Where is Priest River, Idaho?

Priest River is in Bonner County, Idaho. Nearby towns include Oldtown (5.7 mi), Dover (15 mi), Spirit Lake (15 mi).

What is the population of Priest River, Idaho?

Priest River has a population of about 1,847 (U.S. Census).

Are there jobs in Priest River, Idaho?

There are 3 open jobs listed in Priest River on Treasure Idaho, from 2 local employers.

What schools are in Priest River, Idaho?

Priest River has 2 operating public schools in West Bonner County District, including Priest River Elementary School, Priest River Lamanna High.

What parks are in Priest River, Idaho?

Priest River has 5 parks, including 4-H Park, Carey Creek Game Management Area, North Shore Game Management Area, Priest River City Park.

Northern Idaho

Priest River, Idaho

Bonner County1,847 people

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1,847Population

About Priest River

Priest River is a city in Bonner County. About 1,847 people lived here in 2024, by Census estimate. It sits at about 2,200 feet, 34 miles north of Coeur d'Alene in a straight line.

Places listed for this area include McAbee Falls and Torrelle Falls.

Moving to Priest River

Start with homes, jobs and local services in and around Priest River.

Cost of living

Priest River is outside the Idaho metros with a 2024 federal price figure, so this uses the Idaho statewide level. A basket that costs $100 in the U.S. costs $95.49 here, under the U.S. average by 4.5%.

Open the calculator

Public schools in Priest River

All 2

District, enrollment, and students per teacher from the federal 2024-25 directory. No ratings.

Priest River Elementary School
West Bonner County District · PK-6
356 students · 17.8 students per teacher
Priest River Lamanna High
West Bonner County District · 7-12
396 students · 15.8 students per teacher

Services for Priest River

All services

DMV counters are the county offices. A gas utility appears only when its public list names Priest River.

Ponderay · Vehicles
300 Bonner Mall Way Ponderay, ID 83852 Suite 24
· Mon. - Fri. 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Priest River · Driver's licenses
73 Eastside Road Priest River, ID 83865
· Mon. - Fri. 9:15 AM - 4:30 PM
Sandpoint · Driver's licenses
4001 N Boyer Ave Sandpoint, ID 83864
· Mon. - Fri. 9:15 AM - 4:30 PM
Priest River · Vehicles
75 Eastside Road Priest River, ID 83856
· Mon. - Fri. 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

No natural gas utility on the official town lists names Priest River.

Allergy ratings in Priest River

What a typical year looks like: Low, Moderate or High for each pollen season, plus wildfire smoke. Typical, general guidance. It is not medical advice. Pollen and smoke change with the weather every year, and what bothers you depends on what you are allergic to. See an allergist for testing.

Spring trees
March to June
High
Rating: High, on a scale of Low, Moderate, High, Very High. Peaks in June
Early-summer grass
Late May to July
High
Rating: High, on a scale of Low, Moderate, High, Very High. June to mid-July
Fall weeds and sagebrush
August to October
Moderate
Rating: Moderate, on a scale of Low, Moderate, High, Very High. Peaks in August
Wildfire smoke
Mostly July to September
Moderate
Rating: Moderate, on a scale of Low, Moderate, High. 6 days a year with air quality over 100. Worst year 10 (2021).

Regional rating. Priest River has no pollen counter. These pollen ratings come from the Coeur d'Alene station in the North Idaho, 35 miles away.

How these ratings are worked out

Pollen is rated on the National Allergy Bureau bands for the grains of pollen in a cubic meter of air. Trees: Low under 15, Moderate 15 to 89, High 90 to 1,499. Weeds: Low under 10, Moderate 10 to 49, High 50 to 499. Grass: Low under 5, Moderate 5 to 19, High 20 to 199. The band is the one reached on the busiest quarter of counted days. A rating is typical, not a forecast: one wet or windy year can move it.

Spring trees, High. Coeur d'Alene NAB station, 294 counted days in 2010 to 2023: on the busiest quarter of days the tree count was 106 grains per cubic meter or more, which the NAB bands call High. On the busiest tenth of days it was 183 or more.

Early-summer grass, High. The NAB station in Coeur d'Alene reported grass in the High range in June 2017 (WSU), and the Spokane NAB station read 120 grains per cubic meter in late May 2026 (Spokesman-Review). NAB calls 20 to 199 High. Two reports, not a long record. The NAB grass bands: Low under 5, Moderate 5 to 19, High 20 to 199, Very High 200 or more grains per cubic meter.

Fall weeds and sagebrush, Moderate. Coeur d'Alene NAB station, 74 counted days in 2010 to 2022: on the busiest quarter of days the weed count was 16 grains per cubic meter or more, which the NAB bands call Moderate. On the busiest tenth of days it was 28 or more. That is a short record, so treat it as a rough guide.

Wildfire smoke, Moderate. The average number of days a year the EPA's air quality index passed 100 ("unhealthy for sensitive groups" or worse), 2021-2025. Under 3 days is Low, 3 to 9 Moderate, 10 or more High. That grouping is ours, not the EPA's. Bonner County has its own EPA air monitor. The count includes any cause, but across Idaho's monitors 86% of those days fell in July to September and 94% were fine particles (PM2.5), which is what wildfire smoke is made of (570 county-days, 2021-2025).

Not rated. Mold: no published mold spore counts for Idaho towns are in the data used, so there is no mold rating. House dust, pets and food allergies are outside this rating.

Sources

Today

Pollen data through 2003-2024, smoke data 2021-2025. Checked 2026-10-03.

Videos about Priest River

Exploring Priest Lake, Idaho: Things to Do, See, and Know

From Treasure Talks posts tagged Priest River.

Treasure Talks in Priest River

Exploring Priest Lake, Idaho: Things to Do, See, and Know

Map of Priest River

Parks, new home communities, homes for sale and stays listed in town. Select a pin to open it.

Priest River
Park
Stays

Parks in Priest River

5 named parks on OpenStreetMap.

4-H Park
Carey Creek Game Management Area
North Shore Game Management Area
Priest River City Park
Priest River Park

Parks, trails and things to do

All of Idaho

Places in and around Priest River, nearest first: everything tied to Priest River plus anything within 15 miles of town.

Things to do

Waterfalls

Albeni Fallswaterfall · near Oldtown
4.2 mi
McAbee Fallswaterfall
7.4 mi
Torrelle Fallswaterfall
7.5 mi
Mission Fallswaterfall
17 mi

Historic sites

Priest Lake Public Libraryhistoric site
24 mi

Parks (nearest 12 of 13)

Round Lake State Parkstate park · near Dover
13 mi
4-H Park
0.1 mi
Priest River City Park
0.2 mi
Priest River Park
0.9 mi
North Shore Game Management Area
1.9 mi
Carey Creek Game Management Area
3.5 mi
Oldtown Rotary Parknear Oldtown
5.6 mi
Riley Creek Recreation Area
6.5 mi
Clagstone Meadows Natural Areanature reserve · near Athol
13 mi
Canyon Creek Recreational Natural Areanear Dover
14 mi
Volunteer Parknear Spirit Lake
15 mi
Spirit Lake City Parknear Spirit Lake
15 mi

Trails (nearest 12 of 42)

Bodie Mountain Trail0.3 mi long
2.2 mi
Pend Oreille River Passage Trail1 mi long · near Oldtown
4.9 mi
John Wayne Trail2.3 mi long
7.5 mi
Pee Wee Trail0.9 mi long
7.7 mi
Quartz View Trail4.8 mi long
8.2 mi
Peewee Trail2 mi long
8.6 mi
Steep Creek Trail2.1 mi long
9.3 mi
Stewardship Trail2.1 mi long · near Dover
12 mi
Trapper's Trail1.4 mi long · near Dover
13 mi
Rotarian1.5 mi long · easy bike trail · near Dover
15 mi
Cardiac Bypass0.5 mi long · intermediate bike trail · near Dover
15 mi
Pajama Party0.3 mi long · difficult bike trail · near Dover
15 mi

Distances are straight-line miles. From state and federal agency pages, the USGS place names list and OpenStreetMap contributors. Checked October 2, 2026. Check the official page for hours, fees and closures before you go.