Farm · 33 min northeast
Green Bluff
U-pick berries, apples and pumpkins on a hill of family farms.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Summer-fall
- No pass or fee needed
Day Trippin' › Washington › From Spokane
Day trips from Spokane
Spokane sits between the lakes and forests of the northeast and the rolling hills of the Palouse. Within a few hours you'll find wildlife refuges, river canyons, Grand Coulee Dam and Palouse Falls.
43 places within a 3-hour drive, by real roads.
10 day trips from Spokane
- Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge 32 min south
- Green Bluff 33 min northeast
- Palouse Scenic Byway 1 hr south
- Colfax 1 hr 18 min south
- Steptoe Butte 1 hr 24 min south
- Fort Spokane 1 hr 30 min northwest
- Kettle Falls and Lake Roosevelt 1 hr 44 min northwest
- Grand Coulee Dam 2 hr 8 min west
- Palouse Falls 2 hr 17 min southwest
- Dry Falls 2 hr 42 min west
Within an hour from Spokane 3 spots
Scenic drive · 1 hr south
Palouse Scenic Byway
Rolling wheat hills, red barns and small towns.
- Half day · Easy
- May-August
- No pass or fee needed
Wildlife refuge · 32 min south
Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge
Pine woods and wetlands near Cheney, great for birds and elk.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Refuge fee in some months, or free (check: sources disagree)
1 to 2 hours from Spokane 9 spots
Viewpoint · 1 hr 24 min south
Steptoe Butte
Drive to the top of a butte for a 360-degree view of rolling Palouse hills.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Late spring-fall
- Discover Pass
Town · 1 hr 18 min south
Colfax
A farm town with the Codger Pole, a giant chainsaw carving.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Year-round
- No pass or fee needed
Lake · 1 hr 44 min northwest
Kettle Falls and Lake Roosevelt
A long lake behind Grand Coulee Dam with beaches and an old mill.
- Half day · Easy
- Summer
- No entrance fee; boat launch and camping fees
Historic site · 1 hr 30 min northwest
Fort Spokane
An 1880s army post where the Spokane River meets Lake Roosevelt.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Grounds year-round
- No pass or fee needed
Trail · 1 hr 38 min south
Kamiak Butte
A pine-forest loop with views over the farmland.
- 2 hrs · Moderate
- Year-round
- No pass or fee needed
State park · 1 hr 16 min northeast
Mount Spokane State Park
A summit stone hut with views into Idaho; skiing in winter.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round
- Discover Pass
Town · 1 hr 33 min south
Palouse
A small brick main street on the Palouse River.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Year-round
- No pass or fee needed
Town · 1 hr 44 min south
Pullman and WSU
A college town with Ferdinand's ice cream and campus museums.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Paid parking on campus
2 to 3 hours from Spokane 26 spots
Dam · 2 hr 8 min west
Grand Coulee Dam
One of the biggest concrete structures on Earth, with a summer night laser show.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round; laser show summer
- Free
Waterfall · 2 hr 17 min southwest
Palouse Falls
A 198-foot falls into a deep basalt canyon, the state's official waterfall.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Spring best
- Discover Pass
Waterfall · 2 hr 42 min west
Dry Falls
A cliff once home to a waterfall five times wider than Niagara, from the Ice Age floods.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Discover Pass at some lots
State park · 2 hr 18 min southwest
Potholes State Park
Sand dunes, lakes and birds in the desert.
- Half day · Easy
- Spring-fall
- Discover Pass
Town · 2 hr 25 min west
Soap Lake
A mineral lake people have soaked in for a century.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Summer
- No pass or fee needed
Cave · 2 hr 32 min west
Lake Lenore Caves
A short trail to shallow caves used by early peoples above a coulee lake.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Spring-fall
- Discover Pass
State park · 2 hr 39 min southwest
Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park
Petrified logs and a view over the Columbia at Vantage.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Discover Pass
Wildlife refuge · 2 hr 54 min southwest
Columbia National Wildlife Refuge
Scablands lakes and cliffs full of birds south of Potholes.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Spring-fall
- No pass or fee needed
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP 99201 (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.