Vacations Blog

Spokane's Big Red Wagon

Seriously, who’s going to plan a family vacation to Spokane, Washington?

I was asking myself this very question today while watching news coverage of Spokane’s Hoopfest, the largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the world.  The tourney is celebrating its 20th year.

There are 400 courts spread out over 40 downtown city blocks, with 6,400 teams participating this year, and over 200,000 players and fans wandering around town.

But that’s not a family vacation.

Spokane is one of those average cities, like Des Moines or Sacramento, that doesn’t have much of a reputation as a vacation destination.  You hear Washington, and you think Seattle.  Or Olympic National Park and the Pacific Coast beaches.  Or Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier.  Or the Cascade Range.

Even though Spokane is the second largest city in the state, and the fifth biggest in the Pacific Northwest, nobody’s buzzing about it as a family vacation destination.

I figure people end up here for other reasons, such as a weekend of basketball at Hoopfest, and then at some point it dawns on them that there might be come cool things to see and do in the area.

So, what exactly is there for a family with kids to enjoy?

I’ll hit a few highlights.  First off, Riverfront Park is the jewel of downtown Spokane.  It’s the center of any family fun you’re going to have in the city.  We always start off with the kids climbing all over the Big Red Wagon, an interactive sculpture that appeals to the child in us all.  Then we move to the nearby Looff Carrousel, which has been in operation for 100 years.  The carrousel’s centennial celebration is scheduled for July 18th, with all manner of festivities planned, including $1 rides.

Riverfront Park was the site of Expo ‘74, the first world’s fair with an environmental theme.  After the expo, the fairgrounds were transformed into the current park.  The IMAX theater is just one of the many Fair structures still in use.  We never pass up an opportunity to see an IMAX movie when we’re in the city.

After the wagon, the carrousel, and a movie on the big screen, you can ride the Spokane Falls Skyride, a 15-minute aerial trip over the thundering falls on the Spokane River.  There are also footbridges all around the falls if you don’t want to dangle from a cable.

Skyride over Spokane Falls

There’s much more in Riverfront Park, with numerous sculptures, fountains, and playgrounds, to keep you and the kids busy for most of the day.  If you need a break for lunch or dinner, I recommend heading to nearby River Park Square for a meal at the family-friendly Sawtooth Grill, followed by an ice cream cone at Ben & Jerry’s.  After that, take the kids down to the lowest level of the shopping center so they can explore Mobius, a wonderful children’s museum specializing in science, arts, and culture.

You can round out your day, or weekend, in the Lilac City with a visit to another museum, the MAC.  That’s the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, which focuses on American Indian culture, regional history, and visual art.  The MAC is affiliated with the Smithsonian, so they always get some very cool traveling exhibits to go along with their permanent collections.  Currently, the big hit with kids is the exhibit, “Out Of This World – Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television.”  We haven’t visited yet, but it’s on our summer schedule.  I’m not sure which my son will flip out over more, Darth Vader’s suit and helmet or Indiana Jones’s whip and leather jacket.  This exhibit runs at the MAC until September 5, 2009.

The last place I’ll highlight is in the northern Spokane suburb of Mead.  The Cat Tales Zoological Park specializes in the rescue and care of big cats.  Lions, tigers, cougars, leopards, bobcats, lynx, and even a few housecats are given a safe place to live.  Cat Tales is also a training center for future zookeepers, where students learn every aspect of animal care and the zoo business.  It’s fascinating to see these wild animals in an up-close environment, especially during feeding time when visitors can follow keepers on their rounds, and even participate.

Feeding the tiger at Cat Tales

Riverfront Park, MAC, and Cat Tales are just a few of our favorite places to visit in Spokane.  There’s much more to see and do.  I’m not sure any of it is enough to start people buzzing about the city as a vacation destination, but it’s worth at least a bit of whispering.

All photos by Phil Corless