Keen Culinary Scene Spokane's culinary scene is exploding with distinct, delicious delights for every palate!
Kayak or canoe to cocktails or wine taste on a raft. The Spokane River winds through downtown and outfitters have ingenuously packaged river floats with fine food and spirits. Or jump in a Kayak or canoe and make your way upstream to Northern Lights Brewery. One of the best local breweries offers unique flavors such as Huckleberry or Chocolate Beer, just to name a few.
One of Spokane's hottest restaurants is Santé. Owners Kate and Jeremy Hansen locally source produce, eggs and dairy and all the meats are cured and prepared in-house in the French "charcuterie" technique. One of the few charcuterie's in the Northwest. Nowhere in Santé can you find a can opener, deep fryer or microwave. They even make their own delicious ketchup and mustard! www.santespokane.com
Unique and innovative, Spokane's wine scene is growing with more than 20 award winning wineries and tasting rooms. iPad menus allow customers to track their every sip at Nectar Tasting room. The 100 year old building Barrister Winery inhabits gives wine-lovers a basement barrel room experience that's unmatched. Every barrel gently vibrates under the nearby traffic of 20,000 trains a year (the winemaker swears it creates an exceptionally smooth finish to his award winning Cab Franc!). And maybe it's working... Barrister earned scores of 90 or better on five wines in Wine Enthusiast magazine.
Sip sinfully-sensational European drinking chocolate at Chocolate Apothecary. Owner Susan Davis was in pharmacy school when she dreamt of a cozy place abundantly stocked with healing chocolate from every chocolate producing continent in the world. Chocolate Apothecary boasts one of the largest artisan chocolate bar collections in the country and don't miss their chocolate tasting classes - similar to wine tasting with explanations about how and where the beans are grown.
Beer Growlers in a Boiler - The entire downtown Spokane was heated by a steam plant up until the mid 80's. Now, the steam plant has been repurposed. The Steam Plant Grill specializes in beer Growlers (1/2 gallon jugs) to go. Boilers, pipes, catwalks and two smokestacks rising 300 feet into the Spokane skyline make this brewery one of a kind!
Agritourism Opportunities Await
Pumpkin' Chunkin or Cherry Pit Spit- Discover country life 15 minutes north of downtown Spokane. Green Bluff is home to more than 30 growers where u-pick farms neighbor wineries and bed and breakfasts. Pick your own strawberries, cherries, peaches, apples and pumpkins... these farms celebrate every season in grand style! Held every July, the Cherry Pickers Trot and Pit Spit bills itself as the largest pit spit this side of the Rockies. In the fall, watch your pumpkin go splat after being hurled a quarter of a mile out of a giant air gun. Country Living magazine says Green Bluff events "celebrate fresh air, farm life and old-fashioned fun."
More Precious than Gold - More than 250,000 cans of cheese are produced every year at Washington State University's (WSU) creamery, 80% is award winning Cougar Gold Cheese. The milk is from dairy cows at WSU, students make and can the cheese and it's sold on campus and hundreds of locations in the Northwest. Why a can? It was determined to be the best way to store cheese in the 1930's - and the tradition stuck! Take a free tour of the facility and watch the cheese being made... don't leave without a scoop of ice-cream! Ferdinand's Ice Cream Shoppe offers gourmet ice cream also made in the WSU Creamery by Food Science students.
Near Nature, Near Perfect
Breathtaking scenery and outdoor adventures by day... be back to urban conveniences and sophisticated entertainment by night.
Spokane is a unique urban oasis where five minutes from your downtown hotel you can be rafting class three rapids on the Spokane River. No need for advance reservations either! Many local outfitters will take your calls in the morning and have you on the river by that afternoon!
Mountain Bikers or cyclists can hop on the 37 mile-long Centennial Trail downtown and four minutes west of downtown off-road trails traverse the banks of the Spokane River.
Add a twist to your adventurous side and go moonlight snowshoeing and conclude your trek with a catered gourmet meal, or hit the water in a kayak and after your river trip celebrate with a luau. Both adventures are less than $40, available through the Spokane Parks Department's Outdoor Program - the second largest outdoor parks program in the U.S.
Take a guided ATV tour following the same path miners took more than 100 years ago. Historic Silver Valley Idaho's abandoned mines once a bounty of silver, are still rich with stories. You can build a custom ATV experience on some of the best trails in the nation. ATV Nation, the popular online site for ATV enthusiasts, has had their national ride in Wallace Idaho twice in the last three years.
Soar high above mountainous terrain, rivers and rolling wheat fields in an ultralight with Back Country Aerosports. After his trip and giddy with excitement, Max Hartshorne, Editor of GoNOMAD.com says, "It was like taking a trip on the back of a fast motorcycle, but we were up in the air! It was such a rush, hard to describe but it made me want to do it again."
76 lakes in a 50 mile radius make Spokane a dream location if you like to fish, boat or just do the backstroke.
Almost Free and Family-Friendly No cost or low cost activities are easy to find in Spokane!
Golf is abundant and affordable - 33 different courses around the region and some are at rock bottom prices. Green fees are as low as $19 dollars on Spokane City's award-winning courses. Golf World Readers Choice Awards ranked Indian Canyon nationally among seven Washington State courses scoring it more than 75 points out of 100.
Outdoors on a dime in River Front Park. A giant Radio Flyer wagon with a slide will have your children amazed as they climb the stairs into the bed of the wagon and slide down the handle. The 100-year old Looff Carrousel is just $2.00 ($1.00 for groups of 15 or more). For another $7.25, the Spokane Falls SkyRide takes you on a gondola ride down 200 feet over the Spokane Falls. A day in Riverfront Park for just 10 bucks! Don't forget to feed the garbage eating goat... functional art sculpted by a Catholic Nun that eats your trash.
Marvel at the history inside the Davenport Hotel. Ranked among the finest by Condé Nast Magazine, the grand lobby will take your breath away. The hotel offers marketing material at the front desk that allows you to take a self-guided tour. Be sure to head upstairs to the mezzanine and look for "Will You Marry Me" painted into the faux woodwork.
Free Movies - The 1940's era Garland Theater offers free family friendly movies Monday-Friday at 9:30am all summer long. Spokane Valley Mall has free movies Tuesday-Thursday at 10am. A free summer movie series is also available at the downtown Spokane Public Library.
Hollywood loves Spokane Come to Spokane and you might catch Christian Slater or Ray Liotta lunching at the famed Davenport Hotel. Maybe you read about the Davenport on Twitter when Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, in town filming a project, couldn't stop tweeting about the hotel! Spokane's movie industry is bringing a steady stream of movie stars to town, at the same time its steady employment for locals wanting to work in show business. North by Northwest Productions has made nearly 40 films in 20 years in Spokane. Its latest film River Sorrow has already generated buzz and was shown at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Owner Rich Cowan says a pilot for Spike Television and another feature film will start shooting later this spring.
Spokane Bragging Rights "Ten Best Places to Downsize in Retirement" - 2011 U.S. News and World Report "100 Best Communities for Young People" - America's Promise Alliance and ING Diners, Drive-ins and Dives features Spokane - 2010-2011 on the Food Network "Best Cities 2010: Spokane, WA" - ranked 7th by Parenting Magazine "Washington: Most Bike Friendly States" - ranked 1st by League of American Bicyclists "20 Best Places to Live in the West" - American Cowboy Magazine
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