K/M Old American Kampground Resort

Located on the Washington/Idaho border, Old American Kampground offers its guests Pend Oreille River fishing, boating, water skiing and swimming, hiking, backpacking, skiing, and snowmobiling in the nearby mountains.   

 

 An ideal side trip to the west and north of the resort is into the 1,100,000-acre Colville National Forest.  A good way to start your journey would be to look at the brochures and maps of self-guiding auto and hiking tours of the forest that can be obtained at the Forest Supervisor’s office in Colville. The Columbia River dissects the wilderness. In the southern-most part of the forest stands the imposing Grand Coulee Dam. The world’s most massive concrete structure was built in the Colorado River and is used for power, irrigation, and flood control. The 81,000-acre Roosevelt Lake, in the center of the forest, is a storage reservoir with 131 miles of water for all kinds of water recreation. Fueled by the gold rush in 1855, the area around Colville thrived and became a major silver and iron mining district.   

 

 In the northeastern corner of the Colville National Forest is Metaline Falls, founded on the west bank of the Pend Oreille River in 1909 by mining prospectors. East of town is the 41,000-acre Salmo-Priest Wilderness Area, where no motorized vehicles are allowed but foot trails are provided for your hiking pleasure. Gardner Cave, the second largest limestone cavern in Washington, is located north of Metaline Falls in Crawford State Park. Guided tours on weekends and holidays (weather permitting) are offered of the stalagmites and stalactites along the 1,055 ft. of passageway through the cave.     

 

The Cheney Cowles Memorial Museum features historical displays of mining, timber, and farming development in the region as well as a fine collection of Plateau Indian artifacts.