Cover photo courtesy of Jon Jonckers

In the heart of downtown Spokane below the Monroe Street Bridge, tucked against the roaring Spokane Falls, is a stunning urban escape that offers both scenic beauty and historical significance. Originally established in the early 1970s as part of the Monroe Street Dam redevelopment in preparation for Expo ’74, Huntington Park has morphed into a remarkable public space. 

Although in some ways it may be overshadowed by the size and spectacle of Riverfront Park, Huntington features several unique aspects that are highly uncommon for its size and location. From City Hall Plaza, winding paths of stone and gravel offer progressively immersive views down to the cascade of the lower falls. Interpretive signs detail local culture, ecology and energy history. Engaging art installations, including towering tribal figures and sculpted salmon scenes, educate and honor the spiritual and cultural importance of the falls. In the spring, the mist and the noise from the falls are breathtaking. In the fall, the color from the fiery foliage is a photographer’s dreamscape. 

Huntington Park is named after David L. Huntington, the third president of Washington Water Power (now Avista). David L. Huntington started working for Washington Water Power in 1884. Beginning as its treasurer, he quickly climbed the ranks and assumed the role of president in 1910. Under Huntington’s leadership, Washington Water Power gained over 50,000 accounts and was providing services to 10 counties in Eastern Washington and six counties in North Idaho.  

The dramatic river and falls views may be the park’s primary draw, but the Monroe Street Bridge, towering above downstream, is an engineering spectacle worth pondering. Strangely enough, it’s the third bridge constructed at that location. When the current bridge was completed in 1911, it was known for being the largest concrete arch bridge by length in the United States. The design of the Monroe Street Bridge was largely copied from the Rocky River Bridge in Cleveland, Ohio, but was built one foot longer to make it the longest concrete arch in the country at the time. 

Visitors looking up may also see the SkyRide gondola that begins and ends at Riverfront Park on the ride’s tour of the falls. The lilac-colored cars travel the entire length of Huntington Park, twice, offering an alternative aerial tour of the river canyon. Also, while it technically isn’t part of Huntington Park, plan a walk through A Place of Truths Plaza near the Monroe Street Bridge and Downtown Library on the south rim of the gorge. The plaza’s name is presented in both Salish and English on interpretive signs and the plaza offers spectacular views of Spokane Falls and Huntington Park. Large metal statues of native wildlife and fishing scenes commemorate the river’s importance as a historic tribal salmon fishing ground, and a poem by Sherman Alexie titled “That Place Where Ghosts of Salmon Jump” is etched into a granite spiral at the west end of the plaza. 

Huntington Park and A Place of Truths Plaza are more than a city promenade; these public spaces serve as an interactive reminder of the significance of the Spokane River that stretches back thousands of years and invite reflection on our connection to the river, the tragic history of the Spokane region’s Indigenous inhabitants, and the loss of the river’s once-abundant salmon runs. Open year-round and free to visit, Huntington Park offers a powerful urban nature experience where art, history and nature converge in a walkable tribute to the city’s defining feature: the Spokane River.  

A quick search on the Out There Venture website brings up over 200 articles written by Jon Jonckers. He’s been a constant contributor since 2006, and he still enjoys sharing his love for the region with anyone willing to listen. 

The post A Park for All Seasons: Exploring Downtown Spokane’s Huntington Park  appeared first on Out There Venture.

Recently I was challenged by a poet in Lycra bike shorts to write an entire column about bicycling without making fun of the way people look in Lycra bike shorts (which, by the way, I believe should be regulated no less strenuously than, say, automatic handguns-with permits, 5-day waiting periods and restrictions on public display.) Given my leanings toward humor that could sometimes be described as “sophomoric”-if this description weren’t so offensive to actual sophomores-this has proven to be somewhat difficult for me. The very same day, two people said to me, independent of one another, “I thought of you when I saw that raw sewage had leaked into the river,” no doubt, assuming that I am incapable of resisting brown trout jokes. (It’s catch and reflush season on the Spokane River.) But since I was planning to write about bicycling anyway, I decided to take my friend’s challenge and write an intelligent and tasteful piece about bicycling without once mentioning how men in bike shorts look like hairy boars being swallowed by Lycra snakes. And that one doesn’t count because it was in the introductory section to this column and not the actual text of the column, which begins immediately below, with these words: One day a bicyclist drafted off my car. 

One day a bicyclist drafted off my car. 

This has probably happened to you-blithely tooling along on some vital mission (it was visitors day at my brother’s rehab clinic) in your “polar-icecap-destroying motor vehicle” when an FOE (friend of the environment) suddenly settles in behind you, perched over his handlebars, gliding in the slipstream of your car. 

For me, it was a moment of pure camaraderie, the bicyclist recognizing a fellow FOE temporarily encased in aluminum, and I welcomed him as though he were wearing the yellow jersey and I were the pack at the Tour de West Central. Settle in, my pedaling friend, I thought, and let my combustion engine do the work for us both. I even felt a burst of ecological pride: my car gets only twenty miles per gallon, but between the two of us we were getting forty. 

Then the light changed and I had to stop. 

Done with me, my bicycle buddy quickly veered around me, went up on the curb and zipped across the crosswalk. This is something I occasionally do, too. I bristle at the way drivers in Spokane don’t treat me as a legitimate vehicle on my $10 bike, but then, when it suits my interest, I don’t hesitate to become a pedestrian. This is known, in the bicycling world, as bad form. 

It turned out this bicyclist was stopping at the same coffee shop as me. He came in wearing a pair of Lycra shorts that were…um…well, they looked…um…just fine. Really …aerodynamic. 

“Hi,” I said. 

And bike guy said, “That’s a pretty crappy car for someone so famous.” 

I was driving my wife’s newer Subaru, so I wasn’t sure where to start, with his flawed definition of the word “crappy” or his complete misunderstanding of the word “famous.” But I let it go because he was a fellow bicycling enthusiast and we had a nice conversation about bikes. And that’s all I have to say about bicycling. 

“Hey buddy,” I yelled as he pedaled away. “Nadia Comaneci called. She wants her leotard back.” 

Jess Walter’s latest book is the short story collection, “The Angel of Rome.” www.jesswalter.com  

You can find all of Jess’ The Urban Outdoors articles here.

The post “The Urban Outdoors” Published August 1, 2006 in Out There Monthly.   appeared first on Out There Venture.

Cover photo courtesy of Jess Walter

In 2006 and 2007, a newspaper-reporter-turned-novelist named Jess Walter wrote a recurring humor column for Out There called “The Urban Outdoors.” At the time, Walter had recently published his fourth novel, “The Zero,” which was named a finalist for the National Book Award. In the nearly two decades since, Walter has written five more books of fiction, including the 2012 best-seller “Beautiful Ruins.” His most recent novel, “The Cold Millions” is set in Spokane during the labor and free speech demonstrations of 1909 and 1910. 

To celebrate OTO’s 20^th anniversary, we sat down with Jess Walter to look back on his brief career as an outdoor magazine columnist. Here’s our conversation with him on trail poop, a risqué sledding subculture, and how he’s now involved with the urban outdoors. 

Chris Maccini for OTO: How did “The Urban Outdoors” column originate? Don’t you usually have to have some outdoor credibility to write for such a magazine?  

Jess Walter: The funny thing is people would ask me, “What’s it like living in Spokane?” I’d say, “Oh, it’s an amazing outdoors place.” And really, my experience in the outdoors is, when I was a kid, what we would call camping was driving as far into the woods as you could, shooting things with BB guns and drinking beer. So, yeah, I felt insecure about it. But then I thought, well, that’s kind of funny. And the things that I wanted to write about—like, why do people keep shitting all over the trail?—I’d never seen anyone write about. So, it started to seem like a funny thing to do. I’d written a humor column in high school and in college, and I love alternative papers. I loved that Spokane was supporting an outdoors paper. But I was definitely the last person I would have picked to write it.  

OTO: Do you still consider yourself an urban outdoorsman or has your relationship to the outdoors changed in the past two decades? 

Walter: I’m probably even more of an urban outdoorsman than I was then. I’ve committed more to riding my bike. I go for a walk every night. I still snow ski. I play golf at Downriver. I’ve given up swinging and sledding like I used to, and it’s been a couple of years since my brother and I did our annual river float. But yeah, most of the outdoor stuff I do is within the city limits.  

OTO: In your first column, you wrote that your chief complaint was encountering “man scat” during your walks along the Spokane River. It’s been almost 20 years—Would you say you encounter more or less man scat on the trails these days? 

Walter: When I wrote that, I think there was a mad shitter about, actually. Everywhere I went, I kept finding these big turds. And I really worried about the guy’s health. It’s like, your diet is really troubling me. Maybe I’ve stopped doing the scouting thing where I dropped to my knees and tried to determine whose it was. But yeah, I don’t think we’ve solved that problem, clearly. 

OTO: In a winter edition of the column, you wrote about an encounter you had on a plastic sled with another man’s wife. This led you to ponder a potential “sledding swingers community.” Have you discovered any other urban outdoors subcultures in your time since? 

Walter: The urban fishermen are the thing that I’ve seen the most of. One of my neighbors catches beautiful redband trout out of the Spokane River. There used to be a guy who would bring a bucket of golf balls and hit them into the river. I wanted to say something to him like, you’re gonna hit somebody. But he was so terrible that I was almost embarrassed for both of us. I’ve yet to find anyone as edgy as the swinging sledding community. I’m sure they’re out there, though. 

OTO: One of your columns was about floating the river every summer with your brother. You predicted that the increased development nearby might actually be good for the river’s health. Now, the river is much cleaner than it used to be. The City of Spokane just finished a big stormwater project. The Spokane Riverkeeper has done so much cleanup work. The redband trout you mentioned are being conserved. Local tribes are even doing some salmon reintroduction. Does having a cleaner Spokane River make us more like those smug Montanans you wrote about with their “gin-clear” rivers? Do you long for the days of seeing “brown trout” floating down stream?  

Walter: No, I mean, imagine if the salmon ever came this far again! Steelhead is my very favorite food. If I could fish for steelhead in Spokane, that might just tip me over into being a real outdoorsman because I love eating it so much. I still remember one of the most stunning things in the research for “The Cold Millions” was finding out that people used to take their garbage down to the river and just dump it. As the river fell, all this garbage would show up and it would stink so badly. So the solution was to put trap doors in the bridges. Trucks would pull up with construction debris, and they would just open that hatch and throw it in. This was like 1909, 1910. Then they had a big mound of garbage in the center of the river for a while. Even growing up here in the ‘70s and ‘80s, all the restaurants and hotels had no windows looking over the river. It really wasn’t seen that way. So the development and cleaning up the river is part of this long process that really began with Expo ’74. There’s still so far to go, but the Riverkeeper has been such an amazing development. And yeah, the more people who are swimming, kayaking, rafting, fishing, the more we’ll also demand a cleaner river.  

OTO: You’ve written about Spokane in several of your books. How has your conception of the Inland Northwest as a literary setting changed in the past twenty years? 

Jess: “Citizen Vince” had been probably my most “Spokane” novel before I wrote those columns for Out There Monthly. And it really captures Spokane at that moment when I became aware of it as a place, the 1980s. It was the place where you could hide guys in the witness protection program, and no one would ever find them. In “Over Tumbled Graves” or “Land of the Blind,” I wrote about how Spokane was the kind of place you had to move away from. And I think that’s how I felt. I had this long period of coming to appreciate the place that first was, “Oh, this place isn’t any worse than anywhere else.” But then the next breakthrough was thinking, “Oh no, this place is incredible.” Like for me, working on “The Cold Millions” felt like I discovered these amazing stories that people didn’t know about. Stories I can tell that are illustrative of the time we’re living in. I suppose my sense of the place has evolved to the point where, if anything, I almost have to push myself to write about other places because I know this place so well. But I still love going out and writing about Rome in “The Angel of Rome” and then coming back and writing about Gino’s Pizza and Gonzaga University. 

Jess Walter’s latest book is the short story collection, “The Angel of Rome.” www.jesswalter.com  

Find Jess Walter’s The Urban Outdoor Column here or, peruse all of his old columns here.

Chris Maccini is a writer and audio producer from Spokane. When he’s not hassling the local literati, you can find him on the trails and waters of the Inland Northwest

The post Jess Walter Interview – The Urban Outdoors  appeared first on Out There Venture.

By Alana Livingston

Street Music Week is the brainchild of retired columnist Doug Clark of the Spokesman Review. Clark says he was bothered by the lack of street performers in Spokane compared to other cities. To address this, he played his acoustic guitar every day for a week in 2002, collecting money that he then donated to the food bank. The next year, he invited some more people to join him, and the rest is history.  

Street Music Week, which now takes place in the second week of June (Monday-Friday, 12-1 p.m.), benefits 2^nd Harvest Food Bank. Lunch hour is the perfect time to step outside to view this vibrant music and art scene. Street Music Week is for everyone, and participants do not need to have musical talent; they only need to show up and provide some kind of performance in the time allotted. Everyone from jugglers, comedians, and mimes to famous musicians have performed. Performers can do the whole week, a single day or multiple days. 

Carey Eyer, the current coordinator of Street Music Week, began participating in 2012 along with his two preschool-aged daughters. Eyer states that Street Music Week has been a solid part of his children’s musical growth, and, as a family, they derive much more from the event than they contribute. His family has started to become more involved with the other side of the event through 2^nd Harvest. They have witnessed the impact of access to healthy food in our community while participating in food delivery and distribution. “It’s important for kids to understand not everyone eats as well as we do,” Eyer says. Eyer mentions how great is to see the kids count the donations and actually figure out how many pounds of food they raised (Food bank officials state $1 provides six pounds of food).  

During Covid, the in-person Street Music Week event was brought to a halt, causing the need for online donations, something that has proven to be a blessing. “Not everyone is available during the timeframe the performances take place, so the addition of online donations and videos is great for people to still take part,” Eyer says. Other than the online addition to the event, Street Music Week has stayed the same—simple and straightforward. Keeping it simple is something that Clark has always believed makes it such a great success.  

Now in its 22^nd year, Street Music Week has expanded from just the downtown location to include the Garland District and Sherman Avenue in Coeur d’ Alene. This fun event is a way to get outside, get involved, give back and have a blast doing it. The organizers of this event would love to help other cities re-create their own street music week. “All it takes is a bit of organization and a dash of desire,” claims Clark. 

Street Music Week will take place June 10-14. Participants do not need to sign up beforehand—simply show up at one of the locations around 11:30 a.m. to collect a donation bucket and badge. Online donations can be made at 2-harvest.org/streetmusic. Doug Clark will return to Spokane to perform both Thursday and Friday. 

Street Music Week Locations: Downtown Spokane (Main and Post, a few steps east of Starbucks); the Garland District (733 W. Garland, outside The Gathering House); in Coeur d’Alene (415 Sherman Ave, in front of Art Spirit Gallery). 

Alana Livingston is looking forward to continuing her outdoor adventures by running 365 miles and completing 52 hikes in 2024. 

The post Street Music Week Elevates the Arts for a Good Cause appeared first on Out There Venture.

Spokane is home to many urban wilds. No matter where in Spokane you live, chances are there is a wild-ish natural area near you to explore. Combining urban neighborhoods with these special, scenic places makes for one of the most unique and satisfying hiking experiences imaginable.

And with the right guide to point out everything from native plants and geographical features to historic sites and buildings, it can be even better. This was the idea behind the urban walking tours and my business, Wander Spokane, as well as my desire to become a tour guide. These local tours can’t be repeated anywhere else because they are tied to this unique place.

This summer, get out there to explore on your own or with a Wander Spokane guided tour and see some of Spokane’s lesser-known urban wilds.

Coeur d’Alene Park & Browne’s Addition Neighborhood History

A great starting point is on the corner of Second Avenue and Hemlock at Spokane’s oldest park, Coeur d’Alene Park. The beautiful gazebo in the center of the park was built in 1896 and has been a gathering place for Spokanites for over 120 years. The land for the park was donated after the great fire of 1889 by J.J. Browne and A.M. Cannon as a way of promoting building in the area.

Most homes in this neighborhood reflect the era in which they were built. This was an enclave for the elite who made most of their money in the railway and mining industries.

Overlook Park & Latah Valley Views

Walking west down Second Avenue toward Overlook Park you will pass many homes ranging from the Patsy Clark Mansion (1897) to the Gibbs-Murphy house, the oldest in the neighborhood (1883). Taking in the view of the Hangman Creek valley, directly below you is High Bridge Park located along the banks of the creek.

Take time to read the few signs at the top of the hill that tell some tales of the past. To the south you’ll notice some beautiful bridges, including the Sunset Highway bridge. Downstream you’ll see remnants of old trusses both in the water and on land.

High Bridge Park Walk along the Creek

Starting down the trail to Latah Creek below are plenty of plants, many native to the area. My favorite time to view them is late spring/early summer. Probably the most well-known is the arrowleaf balsamroot that resembles a wild sunflower. Ponderosa pines line the trail and the creek, as well as yarrow, ocean spray, and Douglas fir, all with edible and medicinal uses.

At the bottom of the trail you reach the creek, known by one of two names—Hangman Creek or Latah Creek, depending on who you ask. (In 1858 Col. George Wright had several Native Americans hanged in this valley, hence the name discrepancy).

At this point the pulse of the city is out of sight, and the sound of the water and birds take over.

People’s Park & the Confluence

Follow the creek north to the Spokane River and the confluence with Latah Creek, a special place to members of the Spokane Tribe and other Native Americans. The river and creek provided Native American inhabitants with salmon and other fish for thousands of years before dams downstream cut off their migration from the Pacific Ocean.

More recently, the natural area surrounding the confluence of the Spokane River and Latah Creek is known as People’s Park. This area has several trails an array of beautiful plants and a “colorful” story.

During Spokane’s Expo ’74, this area was set up for free camping and soon became its own little community. After the fair ended, it became a place for peace, love, and nude beaches.

Peaceful Valley

Turning back east along the south bank of the Spokane River, walk along the newly paved path toward the Peaceful Valley neighborhood, following the river where you can still hear the raging waters below during spring runoff. Follow the path to Main Street and you will find yourself in my favorite neighborhoods.

Peaceful Valley went by many names in its lifetime: Poverty Flats and Spring Flats to name a few. There are many interesting and historical homes in this neighborhood, including the Pietsch House, Groshoff Apartments, and the Cowley School.

An unusual feature found in this neighborhood is a series of row cabins. Our hike ends at Redband Park, formerly known as Glover Field. The park was renamed after the redband trout, a native fish to the Spokane River that, along with the salmon, was crucial to the Indigenous inhabitants of the area.

The views from Redband Park are amazing, especially from the field looking toward downtown with the power of the river meeting the gorgeous architecture and cityscape.

For more information about urban tours of Spokane and Wander Spokane, visit Wanderspokane.com.

Find more urban recreation and adventure ideas in the Urban Outdoors column archives.

The post 5 Urban Wild Destinations in Spokane for DIY Tours appeared first on Out There Venture.

The search for this staircase is part of Wander Spokane’s week-long scavenger hunt that took my son and adventure buddy, Gavin, and me all over the city to visit parks, historic buildings, works of art both old and new, and unique vistas that are all but unknown to many Spokane residents. When we finally saw the steel steps rising from the dense foliage, I started my timer to see how long it took us to make it up the hillside. 2:12. Not bad for short legs. 

During this, my second Wander Spokane scavenger hunt, I checked a few things off my bucket list—most notably a visit to Spokane’s very own Hobbit House and the home where the 1993 movie “Benny and Joon” was filmed. Alana Livingston, founder and owner of Wander Spokane, is a master of local lore and creates a colorful and fascinating journey through Spokane’s history and geography for scavenger hunt participants.  

Wander Spokane is a small business designed to help people experience the essence of this community on foot through wine, beer, and food tours, as well as urban wilderness tours. More information is available on their web site at wanderspokane.com. This particular adventure was self-guided due to the state’s phased reopening, and dozens of other teams signed up to compete for points and explore the city over the course of a week in June. 

Wander Spokane partners with restaurants, breweries, wineries, and other businesses to help residents, guests, and transplants experience the best that Spokane has to offer. And they don’t disappoint! Food from Three Ninjas kept us on our feet long enough to peruse Coeur d’Alene Park (oldest park in Spokane), find the labyrinth in Polly Judd Park, and search (unsuccessfully) for the abandoned wagon on the old Haynes Estate. We kept our clothes on in People’s Park (historically a nudist park), took selfies with the namesake for Iron Goat Brewing, made fish faces with the Redband trout statue, and found evidence of the zoo that once existed in Manito. We even learned how to read a sundial. 

As I traipsed through downtown with Gavin, who was just in this for ice cream at Sweet Peaks Ice Cream—another Wander Spokane partner—I was crushed to realize they were closed for the night. I also saw things that reminded me of last year’s hunt. I winked at O’Doherty’s where I stood on the bar and sang, “You Are My Sunshine.” I nodded to the Cochinito pig, the musical instruments bench outside the Bing, and the rotary fountain in Riverfront Park, designed by local artist Harold Balazs.  

This year, it’s been tough not to feel “stuck.” Stuck at home, stuck inside, stuck with immediate family. But thanks to organizations like Wander Spokane, my son and I have challenged ourselves to find the hidden gems that are right around the next curve of the street, hiding behind that clump of bushes.  

Check the fall calendar of events and tours at wanderspokane.com for future scavenger hunts and other opportunities for exploring Spokane at its finest!

Spokane is a perfect fit for Carol and her son who, together, love to hike, run, bike, build trails, kayak, climb, camp, snowshoe, and snowboard.  

The post Wander Spokane Scavenger Hunt appeared first on Out There Venture.

A cross between geocaching and a scavenger hunt, Munzee is an app great for getting outside into new places. Asking my kids to explore places I have chosen or asking them to go for a walk for the sake of walking—oh, the eye rolling and resistance. I am always looking for new ways to engage them in outings, but at 9 and 14 they have outgrown my mom-designed scavenger hunts, and as much as I love the idea of geocaching, the reality of it is not something that has captured their interest. 

The goal of Munzee is to find a QR code hidden in the real world and capture it with your cell phone camera. The Munzee app displays a map with the location of QR codes that other players have deployed and gives small clues on where to find them. There are also virtual captures that you can collect by being in a specific location. Both count toward your point total and you can earn badges based on what you’ve done.  

I was first introduced to Munzee on a middle school field trip with my daughter. I wasn’t sure what to think at first. An initial look at the app made me think this was no different from Pokemon Go. Not my style. 

As I watched this group of middle schoolers run around and find various codes, I began to change my mind. They were trying to match the map to their surroundings, follow clues, and then looking over, under, and in things to find the code to capture. On this occasion, the students were able to deploy their own set of QR code stickers (which measure about half an inch square) according to the rules in some really creative locations. According to our fitness tracker we walked 5 miles total. I couldn’t help but think how this might just be the best way to get kids outside over the summer using their observation skills and creativity in a new way.  

We are not a super tech-driven family, but I decided we would try it out for ourselves. We opted for Manito Park with our extended family. The park is especially amazing in the spring and contained plenty of space to keep socially distanced from others. Initially I was afraid they would focus only on the screen, but because of the map and the hidden nature of the codes I noticed all of the kids were really observant and actually noticed a lot about the park along the way. My youngest son definitely put his map reading skills to good use. 

The kids split their time equally between chasing the QR codes and stopping to check out the abundant blossoms and bumblebees. Within Manito Park most of the codes are located near the roads, which would make this a great game for those unable to walk on uneven ground or those in wheelchairs.  

There are several websites about Munzee, but the most helpful for those who just want to try it out for the day is Munzee.zendesk.com/hc/en-us. The app is free.

Crystal Atamian is a science editor who loves to hike, ski, kayak, and identify as many wildflowers as possible each spring. She wrote about huckleberry picking in the Family Outdoors Guide in the April 2020 issue.  

The post Urban Scavenger Hunt: Munzee appeared first on Out There Venture.

Who says you need to own a car to go on an adventure? Sure, it’s harder to get to national parks and wide swaths of wilderness on your own without one. As someone living in an urban area, I regularly feel an urge to be somewhere more natural, wilder, and more beautiful. And yet, if I wait to be on top of a mountain or alone in a forest to feel that itch scratched, I’ll almost never get the chance. Here are four ways to cultivate this spirit of adventure closer to home. 

Go Early 

Get up before dawn and ride your bike to a park with a beautiful vista. When you get to a good viewpoint, you can pour yourself a thermos of hot coffee and watch the sun come up. You’ll usually have the place to yourself and a chorus of birds.  

Suggested ride: Manito Park. For a mellow or family-friendly alternative: Take bus number 4 or bus up the hill and bike back down. 

Go Late 

Grab a friend and your headlamps and do a post-work sunset run. Yep, we’re tired after work, and it can feel intimidating to hit the trails or the streets with limited light. But there’s fun and motivation in coming together, and it can be a great way to train for that summer trip. Also, there’s something about headlamp light that makes things feel adventurous.  

Suggested run: Spokane’s Riverfront Park. You can start and end near the fountain, which puts you within walking distance to some awesome post-run takeout food options. 

Go Up 

Spokane is blessed with local climbing crags. Several you can even take a bus to! It’s amazing how even just a half day of climbing at a local crag on a sunny morning—even if it’s a short, moderate climb with no glorious view at the top—can generate a moment of connecting to that wild, scary, adventure feeling.  

Suggested spot: Dishman Hills. Use bus 90 or 94.  

Go Big 

Make an all-day adventure from your door. Pack up your backpacking pack and put on your boots. Throw in breakfast and lunch and even bring your camping stove. Bring a map and compass and plan to spend an entire day walking to some far-off destination. Getting up early, planning a route, heating up a quick meal with a camp pot, and feeling the familiar weight of your pack is all it takes to feel like you’re on an adventure. This is a great way to train, and there’s so much to see when we are looking at our surroundings with more observant eyes. This also works as an all day bike trip.  

Suggested trail: Centennial trail. Jump on the centennial trail at your nearest of favorite trailheads. Head all the way to Idaho, or link up to Riverside and Nine Mile Falls.

Get Creative

Check out bus routes that may take you someplace new. Get friends to join you in early morning or late night versions of your favorite local fun. And planning a bigger trip with a car rental or your own wheels can feel all that much sweeter when you’ve been building up to it. Wilderness and adventure are as accessible as your imagination and fearlessness to try something different. 

Ingrid Hannan is currently living in a big city for grad school but feels her real education happened mountaineering in the North Cascades, climbing rocks in the desert, skiing uphill, getting pummeled by ocean waves, and backpacking in glacial valleys. She escapes to wilderness to learn more whenever she gets the chance.  

The post 4 Carless Adventures appeared first on Out There Venture.

See if you can work in a section of the Spokane River Centennial Trail or Ben Burr Trail (Spokane), North Idaho Centennial Trail (Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene), Larch and Fifth or Sand Creek pathways (Sandpoint), or other trails into your outing. Bring a backpack or bike basket or panniers for hauling your food home. 

Shopping for local food in an outdoor market is also safer than a trip to a crowded grocery store, and many markets like the Spokane Farmers’ Market (SFM) are taking special precautions, including asking patrons to wear masks, gloves, and practice social distancing. The Spokane Farmers Market will also have extra hand washing stations and waste containers for gloves and wipes.

Keep in mind too that SFM organizers are asking that only one family member come to shop and dogs are not allowed. Each market may have their own COVID-19 related policies so check the website for the one you plan to visit before you go. 

Originally published in the June 2020 print issue.

Visit the OTO archives for more stories about farmers’ markets.

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