Spokane Things to Do

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I've lived here nearly all my life and couldn't believe the Spokane River could be so much fun. We saw beavers, osprey hunting and even a couple of bald eagles. We didn't think the whitewater would be too challenging...we were right but it was still very exciting. The Bowl and Pitcher and the Devil's Toenail were two Class 3+ rapids that were super fun and just easily enough to give anyone a quick thrill.

We've had some family come into town and we tell them all to go rafting with ROW on the Spokane to experience something new and unique. I'm confident all would say it was the funnest thing they did during their stay. Keep it up ROW...we'll bring people every year!

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Riverfront Park's 1909 Looff Carrousel is on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of America's most beautiful and well preserved hand-carved wooden carrousels. It features 54 horses, 1 giraffe, 1 tiger, and 2 Chinese dragon chairs. All of the figures are original.

The horses were made from laminated poplar planks, and are hollow inside. The tiger is one of only 3 ever made for a carrousel, and it is the only one still in operation.

The carrousel is open year round except for 6 weeks during Jan-Feb. for annual maintenance.
June 12 to Sept 7, 2009 - Open Daily 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (10:00 p.m. on Fridays & Saturdays) Winter hours: Closes at 6 p.m. (8 p.m. on Fri. & Sat.)

Tokens: $2 for adults; $1.25 for children

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The Spokane River runs through the center of the city, creating some beautiful nature areas such as Riverfront Park, the recreation paths, and River Side Parks. Just after passing Riverfront Park, the river cascades down a series of falls, creating a very unique feature that is not found in other American cities.

The business and one of the shopping areas in Spokane are quite close to the park, so if you tire of the activities in the park you can walk over for a choice of restaurants or some serious shopping.

Many of the buildings down town are connected by pedestrian walkways above the traffic.

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Street Art

As you wander around downtown Spokane, watch for artwork on underpasses and on the sides of buildings. Most of the walls where the freeway or the train passes overhead are covered in murals. Some are one large painting; others are composed of many individual blocks like a quilt. The small blocks are community projects, painted by people who respond to an announcement, but a few of the large ones are by professionals. I especially like the marmots at Division and Sprague.

There are also 8-10 large paintings of local scenes on the second-story walls of some downtown buildings. An ad agency did them, planning to attract attention and then put ads underneath. The ads never really happened, but the paintings remain.

If you enjoy live theater, Spokane has a variety of options:

Interplayers Professional Theater
174 S. Howard St. (509) 455-7529
www.interplayers.com

Interplayers has been performing for 30 years, and their building is on the National Historic Register. They put on 7-8 plays per year, Sept.-May -- 3 weeks each, Wed-Sat, and some weekend matinees.

Spokane Civic Theater
1020 N. Howard St. (509) 325-2507
www.spokanecivictheatre.com (Note that theatre is spelled "re")

This community theater started in 1947, and is still going strong. There are 6-7 plays (Sept.- June) in the main theater, and another 4 (less mainstream) in the smaller theater
downstairs.

INB Performing Arts Center
334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. (509) 279-7000
www.inbpac.com

This is the place to see touring "Best of Broadway" shows (usually about 6 per year) as well as musical events.

Spokane Children's Theater
315 W. Mission (509) 328-4886
www.spokanechildrenstheatre.org

Plays for children (Willy Wonka, Snow White, etc.) - 4 plays this year.

This website is pretty good about upcoming events and not biased about the type of event.

www.entertainmentspokane.com

Another must have in Spokane info is a weekly free paper called "The Inlander". Very similar to what is in Chicago,Seattle and Orlando but better(Thank you Orlando, but I can do with out learning what "snowballing" is.) You can find it at various locations starting every Thursday(for the S. hill and downtown cosmopolitan/indie wannabes) and on Friday morning for the rest of the dregs of spokane. They also have a good website.

www.inlander.com

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This 90-acre park, established in 1904, is a great place for visitors who like gardens and flowers. Attractions (all free) include:

Duncan Gardens - Constructed in 1912 on 3 acres - a classical European Renaissance garden with symmetrical beds and central fountain. The adjacent Greenhouse (conservatory) is full of exotic plants, all with labels.

The Rose Garden – developed in the 1940s, and now contains 150 varieties of roses

Perennials Garden – over 300 labeled plant species

The Lilac Garden – constructed in 1912. It contains over 100 lilacs representing 23 species.

The Japanese Garden – Established in 1974, it symbolizes the friendship between Spokane and its sister city, Nishinomiya. It is a tranquil place with beautiful Japanese landscaping, a waterfall, bridges and koi pond.

The Duck Pond – Ducks and geese, shade trees, and benches.

Playground and picnic area – Children’s play equipment, charcoal grills and firepits, picnic tables.

There is a loop road that goes past everything, with parking lots near the main gardens. It also makes a very pleasant 1 ½ -mile walking tour. The “Park Bench” Café (open in the summers only) has sandwiches, cold drinks and snacks available for purchase.

Photo 5 is a map of the park.