Cocolalla, Idaho — Good Name With an Uncooperative Origin Story

Cocolalla has one of northern Idaho's better place-names and several competing explanations for where it came from.

Some accounts connect it to Indigenous language; others offer translations involving cold water. The documentation is too thin to choose a favorite and call it history.

The lake is easier.

Cocolalla Lake sits south of Sandpoint in country shaped by glaciation, forest, wetlands and later farming. Railroads and U.S. 95 connected the district with the wider region.

Logging and agriculture mattered first; recreation and lakeside homes became increasingly important as Sandpoint grew.

The community is spread around water and roads rather than concentrated at one point.

As for “Cocolalla,” uncertainty has not hurt it. The name has managed to remain memorable without ever agreeing to explain itself.