We are on the west side of the Cascades, heading back to Bellingham. Our cruising in Northern Idaho was marvelous.
Her's our take on the lakes (seen through our cruising filter and love of wildlife:
Upper Priest Lake -- best --wild and remote, great moose.
Priest -- beautiful, wooded shores, beaches, summer homes, clean water, nice lake
Pend d'Oreille -- Southern part wild and beautiful with good wildlife, cliffs and deep water -- few anchorages. Northern part, more places to anchor and more folks
Coeur d'Alene - many homes, especially in the north, nice tourist town to visit, many anchorages but few that are isolated -- most have homes along the shore. Many high speed boats in summer.
All three are great to visit, in close proximity, and wonderful scenery and a little something for almost all tastes (including some delicious fish! -- thanks, Pat).
www.geocities.com/bill_fiero/2007 and scroll down to August for the tales on the three lakes.