Sandpoint lies on the shores of Idaho's largest lake, 43-mile-long Lake Pend Oreille, surrounded by three major mountain ranges, the Selkirk, Cabinet and Bitterroot ranges. Home to Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort, Idaho's largest, and on the Selkirk Loop, and two National Scenic Byways.
Among other distinctions awarded by national media in the past decade, in 2011 Sandpoint was named the nation's "Most Beautiful Small Town" by Rand McNally and USA Today.
The beauty of the surrounding Selkirk and Cabinet Mountains and Lake Pend Oreille has kept Sandpoint a tourist favorite for water sports, hunting, hiking, horseback riding, fishing, and skiing.