Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Spokane WA
Old 09-13-2021, 09:53 AM   #1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Chuckanut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: West of the Mississippi
Posts: 17,171
Spokane WA

I have been through Spokane a number of times on road trips. Once in a while I spend the night there on my way to another place.

Maybe it's time to visit Spokane for a long weekend (2-3 days). But, I need reasons to do that. How about helping me out. What makes Spokane worth a visit for a tourist? Historical, natural, unusual things are usually on my agenda.

Thanks.
__________________
Comparison is the thief of joy

The worst decisions are usually made in times of anger and impatience.
Chuckanut is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 09-13-2021, 10:58 AM   #2
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
RunningBum's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 13,202
I had just an overnight planned after skiing at Schweitzer, but it turned into an extra day when a blizzard in Denver cancelled our flight. I was pleasantly surprised. Nice park and impressive falls just north of downtown, and the Centennial trail are what I did, and we ate once at the steamplant building.
RunningBum is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2021, 03:29 PM   #3
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 171
Davenport Grand Hotel-super affordable and a great breakfast, Ladder Coffee-the owner is incredible, drive out to Couer D Lane and take a boat ride on the Lake. Watch the river go by in town. Green Bluff apple picking, South Perry Pizza. Butcher Block at Hay J’s Sandwiches and Salads. Yes it's attached to a gas station-ignore that. Love Spokane!
Jenna is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2021, 03:32 PM   #4
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Posts: 1,979
The Riverfront Park and falls and trails.
__________________
Dreams Worth Dreaming are Dreams Worth Planning For. I Spent a Career Planning for Early Retirement.
RetireeRobert is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2021, 03:55 PM   #5
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
grasshopper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,464
Mt Spokane State Park has some nice higher mountain trails (5880ft) and snow in winter.

Coeur d'Alene is just 60 min east from the park, you can always find something to do there.
__________________
For me experiences are not good or bad, just different
grasshopper is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2021, 09:16 PM   #6
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
walkinwood's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Denver
Posts: 3,505
Check out the Palouse and Steptoe Butte state park. Look at images on the internet that correspond to the time of the year you're planning on visiting.
walkinwood is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2021, 10:08 PM   #7
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: W Wash
Posts: 1,644
If you are into wine, Spokane as a wine district https://www.visitspokane.com/food-drink/wineries/
nwsteve is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 09-17-2021, 06:32 PM   #8
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Eastern Washington
Posts: 186
We retired to Spokane from Miami and love it here. Although we travel frequently, we always love returning home. GEG is a cute little airport that's quick and easy to get in and out of. Our flight from SEA touched down right on time today at 2:30pm and we pulled in our driveway on the South Hill by 3:00 after collecting our checked bags.



https://www.ridethehiawatha.com/

https://my.spokanecity.org/parks/gardens/duncan/

https://www.nps.gov/articles/washing...coulee-dam.htm

https://my.spokanecity.org/recreatio...kayak-rentals/

I walk the "bluffs" trails almost daily year round. The following are also very nice:

https://www.planetware.com/washingto...-us-wa-154.htm

If you're here in late April, May, early June, a drive through the Palouse can be gorgeous.

The Palouse - The Seven Wonders of Washington State

Moscow has a really nice farmers market Saturdays from May to October. If here in May you could combine this with a drive through the Palouse and a visit to the Apaloosa Museum, or a drive to Walla Walla. BTW, the Nez Perce bred apaloosas in the Palouse.

https://www.ci.moscow.id.us/197/Farmers-Market

A couple of days in Walla Walla can be fun.

https://www.wallawalla.org/


Finally, Boise, Seattle, and Portland are one hour direct flights from GEG so you could easily combine trips. The box canyon at 1,000 Springs S.P. east of Boise is magnificent.

As with much of the west smoke is can be an issue in late July to early September timeframe. I'd avoid travel here then.
OldConch is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-17-2021, 07:49 PM   #9
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
skyking1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2021
Location: Puget Sound
Posts: 3,223
Nice post OldConch, very informative.
__________________
Class of 2023
OMY to 2024
Operating Engineer for a commercial plumbing contractor
skyking1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-17-2021, 10:49 PM   #10
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Sunset's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Spending the Kids Inheritance and living in Chicago
Posts: 17,010
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldConch View Post
We retired to Spokane from Miami and love it here. Although we travel frequently, we always love returning home. GEG is a cute little airport that's quick and easy to get in and out of. Our flight from SEA touched down right on time today at 2:30pm and we pulled in our driveway on the South Hill by 3:00 after collecting our checked bags.



https://www.ridethehiawatha.com/

https://my.spokanecity.org/parks/gardens/duncan/

https://www.nps.gov/articles/washing...coulee-dam.htm

https://my.spokanecity.org/recreatio...kayak-rentals/

I walk the "bluffs" trails almost daily year round. The following are also very nice:

https://www.planetware.com/washingto...-us-wa-154.htm

If you're here in late April, May, early June, a drive through the Palouse can be gorgeous.

The Palouse - The Seven Wonders of Washington State

Moscow has a really nice farmers market Saturdays from May to October. If here in May you could combine this with a drive through the Palouse and a visit to the Apaloosa Museum, or a drive to Walla Walla. BTW, the Nez Perce bred apaloosas in the Palouse.

https://www.ci.moscow.id.us/197/Farmers-Market

A couple of days in Walla Walla can be fun.

https://www.wallawalla.org/


Finally, Boise, Seattle, and Portland are one hour direct flights from GEG so you could easily combine trips. The box canyon at 1,000 Springs S.P. east of Boise is magnificent.

As with much of the west smoke is can be an issue in late July to early September timeframe. I'd avoid travel here then.
Great list of interesting things.

How did someone living in Miami decide to move to Spokane as it seems a pretty dramatic change ?
__________________
Fortune favors the prepared mind. ... Louis Pasteur
Sunset is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2021, 04:46 AM   #11
Moderator
braumeister's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Flyover country
Posts: 25,199
I had a friend who retired in nearby Medical Lake some years ago. She said that Spokane had a high crime rate. I wonder if that's still true?
__________________
I thought growing old would take longer.
braumeister is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2021, 05:56 AM   #12
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
street's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 9,417
We had and have a lot of family there and always enjoyed that area. I can't add any new attraction or points of interests thou.
street is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2021, 07:17 AM   #13
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Eastern Washington
Posts: 186
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunset View Post
Great list of interesting things.

How did someone living in Miami decide to move to Spokane as it seems a pretty dramatic change ?
We were looking for a dramatic change and a lower COL. Sold everything we couldn't fit in our Mazda 3 and started anew. Closed in Miami on 6/22/15, arrived in Spokane on 6/26, and closed on our new house on 7/30. Best decision we ever made. Finally at the point where I don't wake up DW when it's starting to snow.
OldConch is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2021, 07:32 AM   #14
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Eastern Washington
Posts: 186
Quote:
Originally Posted by skyking1 View Post
Nice post OldConch, very informative.
We just spent a couple of days playing tourist in Seattle and had a great time. Beautiful, clean, bustling city. Left the car at home and stayed in an AirBnB a stones throw from Pike Place market. My dad lived in Olalla and had a house across from Vashon Island with a great view of downtown Seattle. We drove through Spokane after visiting him on a cross country travel trailer trip one summer and thought it looked interesting. After debating places to live in retirement I asked DW "how about Spokane?" and we took a chance.

Crime is no worse than anywhere else we've lived.
OldConch is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2021, 07:45 AM   #15
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Everett
Posts: 1,592
We stayed in Spokane for a couple days on the way home during a road trip earlier this year. In addition to the recreational opportunities already mentioned, there are many nice city parks to visit, such as Manito Park just south of the downtown area. We checked out Liberty Lake for camping, but were there over a weekend and no spots were available. We're going to try again sometime before the end of September.
O2Bfree is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2021, 09:07 AM   #16
Dryer sheet aficionado
 
Join Date: Mar 2021
Posts: 38
This is one of the best things about Spokane: The Conservation Futures Program. Since it was passed in 1994, the program has conserved over 9,000 acres of open space in Spokane County.

https://www.spokanecounty.org/1592/Conservation-Futures

The trail systems for hiking and biking just keep getting better and better. The county even has started putting up trailhead cameras so that it's easier to see which trails might be over-crowded.

https://www.spokanecounty.org/4214/T...-Web-Cams-List

And while most of these parks have already been mentioned, this will help portray how large they really are:

Mt. Spokane State Park: 13,000 acres
Riverside State Park (west and north of downtown): 11,000 acres
Farragut State Park (over the border in Idaho, north of CdA): 4,000 acres

And 5 ski resorts within a 2 hour drive. As mentioned above, the 64 mile long Centennial Trail, a paved path that parallels much of the Spokane River and ends in Idaho on Lake Coeur d'Alene. Also not too far away is the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes, a 73 mile long paved rail trail that has incredible scenery.

Excellent local universities in Gonzaga, Whitworth, and Eastern Washington University.

A whole lot of positives about the area. Full disclosure, there are some drawbacks:
- Winters can be a little long.
- Smoke from the western wildfires.
- Between late June and mid-September, it can be VERY dry.
- Traffic is getting worse (not Seattle-bad, but not what it was just 10 years ago).
- Housing costs have gone up faster than the national average.
MTB4me is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2021, 12:30 PM   #17
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
skyking1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2021
Location: Puget Sound
Posts: 3,223
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldConch View Post
We just spent a couple of days playing tourist in Seattle and had a great time. Beautiful, clean, bustling city. Left the car at home and stayed in an AirBnB a stones throw from Pike Place market. My dad lived in Olalla and had a house across from Vashon Island with a great view of downtown Seattle. We drove through Spokane after visiting him on a cross country travel trailer trip one summer and thought it looked interesting. After debating places to live in retirement I asked DW "how about Spokane?" and we took a chance.

Crime is no worse than anywhere else we've lived.
I grew up in the Yakima area, and went to the Expo '74 by train as a teen. A friend had moved up there and I spent a month that summer up there. Great times and memories for me.
__________________
Class of 2023
OMY to 2024
Operating Engineer for a commercial plumbing contractor
skyking1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2021, 01:27 PM   #18
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
NW-Bound's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
I don't know about Spokane as a destination, but have made a night stop there twice on two different RV trips.

We enjoyed walking the downtown, the Riverfront Park, and the Falls. If we stayed longer, would have looked into other nearby landmarks to visit.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)

"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
NW-Bound is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2021, 03:12 PM   #19
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Seattle
Posts: 70
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldConch View Post
We just spent a couple of days playing tourist in Seattle and had a great time. Beautiful, clean, bustling city. Left the car at home and stayed in an AirBnB a stones throw from Pike Place market. My dad lived in Olalla and had a house across from Vashon Island with a great view of downtown Seattle. We drove through Spokane after visiting him on a cross country travel trailer trip one summer and thought it looked interesting. After debating places to live in retirement I asked DW "how about Spokane?" and we took a chance.



Crime is no worse than anywhere else we've lived.


Downtown Seattle is neither safe or clean. Homeless, needles, human feces. It’s been ruined…sorry. Born and raised in Seattle. The old seattle of yesteryears is gone.
dcoy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-18-2021, 06:22 PM   #20
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
travelover's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 14,328
Quote:
Originally Posted by dcoy View Post
Downtown Seattle is neither safe or clean. Homeless, needles, human feces. It’s been ruined…sorry. Born and raised in Seattle. The old Seattle of yesteryears is gone.
I know. No one lives there because the housing is so competitive and expensive.
travelover is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
spokane


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
31 y/o From Spokane,WA Watchingpaintdry4money Hi, I am... 2 12-03-2011 02:02 PM
Spokane, WA? brewer12345 Life after FIRE 16 07-22-2009 12:31 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:29 PM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.