Recreational Activities

While we need to help our children discover activities and hobbies they find rewarding, we have our own needs and hobbies that help us unwind or improve our health. On this page, you’ll find what is available here in Moscow.

Mental Play

A new addition to our town off Washington Ave. is the Puzzle IQ: live escape room experience. If you’ve never heard of this new trend, there are companies popping up all around the nation that provide a story-like game for groups of people, either folk you talked into going or others who signed up with you. Players are given a story of “what’s happened” that boxed them into some adventurous circumstance and are given 60 minutes to solve the puzzle. Can you solve it in less than 60 minutes or will you be beaten by the room?? There are a variety of challenges you and your compadres can choose from such as solving a murder mystery to you are now held hostage in some place. The goal is for you and your peeps to use the clues to solve the mystery/challenge before time runs out.

Cycling

Moscow Area Mountain Bike Association is not limited to cyclists but encourages runners, hikers, and horseback riders to join as well. MAMBA offers group rides and maps of local trails.
Paradise Creek sets up group rides and offers bike rentals as well.
Washington State University sponsors a Tour de Lentil Bike Ride (not race) that takes cyclists down scenic roads to enjoy the beauty of our Palouse hills in August.

Map of the Chipman Trail that runs from Moscow to Pullman. This link also provides links to other local parks worth exploring.

The Latah Trail starts in Troy and ends in Pullman. It connects with the Chipman Trail and connects with it.

Races

Moscow Mountain Madness– 12 mile run in September
Snake River Half Marathon– 13 mile run in March
Rolling Hills Half Marathon– 13 miles in April
Palouse Sprint Triathlon– 500 yard swim, 15K bike ride, 5K run in September
Palouse 100K Relay & Solo Race– in April

Parks & Hiking

Moscow has so many parks beyond the skate park, nestled in neighborhoods and around the outskirts of town. This link will take you to all the hidden parks throughout town as well as more links to the trails listed above and more.
Robinson County Park is minutes east of Moscow and has a creek running through it, a nice hiking trail and camping available.
Elk Creek Falls is 50 miles east of town and worth the drive. Elk Creek Falls is the tallest falls in Idaho totaling a 140 feet in height. There are campgrounds to in case an overnight plan by a campfire is your style.

Palouse Falls is in Eastern Washington in the Palouse along the Blue Mountains and is deemed Washington’s official waterfall.

University of Idaho’s Arboretum is broken up according to geographic regions, displaying all sorts of trees, native and from all around the world, and makes for a nice walk or bike ride. My husband and I have enjoyed riding our bikes there then going for a walk on the pathway through the Arboretum.

Campsites

Elk Creek Campground
From Moscow, travel NE on Hwy. 8 to Elk River;
North on FSR 1705
208-875-1131
http://www.recreation.gov
This one is nice for checking out Elk River Falls.
Open May-October. 24 sites for tent and RV camping, electrical hookups available at six sites ($15/night). Each camp site has a picnic table, fire ring, and grill. ADA accessible vault toilets and drinking water are available. Hiking to nearby waterfall. Feel free to send me pictures so I can replace this sign about falls with Elk River Falls actual water falls!

Little Boulder Campground
From Deary drive 4 miles east on Hwy. 8; 3 miles
southeast on County Rd. 1963
208-875-1131
16 RV/ Tent campsites.

Each camp site has a picnic table, fire ring, grill, double parking spaces at most sites. $8 per night, $2 for an extra vehicle. Fishing. No reservations. Pets on leash.

Moose Creek Reservoir
Hwy. 8 east of Deary onto Forest Rd. 281
208-334-3700
24 campsites. Most can fit both tent/ RV. Each camp site has a fire ring and picnic table. Some of the lake sites have a dock for fishing or swimming. Also there are two blue lagoons (light blue in color) nearby if you don’t mind a hike. $10 daily fee. No reservations. Pets on leash.

Spring Valley Reservoir
Hwy. 8 east of Troy, ID
208-799-5010

Half-mile long reservoir for fishing & swimming provides several primitive campsites. Fire pits available at most campsites. Pets on leash.

Campsites in and surrounding St. Marie’s and St. Joe’s areas
On the above page, you will find many camping and hiking options with details about each site. Details here…

Laird Campground
This is another good site for swimming, fishing, and hiking near Troy. Details here…

Dworshak State Park
If you’d like to camp but not sleep in a tent, then Dworshak is for you thanks to the availability of cabins to rend. Near Orofino, this park has it all–hiking, fishing, swimming and beautiful scenery. Details here…

Nunya Campsite
This is low key with no official campsite setting here, but if you like fly fishing, you will want to check it out. This location is near Troy. I don’t know much more other than to head to the end of White Pine Flats Rd and hike a couple miles north from there. There are three roads after the end of the White Pine flats Rd, each heading some direction north. All will lead you to the Nunya Creek where you can pitch camp.

Here are a few more campsites plus RV park sites that I didn’t list above….

Hot Springs with Campsites

Weir Hot Springs
Visitors should bear in mind a 6 mile hike to get to this rustic campsite, near Lolo, Montana, located at roughly 148 mile marker off of Highway 12. Heads up–this site has been known for nude bathing, so hiker beware if seeing others in their birthday suits ain’t your thang. ;o) This link will give you more details about the site.

Moscow Idaho Real estate Jerry Johnson Hot Springs

Jerry Johnsons Hot Springs
This site is an easier hike, which can mean busier too, and has 3 hot springs rather than the one large one at Weir Hot Springs. There is potential here too for naturists who turn a blind eye to the taboo of public nudity. This one is located just off Highway 12, at roughly mile marker 152. More details here…

Skiing Resorts

All the sites listed also provide summer activities like hiking and biking.

Silver Mountain Ski Resort is the closest to us, roughly 2 hours and 15 minutes, and has 73 trails good for skiing and snowboarding. Aside from the usual ski school and rentals, they also offer guided excursion to bowls, an indoor water park, a gondola to bring you to the slopes and tubing run with a carpet tow.
Lookout Pass is just a hop scotch past Silver Mountain Ski Resort and sits along the Idaho Montana border, north of Wallace, Idaho. You can plan on a 2 hours and 3o minute drive. The resort covers two mountains and is known for having the most snow each season. Also a big bonus is that their children’s ski school is free.
Schweitzer Mountain Resort fetches an annual base of 300 feet, similar to Silver Mountain, and has 2900 acres of slopes for snow lovers to ski or snowboard. They also have a tubing run. What sets them apart are a few things. They have a healing center where you may book a massage, ski in, ski out options, night skiing, and on top of Schweitzer Village for shopping and dining, you can go down the mountain to visit the lovely, lakeside town of Sandpoint for more entertainment. Schweitzer is just under 3 hours away, north of Coeur d’Alene.
Brundage Mountain Resort sits in McCall, Idaho, 3 hours south of Moscow. While it rings in with less runs, 46 runs, it has a free style terrain area and is reputed to have the best powder snow in Idaho. Its typical snowfall is 320 feet. They are known for some good dining, right off the slopes and downtown in McCall. Lastly, there are hot springs in the area, so if you wanna take a break and enjoy a mineral bath soak, you won’t have to venture far.
If you have a passport, crossing the border to Crambrook or Kimberly, BC is well worth some powder and Canadian hosting and prices are good too.
To learn more about our skiing options and see good photos of the above resorts, visit SkiIdaho.

Other Outdoor Activities

Fishing, boating, rafting and camping is available in the surrounding areas. Most of the links above will guide you to it. Aside from the parks, I’d suggest checking out Coeur d’Alene Lake, Snake River, Lake Pend Oreille, and Priest Lake up next to the Canadian border if any of the above mentioned activities interests you.

Performing Arts

(movie theaters are listed under Popular Events)

Moscow Community Theater is a non-profit theater.
Regional Theater of the Palouse is in downtown Pullman. It offers Broadway classics, revivals, premieres and award winning shows and supports other arts as well with its own art gallery.
The University of Idaho’s Theatre Arts Department offers fantastic plays and musicals during the Fall and Spring semesters and it offers summer drama camps.
WSU’s Beasley Coliseum provides children’s theater and brings entertainment to town, case in point- the new host of the Daily Show, Trevor Noah, will be coming this November.
WSU’s Jones Theatre offers more performances and like UI’s Theatre Dept, they too happen only during the semesters.
Dance Festival not only offers performances during UI’s semesters, it offers dance academies for the community.
UI’s Auditorium Chamber Music Series gives you offers concerts of a classical chord that you won’t catch in John’s Alley.
UI’s Lionel Hampton School of Music offers performances of a wider range from concert bands & wind ensembles to great singers paired with Jazz bands.
The Palouse Choral Society is a non-profit organization that serves the quad-city region (Moscow, Pullman, Lewiston & Clarkston cities) performs a wide variety of choral music in venues like St. Boniface Catholic Church in Uniontown, the UI’s Administration Auditorium and Moscow High School’s Auditorium.
The Washington Idaho Symphony is another regional organization that performs in venues like the Palouse Choral Society above and aims to bring live classical music to our region.

Community Classes

Ampersand Oil & Vinegar Taphouse Cooking Classes

Ampersand’s Culinary Classroom in back of the store

Michaels Craft Classes
Moscow Food Co-Op Classes offer more than an opportunity to learn how to cook ethnic foods but also learn about the role of food in our body’s health
Wild@Art offers painting classes: Canvas & Wine, Mimosas & Masterpieces Brunch, Mommy & Me Canvas Day, & pottery painting as a walk-in option
Palouse Discovery Science Center’s Science Pub is their way of pairing a good brew with a bit of science. Boy, do they know their Pacific Northwesteners love of a good brew.
Paradise Creek Bicycles Events & Clinics
City of Moscow Parks & Rec
PCEI Community Education
Altered Ego Sewing Classes
Yarn Underground Knitting Classes

Wineries, Breweries & Taphouses

Moscow and Pullman teem with wineries and breweries in town and nearby. Regardless of whether its a brewery or winery, local restaurateurs offer great options in bottle and on tap, for both wine and micro-brews.