Eastern Washington: Places to Explore

As you walk the tree-shaded streets of this small, quiet college town, it's hard to believe that Cheney once competed with Spokane for regional dominance. Most of the buildings on the Eastern Washington... Read more

This former ferry town was founded in 1862 as a way station for travelers heading to the Idaho goldfields. It is the twin city of Lewiston, Idaho, across the river. Clarkston is surrounded by grass-covered... Read more

This small town, the seat of Stevens County, sits in a valley surrounded by lakes, forests, and mountains. The town has many well-maintained old houses and a pleasant, well-to-do atmosphere. Colville became... Read more

Grand Coulee Dam is the one of the world's largest concrete structures. At almost a mile long, it justly deserves the moniker of Eighth Technological Wonder of the World. Beginning in 1932, 9,000 men excavated... Read more

The tree-shaded county seat of Columbia County is the kind of Currier & Ives place many people conjure up when they imagine the best qualities of rural America. This tidy town has 117 buildings listed... Read more

Ephrata (e-fray-tuh), a pleasant small farm town and the Grant County seat, is in the exact center of Washington. It was settled quite early because its abundant natural springs made it an oasis in the... Read more

In its 100-year history, Kennewick (ken-uh-wick) evolved from a railroad town to a farm-supply center and then to a bedroom community for Hanford workers and a food-processing capital for the Columbia... Read more

The natural lake from which this sprawling town takes its name seems to be an anomaly in the dry landscape of east-central Washington. But ever since the Columbia Basin Project took shape, there's been... Read more

Omak is a small mill and orchard town in the beautifully rustic Okanogan Valley of north-central Washington. Lake Omak to the southeast, on the Colville Reservation, is part of an ancient channel of the... Read more

Tree-shaded Pasco, a college town and the Franklin County seat, is an oasis of green on the Columbia River near a site where the Lewis and Clark expedition made camp in 1805. The city began as a railroad... Read more

This funky, liberal town—home of Washington State University—is in the heart of the rather conservative Palouse agricultural district. The town's freewheeling style can perhaps be explained... Read more

On the fences along I-90 to George and north on Highway 281 to Quincy, crop identification signs highlight what the Quincy Valley is known for: agriculture. From Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve, these same... Read more

Richland is the northernmost of the three municipalities along the bank of the Columbia River known as the Tri-Cities (the others are Pasco and Kennewick). Founded in the 1880s, Richland was a pleasant... Read more

In the heart of the wheat country at the junction of two major highways, I-90 and U.S. 395, the Adams county seat has long occupied a position of importance in eastern Washington, despite its small size... Read more

Washington's second-largest city, Spokane (spo-can, not spo-cane) takes its name from the Spokan tribe of Salish Indians. It translates as "Children of the Sun," a fitting name for this sunny city. It's... Read more

Walla Walla, founded in the 1850s on the site of a Nez Perce village, was Washington's first metropolis. As late as the 1880s its population was larger than that of Seattle. Walla Walla occupies a lush... Read more