Riverfront Park & Spokane Falls

Most cities keep their waterfall at the edge of town. Spokane's is a short walk from the hotels. The Spokane River drops over rock ledges right beside the downtown skyline, and Riverfront Park wraps around it with trails, bridges, a big lawn, a carousel and a gondola ride into the gorge.

The park covers about 100 acres and is free to walk through. You can spend ten minutes crossing a footbridge for the view or a whole day moving from the falls to the rides to a picnic on the grass. If you only have a few hours in Spokane, start here.

Come in spring if you can. Snowmelt makes the falls loud and white from roughly March through June. In winter the park turns into an ice-skating spot, and in summer the lawns fill with people and food trucks.

What to see and do

Local tips

• Go in spring (March to June) for the biggest falls; fall and winter are calmer but still pretty.
• See the falls first while you are fresh, then wander the lawns, clock tower and rides afterward.
• Sunset is good from the Monroe Street Bridge area and Huntington Park, looking west toward the falls and gorge.
• Cars cannot drive through the park. Park at a lot on the edge and walk, or use the Park Connect electric cart shuttle that loops the park every 20 minutes.
• On weekdays you can pay a lower early-bird parking rate if you arrive early and leave by 6 p.m., based on the city's posted rates; check current prices before you go.
• Pair the park with a coffee or lunch in the downtown blocks on the south side; the Davenport Hotel is about a ten-minute walk.
• Bring layers. Near the falls it is cooler and damp, and summer afternoons on the open lawns can be hot.
• Event days (concerts, Hoopfest, festivals) change parking and crowds a lot. Check the park's calendar first.

A little history

For the Spokane people, the falls were a gathering place and fishing site long before the city existed; the traditional name is Stluputqu, meaning swift water. The city was first named Spokane Falls. Later the land beside the river filled up with railroad tracks and warehouses, and the falls were mostly hidden from view.

That changed when Spokane hosted Expo '74, a world's fair with an environmental theme. Civic leaders cleared the rail yards and built the fairgrounds on the island and riverbanks. The fair ran May 4 to November 3, 1974, and the site became Riverfront Park, dedicated in 1978. Landmarks to look for: the Great Northern Railway clock tower, which dates to 1902 and stands about 155 feet tall; the U.S. Pavilion, whose white tent-like roof is now a Spokane icon; and the Garbage Goat. The Red Wagon, a 12-foot-tall giant toy added in 1990, is the kid favorite.