Spokane in the Pacific Northwest. It is the largest city in eastern Washington, and the third largest city in the United States' Pacific Northwest. It is the largest city in the Inland Northwest. The city's nickname is "The Lilac City".

Understand

Spokane is the economic hub of a surrounding agricultural area that serves roughly 1.5 million people. Its immediate metropolitan area is home to roughly 500,000 citizens and the city proper is home to 200,000. It is a rather conservative area, with a rather liberal city proper, and has a fairly small racial minority population (around 10%).

Get in

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By plane

Spokane International Airport is a few miles to the west of Downtown. It operates flights regularly to Seattle, Denver, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, etc. There aren't very many direct international flights: most flights go through hubs such as Seattle and San Francisco.

By train

Spokane is located on Amtrak's Empire Builder route, which operates between Seattle/Portland and Chicago. Spokane is located at the point where westbound trains are split in half, one half going to Seattle through the Cascades and the other half to Portland along the Columbia River Gorge, and where eastbound trains from those cities are joined together to continue eastward. The Empire Builder connects with Amtrak's Coast Starlight in Seattle and Portland and with many other trains in Chicago. The Amtrak intermodal station, which is shared with Greyhound buses, is a new facility located downtown, close to major hotels and attractions.

By bus

Same goes for Greyhound. You can get to Spokane on Greyhound from just about anywhere in the U.S. Its station is the intermodal one previously mentioned.

Get around

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By Bus

The STA (Spokane Transit Authority) is an excellent way to get around to the North, South, and West sides as well as to the Valley and Liberty Lake in the east. Public Transit is a great way to get to meet the people of a city. Bus route maps can be found in a few stores and and gas stations. The drivers are very friendly and helpful so ask any questions you may have.

Beginning December 4, 2006 STA will be moving to a new farebox and adding 2 hour and all day passes. With the new fare boxes you must ask the driver for a pass before you put your fare in the fare box.

By Car
Car rentals are available in many locations, mainly near the Spokane International Airport.

Interstate 90 is an excellent way to cross town East-West, but beware the construction all throughout the freeway areas.

Check with Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for current driving conditions.

By Bike
Spokane is located in a valley, bicycling around can be difficult due to the hills. This can be complicated by weather, which can be cold and snowy in winter and hot and dry in the summer.

The Centennial Trail runs along the Spokane River from downtown Coeur d'Alene on through the Spokane Valley and downtown Spokane ending in Riverside State Park. It is good for bicycling, roller...