Spokane, Washington is a great city to come visit if you’re into nature. Both the quality of the food and the flavors ended up far better than expected.

How long to stay?

When I came to Spokane, Washington, I stayed here five nights. That might make it sound like I had plenty of time to explore the city. Unfortunately, I was here for business and didn’t get a chance to extensively explore the city and the surrounding area. And that also meant I didn’t come here with the kids to get their perspective on things.

If I were to come to Spokane for a true visit, I think coming here for a weekend is a good amount of time. If the goal is to visit nearby Coeur d’Alene, it might be worth it to add on a day to your trip.

What we did in Spokane

Riverfront Park

Want to spend some times in a great park with plenty of things to do? Well, head on over to the Riverfront, which is essentially the center of the city. As its name implies, the park sits right alongside the Spokane River and offers excellent views of the water.

There are maps around the water to help direct you on where to go, including the lengthy Centennial Trail. If you want to travel the whole trail, you’ll end up walking just about 40 miles. Though I walked some of it, I certainly didn’t get a chance to cover the whole thing.

Also at the park are plenty of things for kids. Like the Looff Carrousel.

There’s also a skating park. In the winter, this is a perfect place to come ice skating. But during warmer months, roller skates dominate the lane.

You’ll also find several playgrounds, like this one near the skating park.

And what’s cooler to a kid than climbing aboard a giant Radio Flyer and sliding down the handle?

Skyride

Found inside the Riverfront Park is the Numerica Skyride. Reservations aren’t needed in advance and tickets will run you $13.95/adult or $9.95/child. It’s a short 15-20 minute ride down to the river and back. While it might sound like a lengthy journey–it’s not. Most of the time will be spent idling in place as others get on and off the ride since everyone’s gondola moves at the same time. There is a QR code you can scan once inside your gondola that will play a brief audio tour.

Naturally, I wanted to give it a try. The gondola comfortably fits four adults (note the 1,058 pound weight limit).

Once over the small hill, you follow the water down under the bridge and then return. If the ride moved at a constant speed, it would probably only last around three minutes. That makes it a little bit of a tourist trap in that sense.

Still, you get a great view of the water as it rushes downhill. I think it’s worth checking out once. You can take the stairs down if you’d prefer to see the water and not pay.

Visit Gonzaga

If you like college basketball, you’ve surely heard of the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who call Spokane home. The school has created one of the more successful mid-major programs in the last 30 years or so. (As a UCLA fan, I have no problems talking them up.) Their campus is beautiful, and it’s right along the Spokane River. That means if you take the Centennial Trail, you’ll pass right by it.

Walk around the campus and you’ll find some artwork mixed in between the buildings and the lake.

You’ll also find St. Aloysius Church on campus, as Gonzaga is a Jesuit Catholic university. Any way you slice it, it’s worth a visit.

Of course, the town seems to steer more towards the Washington State Cougars. The Cougars have a campus in Spokane just across the river from Gonzaga so there’s a bit of a mild rivalry.

Visit Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

About 30 minutes away from Spokane, Washington is Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. If you want some outdoor fun like hiking, boating and water activities, or golfing, you might want to consider a trip over the state border. I didn’t get a chance to visit the city, but I knew of several who did make the short journey over to the city and they thoroughly enjoyed their time.

For those with families, the Silverwood Theme Park is also nearby in Idaho, just north of Coeur d’Alene. Just in case you needed another excuse to come here.

A popular gateway to Glacier National Park

One of the national parks that gets plenty of people raving about it, Glacier National Park is a popular destination. While Kalispell’s Glacier Park International Airport FCA (yes, an ‘international’ airport with no current international destinations) is the closer airport, service is quite limited. Depending on the time of year and what airline you’re flying, there might be more capacity and cheaper fares going to Spokane.

On top of that, you might have an easier time getting a rental car from here.

The drive from Spokane to Glacier National Park in Montana is a bit under five hours. That makes it a bit inconvenient if you use Spokane as your base. Don’t daytrip this one.

Where we ate in Spokane

Domini Sandwiches

If you are hungry and want a big sandwich, Domini Sandwiches is your best option in the city. The one restriction is that it’s only open on weekdays. If you’re looking to take food to go, you’re best off calling them 15 minutes before showing up to reduce your wait.

This is as much of a hole-in-the-wall as you can get. It definitely has that mom-and-pop feel to it and service is pretty friendly. You’re better off coming here sooner rather than later, since even at noon, they already ran out of some types of bread.

The sandwiches are massive. I ordered a small and I got a tower of pastrami on rye bread. They don’t do warm sandwiches, but that’s not a concern for me. And every sandwich you order comes with a free helping of popcorn. You most definitely won’t go hungry here.

Wild Sage Bistro

We stopped by Wild Sage Bistro one evening for dinner. Before getting into the food, I should point out that there are a lot of homeless in the immediate vicinity of the restaurant. That’s a bit unfortunate, and something you might want to consider if you decide to dine here alone and leave after dark. But we encountered no problems walking between the restaurant and our hotel.

The food is excellent. I ordered the halibut, which was prepared to perfection on a bed of delicious vegetables. Judging purely on the merits of the restaurant, we enjoyed it and would be open to returning.

Umi Kitchen and Sushi Bar

Umi is found on the north side of the river (in an area that looked like a newer development). I’ll admit that I wasn’t fully sure what to expect going to a sushi restaurant a good four hours’ drive away from the ocean. On top of that, there are plenty of other things to eat here besides sushi (yeah, they have fish and chips). But the good news is that I enjoyed the fish.

The sushi isn’t the best cuts that I’ve had. Some of the pieces were a bit thick, requiring more effort to chew. But it didn’t detract from the experience and I thought the price was quite affordable. This order of six nigiri and nine sashimi was just $32, a rather affordable omakase option. And for that price, I would absolutely come back and have it again.

Gander & Ryegrass

An excellent spot for dinner is Gander & Ryegrass, a restaurant specializing in Italian food. Depending on your group size, you might want to make a reservation, but it wasn’t truly necessary on our visit.

We had several dishes to share, including some truly excellent albacore crudo. Sadly, I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of it before it was devoured. But I did get a picture of the linguine with salmon, capers, and olives. If you’re ordering the pasta on its own, you might think it’s not enough food. But since we ordered plenty of appetizers for the table, finishing up with the pasta course is perfect.

Mizuna

If you’re in the mood for Northwest cuisine near Riverfront Park, Mizuna is a nice place to try. In particular, there seemed to be quite a few vegetarian-focused meals to choose from.

One thing that was absolutely delicious was the sauces and dishes made from gorgonzola. If you’ve been afraid of blue cheese because it can have an overpowering taste, you’re in luck. Somehow the restaurant is able to transform the gorgonzola into an incredibly creamy, delicious dish that doesn’t taste like blue cheese at all. I have to admit that it’s the best blue cheese I’ve had in a long time.

I ordered the chicken for dinner in large part because it came with a gorgonzola cream sauce that made the dish super tasty. There is so much chicken that I sadly had trouble finishing. I normally think of chicken as a rather bland dish but I loved this one.

Purgatory

In the mood for whiskey? Then I’ll meet you in Purgatory. The thing that stands out the most by far in this whiskey bar is the very impressive wall of bottles. It’s fun watching the bartenders move the ladder and go up to grab what others have ordered.

There are a few suggestions of whiskey flights if you can’t think of any on your own. I ordered this trio of Irish whiskeys ($14) and enjoyed it quite a bit. If you’re not a fan of whiskey, they do have plenty of other libations. Of the handful of bars I tried in the city, this was by far my favorite.

Where we stayed in Spokane

The Davenport Hotel, Autograph Collection

I’m not fully sure of my thoughts on the historic Davenport Hotel. There are things I like about the hotel–it’s in a good location and it has an indoor pool. But there are also things that made me scratch my head like the dingy feel and the milquetoast service.

One thing that my Lyft driver raved about as I came to the hotel was the quality of the bed. Apparently it’s so popular of a bed that the hotel sells them online. My thoughts on the bed? Not anywhere firm enough for me. To me, it felt incredibly flimsy but it was good enough to where I didn’t get any sores from it. I think if you’re a fan of pillowy soft beds, you might be more of a fan than I was.

As the hotel declares itself to be very historic, you can walk around and get a load of all the artifacts on display.

Have you been to Spokane, Washington before?

Suggested reading:

• Other destinations we’ve visited
• Overcome Your Travel Fears and Enjoy Life
• Exploring Seattle with Kids