Blanchard, Idaho — Between Spokane Growth and North Idaho Forest

Blanchard sits in southern Bonner County where forest, pasture and transportation routes meet near the Washington line.

Rail service, timber and farming helped establish the community.

Its modern economy is less dependent on any one of them.

Highway access puts Blanchard within reach of growing communities in Idaho and eastern Washington, while lakes, golf and forest recreation attract residents for entirely different reasons.

Development has spread across wooded and rural parcels without producing a conventional suburb.

That leaves Blanchard in a transitional position increasingly common in the Inland Northwest.

It is still rural enough to see the old landscape.

It is connected enough that the metropolitan one keeps getting closer.