Spokane WA

[Chuckanut]

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.

 

[RunningBum]

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.

 

[Jenna]

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!

 

[RetireeRobert]

The Riverfront Park and falls and trails.

 

[grasshopper]

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.

 

[walkinwood]

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.

 

[nwsteve]

If you are into wine, Spokane as a wine district https://www.visitspokane.com/food-drink/wineries/

 

[OldConch]

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.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes...MIk4yj3J2H8wIVFOh3Ch3TNgC4EAAYASAAEgKf_fD_BwE

https://www.ridethehiawatha.com/

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

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

https://my.spokanecity.org/recreation/outdoor/kayak-rentals/

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

https://www.planetware.com/washington/top-rated-hiking-trails-near-spokane-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.

 

[skyking1]

Nice post OldConch, very informative.

 

[Sunset]

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/washington-grand-coulee-dam.htm

https://my.spokanecity.org/recreation/outdoor/kayak-rentals/

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

https://www.planetware.com/washington/top-rated-hiking-trails-near-spokane-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 ?

 

[braumeister]

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?

 

[street]

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.

 

[OldConch]

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]

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.

 

[O2Bfree]

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.

 

[MTB4me]

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/Trailhead-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.

 

[skyking1]

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.

 

[NW-Bound]

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.

 

[dcoy]

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.

 

[travelover]

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.