Falls Park Reopened in October. The Trout Showed Up Five Days Later.

Falls Park reopened on Wednesday, October 21, and the rebuilt pond had a new waterfall, a bridge and several new fishing spots. A family visiting from Spokane told the Coeur d'Alene Press that only one thing was missing: "All they need are some fish in here."

On October 26, Idaho Fish and Game stocked 1,600 catchable rainbow trout in the pond. That was about two and a half weeks before this post's November 12 publication. So the first fishing season on the rebuilt pond is this fall, and it began with one of the biggest single plantings the pond has had.

A snail problem that ended in a rebuild

According to the Coeur d'Alene Press, the fight against invasive species at the pond began in September 2021, when parks staff started tackling both the snails and Eurasian watermilfoil. In spring 2023, the Press reported that the pond was closing because Chinese mystery snails had infested its banks and bed. While the city and Avista weighed how to remove them, Idaho Fish and Game skipped the pond's usual rainbow trout stocking that year.

The pond reopened to fishing in between. By January 2025, the Press reported, city staff and Avista had pulled thousands of snails out by hand and brought Eurasian watermilfoil under control. The pond had stayed open and received trout throughout 2024, but the snails were still there.

After several years of removal attempts, officials decided to rebuild the pond. Avista Communications Officer Kirstin O'Connor Giampietri described the decision to the Coeur d'Alene Press:

"We worked with Parks and Rec to identify that problem, and mitigate it. We had extensive efforts to do that but the infestation just continued."

Avista worked with Land Expressions to design and build the project, and the pond was rebuilt from the ground up. The City of Post Falls held its ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. on October 21 and credited the reopening to Avista working together with the city's Parks and Recreation Department.

What the rebuild added

The Press listed what is at 305 W. 4th Ave. now:

• A 22-acre park with new and refurbished hiking trails
• The rebuilt pond, with a waterfall feature and a bridge
• New and expanded spaces around the pond
• Several dedicated fishing spots along the water
• An upgraded playground, plus trails that children can bike
• A hiking trail down to the Spokane River bank
• A view of the river through the Avista dam for much of the year

The pond is small. Idaho Fish and Game lists it at 0.6 acres and describes it as "a great fishing spot for kids and anglers with special needs." Anglers can fish from the bridge, the shore or the fishing platforms, and the agency lists the restroom and access as handicap accessible. With so little water, 1,600 fish in one planting is a lot.

The planting, compared with past years

Idaho Fish and Game posts every planting for the pond on its Post Falls Park Pond fishing planner page. The recent entries show where the October planting sits.

Three things stand out in the record.

1. The fall planting doubled. The last autumn planting before the rebuild was 785 fish in September 2024. This October's planting is more than twice that.
2. One day nearly matched all of 2025. The three plantings in May and June 2025 added up to 2,400 fish. The single October planting delivered two-thirds of that.
3. It ties the largest single planting on the list since 2022. The only other 1,600-fish day was May 27, 2024.

Most of the pond's stocking has come in late spring, with a smaller planting in September in some years. This year the fish arrived in late October, just after the reopening. Those trout are in the pond now.

Fishing the pond in November

Idaho Fish and Game lists Post Falls Park Pond as both a Recommended Fishing Water and a Family Fishing Water. Its recommended species are bluegill, pumpkinseed and other sunfish, largemouth bass, and rainbow trout. The agency lists no special rules for the pond, so the Panhandle Region general rules apply. Under those rules, the limit is six trout in total across the listed trout species, and six largemouth and smallmouth bass combined. The current rules period shown on the pond's page runs from 2025 to 2027.

Fishing rules and license requirements belong to Idaho Fish and Game. This is general information, not legal advice, so check the agency's page for the current rules before you fish.

The trout are 12 to 14 inches, and you can reach them from the bridge or a platform with no boat and no long hike. The same paved paths and platforms that serve kids and anglers with special needs make the pond easy to fish on a short November afternoon.

The park also has more to see in the colder months. The City of Post Falls' Falls Park facility page lists public observation decks and points out the snow and ice that form around the falls in winter.

The dam side has a later finish date

The pond is finished, but the dam beside it is not. Avista's Post Falls Hydroelectric Development is 118 years old. It has three dams where the Spokane River splits into three channels, nine miles downstream of Coeur d'Alene Lake. The North Channel Dam is in the middle of a spillway rehabilitation that the Coeur d'Alene Press reported in 2024 as a $56 million project. The work includes repairing the concrete structure, replacing the steel spillway gates and hoists, and upgrading the electrical and control systems.

Avista's project page gives the schedule as starting in spring 2024 and finishing in spring 2027. Nine spillway gates are being replaced, along with their hoists and mechanical equipment, piers and abutments. Gate work can begin only after the area between a temporary retaining wall and the gates has been drained, following spring runoff. Avista expects the work to leave Coeur d'Alene Lake water levels unchanged.

The same page explains how the construction affects the park. Avista lists the main parking lot as closed to the public for 2024 through 2027 because it serves as an active construction site. The boardwalk and one of the three dam overlooks are also listed as closed while crews work. Avista's plan calls for construction and directional signs at key spots, and it asks visitors to follow them and stay out of fenced areas. Once the new gates are working, Avista says Falls Park "will be restored to pre-existing or better condition."

So the pond, the playground and the new trails reopened in October. The dam-side areas on Avista's construction list run on the spillway schedule, which ends in spring 2027. Idaho Fish and Game's driving directions still send anglers to "the large parking lot" off Fourth Avenue, a short walk from the pond on paved paths. On a visit before spring 2027, posted signs and fencing show what is open that day.

One Post Falls native told the Coeur d'Alene Press on opening day that she hoped the ducks would come back. The trout came back within the week.

Falls Park, its river trails and the overlooks above the dam sit right in the middle of the Spokane River corridor in Post Falls. If you want to talk about how the riverfront here is changing, including what wraps up when Avista finishes in 2027, Corcoran-Hall & Co. would be glad to walk through it with you. Request a Private Consultation.