Kellogg

Understand

Imagine the largest smelting facility in the world being located in the rugged terrain of the Rocky Mountains. That's what the Bunker Hill Mine and Smelting Complex used to be, to extract massive quantities of silver, and what the town of Kellogg was built around, in addition to other mining interests. This all has a very sad chapter to it in that, for one, one of the worst U.S. mining accidents to ever occur happened when a subterranean fire broke out at the Sunshine Mine in 1972 and took 91 lives, and, for another, the Bunker Hill Smelter left the area and Spokane River watershed below it heavily contaminated with lead and other toxins and made it a Superfund site.

Getting there

Kellogg is right along I-90 just to the west of Wallace. Greyhound makes a stop here at the Fairbridge Inn & Suites (601 Bunker Ave).

See

1 Mining and Smelting Museum, 820 Mc Kinley Ave W, ☏ +1 208 786-4141. Little mining odds and ends. (updated Oct 2021) 2 Cataldo Mission (Old Mission State Park), 31732 S Mission Rd, Cataldo, ☏ +1 208-682-3814. Daily 9AM-5PM. Where Father Pierre Desmet did his work among the local indigenous population in what is the oldest building in Idaho, and one built without nails. 3 Sunshine Miners Memorial (off of I-90 some 5 miles east of downtown). Remembering the day of the Sunshine Mine disaster. (updated Oct 2021)

Kellogg has metal sculptures of a dragon and knight, a gold panner, an elk (in front of the local chapter of the Elks), a big panther (which is the high school's mascot) in front of the local pool, a miner and donkey, and the best was the Red Baron. All seemed to be made of scraps of metal from different things, but they are large!

Do

1 Silver Mountain Resort, 610 Bunker Ave, ☏ +1 866 344-2675. A plush ski resort with golf course and all number of other things, like an indoor water park for instance, to keep you going. Even in summer, you can enjoy a gondola ride and mountain biking course. (updated Oct 2021) 2 Crystal Gold Mine & RV, 51931 Silver Valley Rd, ☏ +1 208 783-4653. Here you can pan for gold or tour a mine shaft at this commercialized operation. (updated Oct 2021)

Sleep

You can potentially get a studio condo or a room at the Morning Star Lodge at the Silver Mountain Resort for around $110, which is pretty appealing given all of the amenities and packages available there. Other options include:

1 Silver Inn, 699 W Cameron Ave, ☏ +1 866 344-2675. An interstate hotel with a free breakfast. (updated Oct 2021)

Campgrounds By the Way Campground Crystal Gold Mine RV Park Lost Moose Campground