South Fork recreation area proposed at visitor center

WALLACE — The Wallace City Council is considering an idea from some of its residents that centers on allowing access to South Fork Coeur d’Alene River near the city’s Visitor Center.

“There is more interest than ever in the South Fork for recreation as the North Fork is overused and the South Fork underdeveloped,” said Wallace City Councilman Elmer Mattila. “This season a new float boat ramp will be going in near Smelterville due to expanded interest there. Some kayakers do float the Mullan to Wallace stretch of the South Fork but getting in and out of the river is difficult.”

Councilman Mattila is part of the group that is interested in building an access point and is also putting together a cleanup effort that will remove the tons of industrial debris that litter the channel as it makes its way through the city.

The Visitor Center is a major hub for Wallace, serving as the gateway to the town’s thriving tourism industry — but it also has a substantial outdoor recreation area, restroom facilities and picnic areas already in place.

Mattila explained that the city of Wallace will give his group permission to construct a trail to the river bank — as long as it is done properly and in compliance with all trail standards. They have already begun preliminary work and are working with McGillivray Environmental for a cost estimate for such a trail.

“A trail at the visitor center would be excellent as there are public restrooms, picnic tables, green space and paved parking available,” Mattila said. “Currently, there are no funds for a trail but there might be groups or organizations willing to help us in that endeavor.”

While no plans are set in stone, Mattila believes that a solid update will be available by May of this year.

“This is not a city function but a group of volunteers trying to make this section of the river a better place while working with the city and any other agencies,” he said.

The South Fork Coeur d’Alene River has been a point of contention among local government agencies and recreators for several years.

The 47-mile swath of water begins just northeast of Lookout Pass, on the Idaho side of the Idaho/Montana state line, and then flows through Mullan, Wallace, Osburn, Kellogg, and just north of Pinehurst before converging with the North Fork Coeur d’Alene River at Enaville.

Much of the banks of the South Fork have been or are expected to be remediated as part of the ongoing Bunker Hill Superfund Project — the river was one of the primary ways that heavy metals contamination from the mines was spread throughout the Silver Valley, Chain Lakes region, and ultimately into Lake Coeur d’Alene.