Zone 3 wraps the Coeur d'Alene River drainage and the surrounding mountains east of the lake, an area shaped by mining history, big timber, and the 1910 burn that still defines vegetation patterns a century later. The land rolls from about 2,200 feet at the river to roughly 6,800 feet on the divides toward Montana. Western red cedar, grand fir, and Douglas fir hold the wet north slopes; ponderosa, larch, and lodgepole take over on the dryer south aspects. Brushfields of ceanothus and ninebark fill the old burns, and the cedar groves in the upper Coeur d'Alene are some of the most productive whitetail bedding cover in the state. Idaho Panhandle National Forest covers most of the zone, with private timber and a smattering of state ground filling in. Forest Highway 9 (Coeur d'Alene River Road) is the spine; from there a maze of FS roads run up Tepee Creek, Prichard, Beaver Creek, and the rest. Many are gated October 1, which actually helps you—walk-in ground gets less pressure. Kingston, Kellogg, and Wallace cover the south side for fuel and food; Coeur d'Alene is a half hour for full services. Cell service is along I-90 and dead in the timber. Whitetail are the main draw with very strong numbers, plus elk and a few moose. Bring rain gear that actually works, because the panhandle eats cheap shells.