,” Reagan said. “I know this is her last Christmas show but we’ll have to see what she does next year. I think she’ll be part of something in 2024. We’ll see. I’m always looking ahead and I’m optimistic about next year.”

That’s just how Reagan has been since he was part of the opening of the Coeur d’Alene Resort in 1986.

“It’s changed so much since day one at the Resort all of those years ago,” Reagan said. “It’s hard to believe it’s been 37 years since we’ve opened. Just think of how much has changed since then. There was no Silverwood (Theme Park in Athol, Idaho) back then. Coeur d’Alene and Spokane were so different all those years ago. And we’ve improved so much here since those early days.

“We’re always about making things better but we are all also about continuing those traditions and that’s always so during the holiday season. When the holiday season starts here all of those memories come back to me, my family and the guests that return for the holiday season at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.”

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Idaho is Home to One of the Very Best Christmas Lights Displays in America

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On November 1, two separate but equally vocal groups of people emerge. On one hand, you’ve got the people who will die on the hill that if it’s before Thanksgiving, it’s too early for Christmas anything. On the other, the folks who don’t care how dark or cold it is, they’re digging through their garage to pull out ALL of their Christmas decorations. 

If you most definitely fall into the second group of people, we found a Christmas activity that you might want to add to your 2023 Christmas bucket list! If you live in Boise, you’re familiar with Winter Garden aGlow at the Idaho Botanical Gardens and Winter Wonderland along Indian Creek in Caldwell. We’d venture to guess, you’ve spent a little time exploring the Boise Christmas Lights map, too. 

While they’re all incredible in their own right, they’re NOT the Idaho Christmas lights display that’s currently in the running for the title of “Best Public Holiday Lights Display” in America. The USA Today just launched their “10 Best” poll for that category and at press time the Holiday Light Show at the Couer d’Alene Resort is sitting in 11th place out of 20 nominees. The elves that put on the display are hoping to improve on their seventh-place finish in 2019. 

Each year, more than 1.5 million Christmas lights twinkle across 250 light displays around the lake. Lake Coeur D'Alene Cruises invites families to board their festive fleet and set sail for a 40-minute cruise where you get to marvel at all the gorgeous lights.

You can grab a hot chocolate and see the lights from the upper deck or cozy up in the indoor lower level of the ship. Each cruise whisks guests off to see Santa and his elves at his waterfront toy workshop when he reads off the names of all the kids on the boat when double-checking his Nice list. (So parents, pro-tip: Include your child's name if you buy tickets!)

Right now, CDA Cruises is getting ready to kick off their " Santa's Sneak Peek Week Cruises " on November 15 which lets you preview the lights ahead of the official opening weekend at a discounted price. The official Journey to the North Pole Cruises run multiple times a day from Thanksgiving to January 2. The week two weeks before Christmas, the boats may go out up to nine times a day but some of those dates are already sold out. 

If you're looking for a cool idea for your office's Christmas party, they also offer private packages that include bottomless hot cocoa, cookies and an optional full-hosted bar for up to 25! We're fairly sure that if you treat your employees to this unforgettable lake cruise, they won't tell their friends how "lame the office party was" like they do every other year!

Editor's Note: If you can't make it during the holidays, they do a fantastic Hot Cocoa Cruise after the holiday season. You can read about our experience here . It wasn't just fun and relaxing, it was educational too! That’s where we learned about all the shipwrecks on the bottom of Lake Coeur d’Alene. You can read about those here!

KEEP READING: 14 Tiny Towns In and Around Idaho With Incredibly Festive Christmas Names

Gallery Credit: Michelle Heart

The 10 Ornaments You'll Find on Every Boise Christmas Tree

See the 31 dazzling trees you missed at nampa's 2022 canyon county festival of trees, more from 107.9 lite fm.

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on Beautiful Lake Coeur d’Alene

Lake Coeur d'Alene is known as the playground of the Pacific Northwest - and the rail of a cruise boat is the best place to enjoy it!

Lake Coeur d'Alene Cruises offers a great way to enjoy the lake with family and friends. We have many fun-filled cruise options to choose from - including daily scenic cruises, dinner cruises, Sunday brunch cruises, holiday cruises, and so much more. We proudly offer cruises all year round!

Guests can also charter a private cruise boat for their upcoming special occasion - whether it be a wedding or a birthday party, a cruise boat is one of the most unique and desirable on-water venues in the Pacific Northwest!

LOCATED ON BEAUTIFUL LAKE COEUR D'ALENE

Our large fleet of newly renovated cruise boats offers large picture windows, sound systems, and full bar service. There are also dining options available on select cruises. Whichever cruise you join us on, you’ll enjoy a spectacular experience on the water.

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Six boats, full bars, beautiful views.

THE MISH-AN-NOCK

107 FT LONG 33 FT WIDE TOTAL CAPACITY (INSIDE & OUTSIDE): 400 INSIDE SEATING CAPACITY: 220 MEAL CAPACITY: 160

THE COEUR D'ALENE

102 FT LONG 28 FT WIDE TOTAL CAPACITY (INSIDE & OUTSIDE): 400 INSIDE SEATING CAPACITY: 150 MEAL CAPACITY: 130

THE KOOTENAI

65 FT LONG 17 FT WIDE TOTAL CAPACITY (INSIDE & OUTSIDE): 80 INSIDE SEATING CAPACITY: 60 MEAL CAPACITY: 40

65 FT LONG 23 FT WIDE TOTAL CAPACITY (INSIDE & OUTSIDE): 149 INSIDE SEATING CAPACITY: 100 MEAL CAPACITY: 80

THE SPIRIT OF CDA

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Experience the beauty of north idaho.

The one, the only, the beautiful lake Coeur d'Alene. Located in north Idaho, this incredible body of water is over 26 miles long with 135+ miles of shoreline. The lake is fed primarily by two rivers, the Coeur d'Alene River and the St. Joe River, and its outlet forms the Spokane River. Our various cruises takes guests throughout different areas of lake Coeur d'Alene. Click the button below to view our interactive route map!

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Launch a rewarding career on the water.

Our core values make us who we are here at Lake Coeur d'Alene Cruises - as we change and grow, our company beliefs still stay the same - we always put our Guests and Team Members first. We pursue excellence, embrace change, act with integrity and have just plain FUN. Being a part of Lake Coeur d'Alene Cruises means being a part of a thriving  culture and loving everything and anything water related.

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Experience all four seasons on lake coeur d'alene.

Speak with our cruise event planners to help

Interested in booking a private charter cruise for your special event? Imagining your wedding on a luxurious cruise? Questions about our scenic cruises or upcoming events? Get in touch with a cruise specialist today!

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Holiday Lights Cruise - Coeur d'Alene Resort Spa

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I had a Deep Tissue Massage with Jenna and it was incredible!! One of the best I have ever had! All... read more

The skinny… - Easy 35 to 40 min drive from Spokane airport - Centrally located, easy walk to... read more

Holiday Lights Cruise

Making the trip to Coeur d'Alene is worth it just to take the holiday lights cruise. There are thousands of lights both at the resort's marina and even more at the "North Pole" the destination of the the holiday lights cruise. Once you arrive at the North Pole, Santa and a helpful elf read off the names of all the children on the boat. When they are done, the light show really picks up with a huge animated Christmas tree, Santa's village, etc. The highlight is watching Santa's reindeer take off into the night sky. All the lights are intensified by their reflection off the lake, making it an amazing treat for the eyes. We did not take the dinner cruise, but our boat did offer hot and cold beverages at relatively reasonable prices. Be sure to dress for extreme cold. Idaho can get chilly, and combined with wind off the water the upper decks were quite frigid. Fortunately there is plenty of climate controlled space inside the boat for the trip back and forth across the lake. For the best pictures, stay outside as the boat pulls out from dock, and head for the top deck as the boat reaches the North Pole. The cruise lasts approximately 40 minutes, but give yourself time to walk around the resort, and to wait in line for awhile before you board. There is a free 2 hour parking lot adjacent to the staging area.

Decided to give myself a treat for a family vist and was not disappointed. The appointments were oppulent and the staff was very professional. Every now and then you need to treat yourself to something special and this is definitely one of those venues. Food, drink, shopping, attractions, it is all here.

I left here feeling like I was in some sort of dream world. Very attentive staff, gorgeous facility, with beautiful views over the water.

Spa staff were terrific, waiting rooms comfy with view of tour boats and floating boatramp. Had 50 minute massage which was perfect after biking Hiawatha trail down and back up. She did the full 50 minutes and concentrated where I requested. Only surprise is that they did not have small breads or fruit for an 8:30 a.m. reservation.

The hotel is so beautiful and the fact that I have lived nearby there is no reason to stay,my mom would miss me if I wasn't crashing in my old room (I love my family) but I have gone out here for the Christmas cruise and for the lighting ceremony and it is amazing I love everything about it it feels so special around Christmas. My family has stated in the hotel and it was one of the most gorgeous places I have been in.

My wife and I stayed here for an entire week. We had a mixed experience, but overall left satisfied. PROS + Very Nice Scenery: Idaho, Coeur d'Alene, and Lake Coeur d'Alene are gorgeous; probably some of the most picturesque views in the country + Great Staff: incredibly helpful with all of our needs and over-the-top friendly + Great Room: (read CONS below for a full picture) our room was large, clean, modernized and had amazing views + Great Spa: the spa was fantastic; it has single-sex and co-ed waiting areas, and the co-ed waiting area had amazing views; the various spa services themselves were also great + Many Activities: there were tons of things to do, including golf, paddle boats, lake cruises, hiking, fly fishing, shopping, and eating (and many more), and everything was within easy walking distance + Very Good Meals: from the hotel's internal restaurants to the many restaurants within a five-minute walk of the resort, the food was amazing; I think we only had one or two bad meals out of the 25 or so meals we had on our trip + Golfing: I did not golf, but the course looked AMAZING + Perfect Weather: not sure if we can give the resort credit for this, but I'm going to anyway (mid-70s and not a cloud in the sky for eight straight days - we stayed at the resort during the first week in September) CONS - Not All Rooms were Created Equally: my wife and I aren't normally picky travelers, but we had to switch rooms two times because the first two rooms were completely unacceptable; the first room (and many other rooms like it in the hotel) are over the hotel's HVAC system, so when you go out on the deck, all you can hear are the roaring AC units, and there is no whirlpool-style tub, just your basic shower/tub combo; they then moved us to a penthouse-level room; sounds nice, but there was no balcony at all and no bath (only a shower), which was really important to us; we wanted to be able to hang out in our room while still enjoying the outdoors, but no balcony made that impossible; after a day they moved us to another room (always friendly and helpful throughout), which is the one I described in my PROS section - Ruined Views: in my PROS I described the views as gorgeous, which is true for most of the area; however, from the hotel looking out onto Lake Coeur d'Alene (ranked as one of the most beautiful lakes in the US), it is completely ruined by the hundreds of boating slips the hotel leases out to boaters throughout the year (you can see this on their homepage); it's virtually all you can see when you look out onto the lake from the hotel and obscures the view of the surrounding lake, trees, and mountains; it literally turns the view from an 8 or 9 into a 2 - Crowded at Times: during the weekdays, the resort was peaceful with only a modicum of traffic; however, Friday through Sunday, this seemingly exclusive resort is actually a local long-weekend getaway for anyone within a 100-mile radius, and it also hosts conventions; thus at those times it becomes very crowded and less pleasant (although not unpleasant) - So-So Downtown: the downtown strip (right outside of the hotel) is nice, but it's not nearly as quaint as one would expect from an old mining town in Idaho; also the clothes shopping options leave much to be desired JUST TO REITERATE, although there were definitely some meaningful drawbacks to staying at the Coeur d'Alene Resort, overall we had a very relaxing and enjoyable time and would consider staying there again.

Light it up

Fireworks explode over Lake Coeur d'Alene in a previous Coeur d'Alene Resort Holiday Light Show. This year's celebration is set for Friday. Photo courtesy Coeur d'Alene Resort

COEUR d'ALENE —  The Coeur d'Alene Resort Holiday Light Show is ready to explode in fireworks and lights over Lake Coeur d'Alene.

This year’s grand opening ceremony is set for Friday and the light show runs through Jan. 2.

The annual lighting ceremony starts at 5 p.m. in downtown Coeur d’Alene, with a lighted parade on Sherman Avenue. At 6 p.m., Brad Hagadone, chairman and CEO of the Hagadone Corporation, will open the ceremony and introduce this year’s guest of honor, Rick Powers. 

Around 36,000 spectators are expected to gather around the lake shore to sing Christmas carols, light candles, and see what's considered one of the most spectacular fireworks shows in the Pacific Northwest. 

“I could not be more honored to be a part of the 36th annual lighting ceremony,” Powers said. 

Powers, director of food and beverage for Hagadone Hospitality, will help lead the crowd in counting down from 10. That is the cue to ignite a 1,500-shell fireworks show over Lake Coeur d’Alene. After the last burst of fireworks, all 1.5 million holiday lights will come on.

Every winter season, Coeur d’Alene transforms into a holiday wonderland. Journey to the North Pole Cruises depart nightly to visit Santa’s workshop across the lake.

What began in 1986 by lighting up a fire truck has grown into an international holiday destination with a live appearance on ABC's Good Morning in 2007.

This season, visitors will notice that things are bigger and brighter, said Bill Reagan, president of The Coeur d’Alene Resort.

“Santa has been busy over the summer, and now he has a new home,” Reagan said. “It’s going to be incredible. And his famous flame-throwing sleigh has been souped up a little more. The dragon family has gotten bigger, with a couple more fire-breathing dragons. And we have a new boat in the fleet, The Shadow, to help deliver more guests to the North Pole.”

The Coeur d’Alene Resort Holiday Light Show is built by a team of 15 people who work for more than two months each fall to set up the displays.

“The reward for all our team’s hard work is the faces of the kids when Santa calls out their name at The North Pole,” Reagan said. “Seeing those faces light up makes it all worthwhile.”

Information: cdaresort.com

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Holiday Lighting Ceremony Coming! – The Coeur d’Alene Resort

Posted on: November 18, 2016

Join us for a priceless memory filled with hot chocolate, Christmas carols and over 1.5 million holiday lights!

Grab your family, snag your friends, pack a jacket and join us for our marvelous annual Holiday Lighting Ceremony! Recently selected as the #4 Holiday Light Show in America by USA Today’s Readers’ Choice List, we are so beyond excited to share the magic of over a million fabulous Christmas lights with all of our city-goers as well as visiting out-of-towners!

This fun-filled lighting ceremony will take place on Friday, November 25 th in front of The Coeur d’Alene Resort. Join us at 5:00 pm as we kick off our magnificent holiday parade, 6:00 pm for the official ceremony, and 6:15 pm for the breathtaking fireworks show presented by Duane and Lola Hagadone. Directly following the grand finale of the fireworks, crowds will gather along the lakefront to sing Christmas carols and enjoy time with their family, friends and community.

To add to all the holiday fun, but we also invite you and your kiddos to join us for a magical journey to the North Pole this holiday season! From Thanksgiving to New Year’s, bring the entire family to see the largest on-the-water holiday light display in America. Our signature “Journey to the North Pole” Holiday Lake Cruise visits Santa’s North Pole Toy Workshop where America’s Tallest Floating Christmas Tree towers above the lake with thousands of incredible twinkling lights! Click here to book your tickets today!

What began as a few lights decorating the front entrance of The Coeur d’Alene Resort has grown into an international holiday destination for the entire family to enjoy. We look forward to having you join us for a night full of magic and fun!

Happy holidays!

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