Spokane - Pitstops for Kids

Exploring Spokane and Northern Idaho with kids

September 3, 2020 By Amy Hagstrom

Two of my three kids were born in Spokane, Washington. During the time we lived in this Eastern Washington city, downtown Spokane remained fairly sleepy, with quiet, understated shops and eateries framing beautiful Riverfront Park. In the years since we moved to Oregon, we’ve been lucky enough to return multiple times for the wonderful outdoor opportunities in Washington and Idaho, and have watched Spokane grow into a more robust, even trendy city with a vibrant downtown.

This past June, we were able to spend three fun nights in Spokane, enjoying the city’s annual Hoopfest street basketball tournament. As we often do during road trips, we looked for a hotel with plenty of space to spread out, plus a complimentary breakfast or kitchenette to make our own. With three kids (two of whom are teens), we highly value the ability to make some meals en suite. We found a Staybridge Suites hotel that fit the bill: The Holiday Inn Express Spokane Downtown, and were even able to use our IHG points to book during this popular time to visit Spokane.

What to do in downtown Spokane (any time of year):

Downtown Spokane is pedestrian-friendly, and from the Holiday Inn and Suites, we were able to easily access Riverfront Park. The walk through the park is lovely, and takes visitors directly into the main downtown core. Here’s what we never miss in downtown Spokane:

Riverfront Square:

This downtown urban mall includes multiple stories of trendy shops, dining options, and activities for families. Directly next to Riverfront Park, families can retreat here for a bite to eat or a movie after a fun day outdoors along the Spokane River.

Mobius Children’s Museum:

Located in Riverfront Square on the lower level, this award-winning children’s museum includes hands-on exhibits for kids from babies and toddlers to pre-teens. We love the ride-on toys and trucks best with boys!

Riverfront Park:

Much more than an urban green space, Riverfront Park was once the location of the World Expo, and infrastructure from these days still exist. During the summer months, families will find a permanent carnival area with Ferris wheel and bumper cars in the park (in winter, this area is transformed into an ice skating rink) and there are walking and biking paths throughout the park and along the roaring Spokane River. Take a gondola ride over the falls, or catch an IMAX movie.

Outdoor Recreation in Northern Idaho:

Spokane is an ideal home base for outdoor recreation. Northern Idaho includes some of the most unspoiled wilderness we’ve seen, with multiple sun-kissed lakes perfect for hikers, fishermen, and boaters. Where we love to go:

Lake Coeur d’ Alene:

Drive 30 minutes to downtown Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, and enjoy a full day at any one of a number of public sand beaches along the lake. Families can rent motorized watercraft, or just float on river rafts. An excellent wooden playground structure is within easy walking distance.

Haiwatha Trail:

This rail trail in Northern Idaho is ideal for family cycling. It’s been named a top 10 mountain biking trail in the US, but it’s not difficult for kids to navigate. The scenery throughout the Idaho panhandle is breathtaking, heading over seven trestles and through 10 tunnels.

Timberline Adventures:

Located in Couer d’ Alene, this outdoor adventure park includes multiple tree canopy zip lines. A big favorite of teens, kids start out on four-wheelers, which deliver them to the top of a mountain to experience over two hours of continuous zip lines.

Holiday Inn Express Downtown Spokane review:

When we plan a vacation that will take us outdoors and around town, and keep us out until late, our prime criteria for our hotel includes location, space, easy parking, and free breakfast. As a family of five, we need as much room as we can get, and food is always being consumed by our crew! We don’t necessarily need a pool or complimentary WiFi, but those are sure nice, too.

Holiday Inn Express is a division of IHG hotels, which means we could use our earned points. The Downtown Spokane Holiday Inn Express was especially clean and friendly, with a great breakfast and perfect location. It put us located right by the park, so we could walk around Spokane, but also very close to I-90, so we could hop in the car and be in Northern Idaho in no time.

As a happy surprise, our hotel offered the special touch of fresh cookies in the lobby nightly from 7 pm-9 pm. When we arrived back at the hotel after a full day of city walking and basketball, we were very happy to see these waiting for us!

Do you use hotel points when you travel? Which ones?

Spokane family festivals: year-round family fun

August 28, 2014 By Amy Hagstrom

Who says families need to go to Seattle or Portland to have a good time, see an up-and-coming band, or celebrate a quirky holiday? During the seven years we lived in Spokane, WA, we happily became family festival guinea pigs, trying out a little of everything. In the years since, here’s what we deem worthy of a return visit.

Spokane festivals worth the trip:

Green Bluff Growers Apple Festival:

Held September 20 through October 26, Spokane’s popular Apple Festival takes place at Green Bluff, a collective of 28 farms a short drive from downtown Spokane. Expect the usual fall harvest offerings–hay bales, corn mazes, freshly-pressed cider, and U-Pick apples–multiplied by 28. At the entrance of the Green Bluff area, families can grab a driving map and choose which farms to patronize. Most vie for attention with colorful banners, inflatable bounce houses and slides, apple pie cook-offs, and live music. Best of all, the party continues for over a month, giving travelers flexibility.

First Night:

It’s New Year’s Eve in Eastern Washington. Let’s spend it…outside? Sure! First Night is Spokane’s alcohol-free, family friendly, New Year’s Eve arts festival held in downtown Spokane. Come for the afternoon Children’s Festival, then grab a bite at any number of family-friendly downtown restaurants and stay for the Grand Procession; over forty downtown venues stay open for the night, offering live entertainment and art. If your little ones can stay up until midnight, they’ll be rewarded by a fireworks display in Riverfront Park, the 100 acre park originally created for the Expo of ’74 (remember the World’s Fair?).

Bloomsday:

Come to Spokane on the first weekend in May, and run in (or watch) Bloomsday, held annually on the first Sunday. Believe it or not, this 12K run is one of the largest running events in the world, with over 50,000 entrants (and counting). Families can opt to walk the course (strollers welcome in certain categories), or cheer on elite runners and wheelchair racers in the morning. The weather can be all over the map: I’ve run Bloomsday in hail storms, snow, and heat! Stay for the celebration in Riverfront Park afterward. Kids who have not tired themselves out on the race course can play on the world’s largest Radio Flyer wagon (yep, it’s here, in Riverfront Park). There’s a slide down one side.

Lilac Festival:

On the heels of Bloomsday, the Spokane Lilac Festival (second Saturday in May to third Sunday of May) is your typical small town celebration…in a big city. The Lilac Festival includes a torchlight parade, the crowning of a queen and her court, and fun activities in the park. Local businesses offer discounts and restaurants sport speciality drinks just for the occasion. Kids will like the parade and ongoing fun in Riverfront Park. Beware: there’s a lot of purple in evidence during this week!

Hoopfest:

Our favorite of all Spokane festivals, Hoopfest is the world’s largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament. What is it with Spokane and ‘world’s biggest’s? Hoopfest transforms downtown Spokane, closing off streets and covering 40 city blocks of on the last Saturday and Sunday in June. We usually come with a player (Pit Stops for Kids’ own dad!), but Hoopfest is equally fun to watch: grab a schedule and head to the center courts, where elite college basketball talent is on display, or hit the park, where a carnival-like atmosphere includes bungee trampolines, bounce houses, and even a ferris wheel (open all summer).

Plan ahead if planning to visit Spokane during any of the above festivals; Hoopfest especially has travelers scrambling for hotel rooms to book. And if your trip to Spokane doesn’t align with the dates above, have no fear: head to the Riverfront Park area any time of year to check out Spokane Falls, ride bikes, ice skate in winter, and enjoy carnival games and IMAX movies in summer.

Disclosure: the above post is written in partnership with Trivago.com.

Photo credit: Mike Tigas, Hugh Millward, Kelly Jones

A Pit Stop a Day (Day 3): Mobius Kids Museum

June 27, 2010 By Amy Hagstrom

Indoor fun at Mobius Kids!

808 W. Main
(Riverfront Square Lower Level)
Spokane, WA

Day 3 found us spending the day among friends in Spokane, WA for the city’s annual Hoopfest basketball tournament. The kids and I temporarily escaped the crowds and heat at Mobius Kids, an expansive children’s museum right in the heart of downtown.

Mobius Kids is great for all ages with exhibits including a play city, a construction zone, a Globe theater, and a science lab. Having lived in Spokane several years ago, I can vouch for its growth: not long ago, this museum was a shadow of what it has become. Their “Enchanted Forest” section is perfect for the younger set, and my school-aged kids could have spent all day in the art studio.

If you live in the Northwest, be sure to check to see if any of your local children’s museum memberships qualify you for discounted admission. Ours did!

Extra Tip! If the weather is nice, go from the museum through the back entrance of River Park Square to Riverfront Park, a wonderful city greenbelt with duck ponds, a sky rail, outdoor ice skating (winter) and fun-zone carnival rides (summer).

Date last visited: June 2010.

Distance off the interstate: Five minutes off I-90.

Hours:

Mon-Sat: 10am-5pm
Sun: 11am-5pm

Admission Prices:

General Admission: $5.75
12 months & younger: Free

Food Services: Many options are at your disposal in the River Park Square complex, including Panda Express, Cruisers burgers, Ben & Jerry’s, and Pizza Rita.

Bathrooms: Located on-site, and on the lower level of River Park Square near the Sawtooth Grill.

Directions: From I-90, take exit 280B to merge onto S Lincoln St. After half a mile, turn right at W Main Ave. The easiest place to park is in the underground parking garage.

Up next: We drive from Washington to Montana and The Many Glacier Hotel in Glacier National Park! Note: Glacier is an ‘unplugged’ destination, so expect a three-day delay in our A Pit Stop a Day series!

View Larger Map

Spokane’s Riverfront Park with kids

January 25, 2010 By Amy Hagstrom

Riverfront Park during one of many summer festivals!

507 N. Howard St
Spokane, WA

If you find yourself driving I-90 from Seattle or Idaho’s ski and outdoor country, Spokane’s Riverfront Park is a beautifully appointed greenbelt worthy of a stop. Much more than a simple pit stop, the park spans both sides of the Spokane River and includes a pavilion originally built for the 1974 Expo, amusement rides, an ice skating rink, a Sky Ride gondola, an old fashioned carrousel, a giant red wagon slide, and plenty of grassy slopes, mature trees, and ducks to feed.

Riverfront Park with kids:

Try to grab the ‘golden ring’ on the carrousel!

If the weather isn’t cooperating, try the IMAX theater (schedule listed under â€˜Hours and Admission Prices below) or Mobius Kids Children’s Museum, located on the lower level within River Park Square, downtown Spokane’s premiere shopping center.

Date last visited: June 2009

Distance off the interstate: Two minutes off I-90.

Hours and Admission Prices: For the hours and admission prices of the various attractions (which change seasonally), click here. Be sure to ask about all admission options: during the summer months especially, day passes and punch cards can offer the best discounts for families.

Bathrooms: The nicest bathrooms are located within River Park Square on the lower level (through the entrance adjacent to the park). Others are located within the pavilion near the Ice Palace (winter) and carnival rides (summer).

Food Services: Food vendors and concessions abound in the summer months; year round, great options for families can be found in River Park Square. My family’s favorite? The Sawtooth Grill (located on the lower level), where TinkerToys and board games line the a shelf awaiting antsy children.

Website: http://www.spokaneriverfrontpark.com

Phone: 1-800-336-PARK

Directions: From I-90, take exit 281 to merge onto S Division St/US-2 E/US-395 N. Turn left at W Spokane Falls Blvd.

NOTE: Vehicles are not permitted in the park. Parking is available in several lots on the north end. The easiest place to park, however, is in the parking garage at River Park Square. Follow the signs from Spokane Falls Blvd!
View Larger Map