53 Best Sights in Spokane and Eastern Washington, Washington

This trail—which starts near Nine Mile Falls, northwest of Spokane, then runs through downtown, along Riverfront Park, and then stretches east to the Idaho border—is perfect for a hike, bike, or run. Roughly 40 miles long, the path follows the Spokane River.

A pleasant place to stroll in summer, this 90-acre park has a formal Renaissance-style garden, Japanese garden, duck pond, rose and perennial gardens, and a conservatory. In December the park hosts a festive and free holiday lights event over 10 nights, with a drive-thru option the first four nights. The half-mile trail is lit up with more than five million lights in animated and whimsical displays. The park's café is open daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Snowy winters find the park's hills full of sledders and its frozen pond packed with skaters.

The 100-acre park is what remains of Spokane's Expo '74. Sprawling across several islands in the Spokane River, the park was developed from old railroad yards, where the stone clock tower of the former Great Northern Railroad Station still stands. The modernist Washington State pavilion, built as an opera house, is now the INB Performing Arts Center. A 1909 carousel, hand-carved by master builder Charles I.D. Looff, is a local landmark. Another family favorite is the giant red slide shaped like a Radio Flyer wagon. Thanks to a multiyear redevelopment effort, the iconic U.S. Pavilion reopened in 2019 as the Pavilion at Riverfront, an event space that hosts concerts, festivals, and an eye-catching light display on weekends. For a great view of the river and falls, walk across Post Street Bridge or take the sky ride over Spokane Falls.

A high point in the coulee, this park has picnic areas, campgrounds, boat rentals, and a state-run golf course that attracts visitors year-round; in summer the lakes bristle with boaters. From the bluffs on U.S. 2, west of the dam, you can get a great view over this enormous canyon. To the north, the banks of the lake are hemmed in by cliffs. At Dry Falls, the upstream erosion of the canyon caused by the floods stops. Below Dry Falls, steep, barren cliffs—some 1,000 feet high—rise from green meadows, marshes, and blue lakes bordered by trees. Most of the water is irrigation water seeping through the porous rock, but the effect is no less spectacular. Eagles and ravens soar along the cliffs, while songbirds, ducks, and geese hang out in the bottomlands.

South of the Sun Lakes, the landscape turns even wilder. The coulee narrows and the cliffs often look like they are on fire, an illusion created by the bold patterns of orange and yellow lichens. The waters of the lakes change, too. The deep blue waters of the small lakes below Dry Falls are replaced by lapis lazuli in the Sun Lakes and turn milky farther south. Presentations at the park's interpretive center at Dry Falls survey the area's geology, and an excellent film describes the great floods.

Here's the place to learn about the Hanford Reach National Monument, an area that encompasses the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River and greater Columbia Basin and surrounds the former site of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The interpretive center highlights the region's history, culture, science and technology, natural resources and agriculture, and arts. The exhibit area has permanent exhibits on the Columbia Basin Project's irrigated agriculture, the history of the atomic age and Hanford's contribution to ending World War II, the vineyards of Red Mountain, and the Columbia River's role in producing electrical power. Special events include tours, classes, and culinary events highlighting the area's wineries and agriculture. The 18-acre setting on the Columbia River includes outdoor exhibits, a nature trail, and a stage where concerts are held in the summer.

On the grounds of the eclectic 1924 mansion of Royal Riblet, the inventor of a square-wheel tractor and the poles that hold up ski lifts, you can sample Arbor Crest wines, enjoy the striking view of the Spokane River, or meander through the impeccably kept grounds (the house isn't open to tours). Note that no minors or pets are allowed on the Estate grounds. Arbor Crest's wines include Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnays from the Columbia Valley. Enjoy Sunday evening concerts (5:30–7:30) outside from early May through September; in winter there's live music by the fireside in the Wine Bar on Thursday through Saturday nights (6–8).

Owners Rob Griffin and Deborah Barnard offer a variety of fine wines, including excellent Merlot and Cabernet. The art gallery adds class to the wine-tasting experience.

This vineyard produces Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Malbec, and a red blend, and has several limited edition wines available, too. The tasting room is in Walla Walla's historic Engine House. Cheese and charcuterie boards can be enjoyed with a tasting flight.

Among the large cats living at this wildlife refuge and rescue sanctuary are lions, tigers, bobcats, pumas, and lynxes. You'll also see bears, coyotes, and foxes. Guided tours give background information on the animals and an opportunity to feed them. While it's not a zoo in the traditional sense, the mission of the nonprofit that runs it is a worthy one.

This architectural masterpiece, considered one of America's most important and beautiful Gothic cathedrals, was constructed in the 1920s with sandstone from Tacoma and Boise and limestone from Indiana. The cathedral's renowned 49-bell carillon has attracted international guest musicians.

On the campus of Washington State University, this museum has the finest collection of stuffed birds and mammals and preserved invertebrates in the Pacific Northwest; more than 700 are on display and the entire collection of specimens numbers over 60,000.

A great number of birds are attracted to this reserve: hawks, falcons, golden eagles, ducks, sandhill cranes, herons, American avocets, black-necked stilts, and yellow-headed and red-winged blackbirds. The refuge is also home to beavers, muskrats, badgers, and coyotes.

Adjacent to the Columbia River, this is one of Washington's great parks. Its 4½-mile-long riverfront has boat ramps, a golf course, picnic areas, playgrounds (including an aquatic one), train ride, skate park, and family fishing pond. In summer, hydroplane races are held here.

Highway 155 passes through the Colville Indian Reservation, one of the largest reservations in Washington, with about 7,700 enrolled members of the Colville Confederated Tribes. This was the final home for Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce, who fought a series of fierce battles with the U.S. Army in the 1870s after the U.S. government enforced a treaty that many present-day historians agree was fraudulent. Chief Joseph lived on the Colville reservation until his death in 1904. There's a memorial to him off Highway 155 east of the town of Nespelem, 17 miles north of the dam; four blocks away (two east and two north) is his grave. You can drive through the reservation's undeveloped landscape, and except for a few highway signs you'll feel like you've time-traveled to pioneer days. The Colville Tribal Museum ( 512 Mead Way, Coulee Dam  509/633–0751  Closed Sun.–Tues. and Oct.-Mar.) is worth a visit.

This vast region encompasses mountains, forests, and meadows in the state's northeast corner. Here the desert area ends, and three mountain ranges (Selkirks, Kettle River, and Okanogan)—considered foothills of the Rocky Mountains—traverse the region from north to south. It's a beautiful, wild area, where only the river bottoms are dotted with widely spaced settlements and where the mountains (with an average height of about 4,500 feet) are largely pristine. The streams abound with trout, and the forests with deer and black bears. This is perfect backpacking country, with many trails to remote mountain lakes.

At Washington's oldest standing depot, the museum houses exhibits illustrating the history of Dayton and surrounding communities. Outside there's a caboose in the adjacent city park. The gift shop is worth a stop to pick up souvenirs to remember your visit to this quaint little town.

The entire entryway to the museum is made of petrified wood. Photographs, agricultural displays, petroglyphs, and a large collection of arrowheads interpret area history. Kennewick's oldest park, Keewaydin, is across the street.

The entrance to the tree-shaded Cheney campus is marked by the Pillars of Hercules; built in 1915, they include granite from the original Cheney Normal School that was destroyed by fire a few years earlier. Six campus buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places. Walk through the EWU Historic District to learn about the university's founding as the state's first institution for training teachers and to see the early-1900 buildings where students lived and studied.

This mile-long green patch along Garden Springs Creek has an extensive botanical garden with more than 2,000 labeled trees, shrubs, and flowers. Follow the walking tour on well-manicured paths along the creek, or follow your whim—depending on the season—through flowering rhododendrons, hibiscus, magnolias, dogwoods, hydrangeas, and more.

On 15 acres at Fort Walla Walla Park, a 17-building pioneer village depicts the region's life in the 1800s, and five halls house military, agricultural, textile, and transportation exhibits.

Here you'll find numerous items illustrating local history, including Native American artifacts. Revolving exhibits have featured the Lewis and Clark expedition, the railroad, World War II, agriculture, and aviation.

This 27,500-seat amphitheater has won accolades as best outdoor concert venue due to its fine acoustics and stunning vistas of the Columbia River—a setting comparable to the Grand Canyon's. Set in one of the sunniest parts of the state, the concert season runs from May to September. Concertgoers often overnight at the adjacent campground or at motels and hotels in Quincy, Soap Lake, Moses Lake, Ellensburg, and Wenatchee.

Colorful displays about the dam, a 13-minute film on the site's geology and the dam's construction, and information about the 30-minute laser-light show (held nightly from Memorial Day weekend through September) are here. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees operation and maintenance of the dam, conducts tours daily from late May through early September, weather and maintenance schedules permitting. You can also pick up a self-guided historical walking tour that will take you from the visitor center through the old part of town, across the bridge, and into the old engineers' town. Geocachers are encouraged to bring some swag and take the geocache challenge on the visitor center's grounds.

More than 30 pioneer-era buildings have been brought here from other parts of Grant County. They include a blacksmith forge, saloon, barbershop, and printing office.

At 103 feet, the single-lift locks here are among the world's highest. Inside the visitor center, there's a fish ladder viewing room where you can see salmon and steelhead on their annual migration. Exhibits and films provide information about the Salmon River and the area's history. As this is a federal facility, government identification is required for entry.

Next door to Barnard Griffin Winery, Bookwalter produces red wines aged in French oak barrels and whites that are 100% stainless-steel fermented. The classic Merlot is celebrated. Blends are prevalent in both reds and whites. The on-site restaurant, Fiction, has made the top 10 on several "best winery restaurant" lists.

Washington State University's outstanding Museum of Art has more than 4,000 pieces in its permanent collection, including works by regional, national, and international artists. Its six galleries showcase art from the university's collections and host visiting exhibits. The architecturally stunning building nicknamed the "Crimson Cube" opened in 2018.

The 3,640-foot-tall butte is part of a mountain chain that was here long before the lava flows of the Columbia basin erupted millions of years ago. The park has great views of the Palouse hills and Idaho's snowcapped peaks to the east, as well as eight primitive campsites, a picnic area, and a 1-mile trail to the top of the butte.

Visitors here can see a farmstead, lookout tower, trappers' cabins, blacksmith shop, sawmill, and museum.