5 Best Sights in Spokane and Eastern Washington, Washington

A pleasant place to stroll in summer, this 90-acre park has a formal Renaissance-style garden, Japanese garden, duck pond, rose and perennial gardens, and a conservatory. In December the park hosts a festive and free holiday lights event over 10 nights, with a drive-thru option the first four nights. The half-mile trail is lit up with more than five million lights in animated and whimsical displays. The park's café is open daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Snowy winters find the park's hills full of sledders and its frozen pond packed with skaters.

The 100-acre park is what remains of Spokane's Expo '74. Sprawling across several islands in the Spokane River, the park was developed from old railroad yards, where the stone clock tower of the former Great Northern Railroad Station still stands. The modernist Washington State pavilion, built as an opera house, is now the INB Performing Arts Center. A 1909 carousel, hand-carved by master builder Charles I.D. Looff, is a local landmark. Another family favorite is the giant red slide shaped like a Radio Flyer wagon. Thanks to a multiyear redevelopment effort, the iconic U.S. Pavilion reopened in 2019 as the Pavilion at Riverfront, an event space that hosts concerts, festivals, and an eye-catching light display on weekends. For a great view of the river and falls, walk across Post Street Bridge or take the sky ride over Spokane Falls.

Adjacent to the Columbia River, this is one of Washington's great parks. Its 4½-mile-long riverfront has boat ramps, a golf course, picnic areas, playgrounds (including an aquatic one), train ride, skate park, and family fishing pond. In summer, hydroplane races are held here.

The 3,640-foot-tall butte is part of a mountain chain that was here long before the lava flows of the Columbia basin erupted millions of years ago. The park has great views of the Palouse hills and Idaho's snowcapped peaks to the east, as well as eight primitive campsites, a picnic area, and a 1-mile trail to the top of the butte.

Planted with native and exotic flowers and trees, this turn-of-the-20th-century park (Walla Walla's first) has a fine aviary. There are pickleball courts, outdoor ping pong tables, a playground, and a pretty rose garden. It was originally landscaped by sons of Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed New York City's Central Park.