Recreational activities include hiking, bicycling, hunting, boating, fishing, and snow skiing. Kootenai County also contains attractions such as Silverwood Theme Park, Lake Pend Oreille, Farragut State park, and Cataldo Mission, Idaho's oldest building. These attractions, recreation, and tourism are important elements of the local economy. Other important industries include healthcare, professional services, light manufacturing, construction, education and skilled trades.

Kootenai County provides law enforcement, judicial systems, jail and juvenile detention facilities, adult and juvenile probation, 9-1-1 service, ambulance service, a regional airport, emergency management, noxious weed control, parks and recreation (including bicycling, boating, and snowmobile facilities), as well as cultural and historical support. The county also provides general services such as planning and zoning, code enforcement, driver and vehicle licensing, managing federal, state, and local elections, recording of deeds and legal documents and administration of the property tax system.

The collection and distribution of property tax for all taxing districts within the county is also managed by Kootenai County. The districts include cities, highway districts, fire districts, school districts, North Idaho College, Kootenai Medical Center, and Urban Renewal Districts (URDs). The County also provides for the disposal of solid waste through the development and maintenance of two solid waste transfer stations and a landfill. This operation is a self-supporting facility, managed as an enterprise fund.