THOUGH CALLED “The Lilac City” for the purple blooms that thrive in the area, Spokane gets its name from the nearby Native American tribe of the same name, which means “Children of the Sun” in Salish.
Bing Crosby grew up in Spokane and attended Gonzaga University before going on to stardom.
The first official celebration of Father’s Day was in Spokane on June 19, 1910.
In 1974 the city became the smallest to host the World’s Fair. Riverfront Park (spokaneriverfrontpark.com) is home to a century-old carousel, a trash-eating goat sculpture, and a gondola that stretches across the river.
In Colville, streetlamp poles feature silhouettes of local scenes and animals, while the base of the Historic Colville Clock Tower is encircled by a Native American fisherman, a logger, a miner, and a trapper, and top features an eagle’s nest.
The 50-million-year-old rose-shaped fossils on display at the Stonerose Interpretive Center (stonerosefossil.org) aren’t roses at all, but a variety of cocoa tree. —ANNE LARKIN
Read More About Northeast
The metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest, Spokane is a launching pad both for outdoor activities (kayaking, skiing, and hiking, to name a few) and for urban adventures.
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Dip your toe into the brisk water of Lake Roosevelt, and a refreshing chill will run to your head.
From our Archives
SPOKANE may be the second-largest city in Washington, but it also offers outdoors opportunities in abundance. For starters, 10,000-acre Riverside State Park offers canoeing and kayaking along the Little Spokane River...
Tracking heritage in Northeast Washington
Play your way in Spokane.
THOUGH CALLED The Lilac City for the purple blooms that thrive in the area, Spokane gets its name from the nearby Native American tribe of the same name, which means Children of the Sun in Salish.
Traversing the Northwests Inland Empire.
MORE THAN 50 percent of downtown Spokanes buildings have historic significance. In addition to the iconic Davenport Hotel and Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, here are five not to miss...
A WHOPPING 1,165 dams line Washingtons waterways, from small irrigation dams, like the five-foot Horn Rapids Dam that fills channels on either side of the Yakima River, to the more than 70 hydroelectric dams that help power cities on both sides of the Cascade curtain.
TASTE TO TOUCH and everything in between, these Spokane attractionsgive a new feel for the Pacific Northwest.
With Idaho to the east and Canada to thenorth, this corner of the state dishes upa smorgasbord of eats from near and far.
The International Selkirk Loopa 280- mile scenic byway that skirts rivers, lakes, and the Selkirk Mountainsencompasses Highways 20 and 31 in Washington and winds through two states and British Columbia.
The northeast corner of the state is a rural patchwork full of small towns, lofty mountains, and wide-open spaces.
Find Out More
Please visit our Tourism Partners
Colville Chamber of Commerce
509-684-5973
Greater Newport Area Chamber of Commerce
509-447-5812, 877-818-1008
Republic Regional Visitors & Convention Bureau
509-775-3387
Visit Spokane
888-SPOKANE