Our parks, june 24, 2018

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S U N D AY, J U N E 2 4 , 2 0 1 8

OUR PARKS

The people who designed this city long ago realized something. They knew it was important that those who live and work here have nearby places to go that remind them of a fundamental truth. Spokane isn’t just buildings, cars and bridges. It’s people. And people need a bit of elbow room now and then. - Paul Turner, back page

DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

KATHY PLONKA/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Ragon McCracken, 4, left, and Audrey Brandel, 8, eat their popsicles while standing on top of the drums at McEuen Park in Coeur d’Alene on June 12.

THE RESULTS OF SOME GOOD, AND NOT SO GOOD, PLANNING

27 WONDERLAND ESCAPES TO CHECK OUT THIS SUMMER

NOTHING BEATS HEAT OF SUMMER LIKE COOL WATER

Many of the parks in and around Spokane didn’t happen by chance. Foresight created great parks, and a long-forgotten wart. HISTORY, 2-5

Each park in our area offers a unique experience, but we have picked 27 park experiences to put on your summer to-do list. DESTINATIONS, 6-7

If you’re looking for a place to cool off, an abundance of cool, public pools has you covered. And if you dither, just try the river. GET WET, 20-23

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JUNE 24, 2018

THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

HISTORY OF PARKS

DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Jim Christensen, of Mead, sets his sights on photographing wood and mallard ducks last October at the Cannon Hill Park pond in Spokane.

Olmsteds influenced many Spokane parks Noted landscape architects provided blueprint for city beautification, recreation

By Jim Kershner THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Drive around Spokane and everywhere you look, you’ll detect a common theme: G Cannon Hill Park – the Olmsteds designed it.

G Finch Arboretum – the Olmsteds conceived it.

G Downriver Park – the Olmsteds suggested it.

G Manito Park – the Olmsteds improved it.

G Rockwood Boulevard – the Olmsteds plotted it.

G Gorge Park – the Olmsteds dreamed of it, 100 years early.

Who were these legendary Olmsteds?

And how did they come to shape so much of Spokane a century later?

The Olmsted Brothers, Landscape Architects, were the most famous urban planners in America at a time when the term urban planner hadn’t even been invented. Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. was responsible for New York’s Central Park, the U.S. Capitol Grounds and the famous Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893.

He died in 1903, but his firm carried on under his son, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., and his nephew, John Charles Olmsted. The cousins, who were also stepbrothers, became famous in their own right for championing the City Beautiful movement, dedicated to urban planning and beautification.

In 1907, the youthful Spokane was ripe for beautification. Aubrey White, the president of the city’s new park board, was filled with enthusiasm for the City Beautiful movement, and he also felt a sense of urgency. Spokane was growing so fast he felt the city had to act immediately if it were to acquire park land cheaply and avoid the mistakes of the big cities back East.

He knew the Olmsteds were designing projects in Seattle and Portland, so he

hired them to stop in Spokane on the way to and from these projects to prepare a report for the city.

Over several visits in 1907 and 1908, White accompanied John Charles Olmsted or his associate, James Frederick Dawson, all over the city – to the river gorge, to Manito Park, to Indian Canyon, to Corbin Park. Those two men took notes for their report, but they did more than that. According to local historian John Fahey, White paid Olmsted $50 out of his own pocket to also dispense as much verbal advice as he could give.

It is no exaggeration to say that those visits changed the look of Spokane forever.

Two Olmsted themes are immediately evident today. First, they believed that every home, from humble to grand, should be within easy walking distance of a neighborhood park. A map of Spokane’s current parks system shows parks dotted almost evenly, north to south, east to west.

They also believed that a great deal of park land should be left natural and undeveloped so residents could, in the words of Bressler, “withdraw, recreate or re-create.” Today, Spokane holds huge swaths of parkland that are essentially wild, including Palisades Park, on the city’s western rimrocks, and Hangman Park, between High Drive and Latah Creek.

The third theme is also evident today: The more parks the better.

The Olmsteds believed that “city life involves a continual strain on the nerves” and “has a decidedly depressing effect on the general health and stamina.” Nothing was a better antidote than parks, and lots of them.

Olmsted and Dawson went back to their offices in Brookline, Massachusetts, and prepared a comprehensive report (for what today seems an absurdly low price of $1,000) which was delivered to the city in 1908.

The report had many ambitious recommendations, including four new, large parks: G Gorge Park: Covering the banks of the Spokane River downstream from the falls all the way to the Natatorium Park site, at the approximate spot where Boone Street would intersect the river.

The Olmsteds recognized early that this gorge “is a tremendous feature of the landscape and one which is rarer in a large city than river, lake, bay or mountain.”

G Upriver Park: A huge area on both banks of the Spokane River beginning at about Havana Street and extending east.

G Downriver Park: The river gorge downstream from Natatorium Park, mostly on the river’s north bank.

G Latah Park: A huge swath of land from the mouth of Latah Creek upstream to the present Creek at Qualchan Golf Course, including the bluff between High Drive and the creek.

The Olmsted Report also called for a number of new, somewhat smaller “local parks,” including: G Rockwood Park: Near Rockwood Boulevard and Southeast Boulevard.

G Queen Anne Park: In a ravine west of Latah Creek and below Garden Springs.

G Ravine Park: Extending along both sides of a steep ravine high above the confluence of Latah Creek and the Spokane River.

G West Heights Park: On the wooded heights high above Greenwood Cemetery.

G Eastside Park: Along the Spokane River, from about Freya Street upstream to Upriver Park.

Then the report recommended a whopping 11 playfields, scattered evenly about the city, including Logan, Lidgerwood, Sinto, Underhill and Hays playfields.

“There is no question but that the land in the playfields will be worth all its cost to the present generation, who will pay for it, even if it is only graded and smoothed to enable the boys to play ball upon it,” said the report.

The Olmsted Report also had detailed recommendations for improving the

city’s existing parks, including: G Manito Park: Expand the park, put in playfields, make better aesthetic use of the dramatic rock ledges and lose (as soon as possible) the zoo.

G Corbin Park: Add a pretty shelter house in the center, tennis courts, playgrounds and winding walkways.

G Adams Park (soon renamed Cannon Hill Park): Create a willow-shaded pond, a curved drive, a little brook, a rock footbridge and a shelter.

G Liberty Park: Add a lake, playfields and tennis courts.

The Olmsteds supplemented these suggestions with elegant drawings of several parks, notably Corbin, Cannon Hill and Liberty parks. The drawings are works of art in themselves.

They also suggested a system of parkways, such as Upriver Parkway, Manito Boulevard and Rockwood Boulevard (the Olmsteds had been privately retained to design the entire Rockwood Neighborhood).

The Olmsteds also made suggestions about Spokane’s street design – they were highly in favor of diagonal boulevards such as Northwest Boulevard and Southeast Boulevard.

The report was submitted to the Park Board in 1908, with absolutely zero fanfare. White kept it quiet because he was worried that landowners would jack up their prices if they knew about the report.

White proceeded to quietly acquire as much land as he could. He used his own money and solicited donations of land.

Yet to acquire the amount of land recommended by the Olmsteds – an impressive 1,953 acres – would require serious money in the form of a bond issue. White and the other board members immediately floated a $1 million bond issue, which eventually passed in 1910 by a margin of only 18 votes.

By 1913, when the Park Board finally released the Olmsted Report to the public, White proudly wrote that the board had already “carried out the See OLMSTEDS, 3 On golden pond.

The turning leaves reflect along the edge of Cannon Hill Park, displaying a vibrant palette of fall colors as pairs of wood and mallard ducks glide across the water in October 2016.

COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

JUNE 24, 2018

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PARKS OLMSTEDS Continued from 2 recommendations of the Olmsted Brothers, and by purchase and donation, have increased the public park area of Spokane from 173 acres to 1,934 acres.”

Not every recommendation was carried out exactly. Some compromises were necessary because of the difficulty of land acquisition and the fact that the $1 million bond issue was reduced to $888,982 because of litigation. Many other changes took place later as the city evolved over the decades.

Yet a large proportion of Spokane’s parks can be traced back to the Olmsteds’ recommendations, although now they are often known by different names.

Here’s what some of those Olmsted-recommended parks are today: G Gorge Park: This area now consists of the 200-acre High Bridge Park and the Herbert M. Hamblen Conservation Area.

The railroad-choked riverfront above the falls was not part of the Olmsted plan, but only because, as the Olmsteds

dryly noted, it had “already been partially ‘improved,’ as one might ironically say.”

But they predicted that the city would come to its senses some day.

In the 1970s, the city did discover it.

The area was reclaimed as part of Expo ’74 to become Riverfront Park.

G Upriver Park: The area south of the river was briefly made into Spokane’s first public golf course, Upriver Golf Course, but in 1916 was converted into Spokane’s first airfield, now Felts Field.

The part north of the river now includes the 147-acre Upriver Park Conservation Land, Camp Sekani Park and Minnehaha Rocks.

G Downriver Park: This is now the 95-acre Downriver Park Conservation Land and Downriver Golf Course.

G Latah Park: Qualchan Hills Park and the Creek at Qualchan Golf Course now occupy large areas along the creek.

High Drive Parkway and the 292-acre undeveloped Hangman Park occupy the bluff areas above.

G Rockwood Park: Is today the 51-acre Lincoln Park.

G Queen Anne Park: Is today the

56-acre Finch Arboretum G Ravine Park: Is today Indian Canyon Golf Course, the undeveloped 155-acre Indian Canyon Park and part of High Bridge Park.

G West Heights Park: Is now the 464-acre Palisades Park, on rimrocks on the city’s west side.

G Eastside Park: It was never acquired, and Spokane Community College sits on part of that land.

However, land on or near the recommended site is now Upriver Drive Parkway, Minnehaha Park, Esmeralda Golf Course and part of the Centennial Trail.

Many of the playfields recommended by the report are still in existence today.

Those include Hays, Logan Peace and Underhill parks. The two Lidgerwood playfields became Byrne Park and Glass Park. Sinto Park is now Chief Garry Park.

Many of the parks that already existed in 1907 still retain evidence of the improvements suggested by the Olmsteds: G Cannon Hill Park: Now home to ducks, thanks to the pond designed by the Olmsteds. The rock bridge over a

second small wading pond now spans only grass. Yet, according to park historians, this is the Spokane park that continues to most clearly reflect the Olmsted aesthetic.

G Liberty Park: Became one of Spokane’s prettiest parks but was altered

by Interstate 90.

G Corbin Park: The original recommendation – playfields, tennis courts, a bandstand – was shot down by neighbors who wanted a small, quiet “beauty spot.” Olmsted drew a revised design with curved paths and a never-installed central fountain and “mirror basin.” The rest of the park retains a few Olmsted touches.

G Manito Park: While not designed by the Olmsteds, today’s park incorporates many of their verbal suggestions, including the curved drives and walkways. The Olmsted touch is also evident in the park’s stone buildings and gardens. Spokane’s first park superintendent, John Duncan (of Duncan Garden fame), gave Manito a distinct Olmsted-like flavor after he was hired in 1910. He was an Olmsted devotee from Boston.

FILE, DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

A stroll through the grounds of the Finch Arboretum in October provides an amazing display of colors as winter approaches.

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JUNE 24, 2018

THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

MANITO ZOO

THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW PHOTO ARCHIVE

In this historic photo of the Manito Zoo, the bear enclosure is against the rocky cliff on the left. Over the years, the zoo enclosed deer, goats, elk, monkeys and bears.

Manito Zoo’s strange, sordid, brief history What started as an afterthought ended tragically during Great Depression

By Nicholas Deshais THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Charles Balzer probably didn’t think much of it when he fenced off one of the many spring-fed ponds scattered around Spokane’s newest park.

As the park’s first superintendent, Balzer was just trying to make the park a park. Fencing off the beaver family was a way for the former “city florist” to begin transforming the 60 acres of South Hill wildland the city was recently promised.

Soon, gawkers gathered to watch the beavers scamper. A zoo was born.

The story of the Manito Zoo is one that’s largely unknown to most Spokanites, even though it was the city’s premier park attraction during the first three decades of the 20th century. A trip to see and feed the animals living in the center of Spokane’s wealthiest neighborhood was at the top of most people’s minds for a perfect Sunday afternoon.

But what began quaintly enough with the rudimentary beaver exhibit ended 30 years later with the swift brutality of a .30-30 rifle. These bookends – the rosy goals of a new and growing city, and the hard choices brought by the Great Depression – do well telling the strange story of Spokane’s first and only official zoo.

Yet there’s so much more. A tobacco-chewing goat. A murderous monkey. Runaway bears. Some very frisky deer. The beaver family, though, started it all.

The exact year is unknown because of a thin historical record, but what would become Manito Park had its first glimmer of life in 1886, when Spokane County’s first fair was held on Francis Cook’s “farm on the hill,” according to Tony and Suzanne Bamonte in their book named after the park.

In 1888, the same year Cook’s streetcar first trundled up Washington Street and Grand Boulevard, the Spokane Falls Review newspaper was highlighting “Montrose Park,” as it was called, as ideal for picnics and family time.

Ten years later, Cook had sold or lost the land to a new consortium of owners, who promised to “make the city a present of the land,” according to the Spokane Daily Chronicle.

In December 1901, the broad outlines of the deal were known. The park would be 60 acres and, to take possession of the park, the city had to erect a fence around its perimeter, extend a water main up the hill to serve more development around Division Street and 14th Avenue, spend $15,000 over the next five years “upon the park premises.”

The deal was inked, finally, in 1903, and the deed came with a new name.

“It Is Named Manita Park,” read a

COURTESY

This Manito Zoo polar bear bit off the arm of a young visitor in 1923.

Chronicle headline, incorrectly, on July 31, 1903.

With Manito, the city had a new park, Balzer, who had just been promoted from “city florist” to the superintendent of parks, had his marching orders, and the beavers got their cage. The exact location of the beaver pond is lost to history but at the time, the park was dotted with them, one of which was next to the present-day Park Bench Cafe.

Word of the “zoo” got around and the city of Tacoma sent a full-grown bull elk named “Old Preach,” after the retired clergyman who sponsored the donation.

Balzer built a wire fence to accommodate Old Preach and, to ensure he wasn’t lonely, gave him a roommate, a young billy goat named Billy who had a bad habit.

“Billy chewed tobacco like a thresher hand,” reported The Spokesman-Review, a predilection he passed on to Old Preach. The big elk would be seen regularly “mooching his crowd of admirers along the fence for a cud of tobacco,” reported the Chronicle.

One day, a Chronicle photographer snuck into Old Preach and Billy’s corral to shoot the strange duo. As he bent to snap his picture, Billy charged and, according to some accounts, sent the man over the fence.

Whether by design or accident of the all-too-human, tobacco-chewing ruminant, the butting charge worked to expand the zoo. A humorous account of the incident in the paper led a pair of wealthy Spokanites, Jay Graves among them, to offer to buy more animals for the fledgling zoo.

It didn’t take long for the new park superintendent, John Duncan, to add a dozen more attractions to the park. A pair of grizzlies were acquired from Yellowstone. Glacier Park gave a gift of six elk, three bucks and three does. A quartet of buffalo were delivered from Kansas. Somehow, Duncan convinced someone to give him an ostrich and an emu in exchange for just a few mallard ducks.

In 1913, the zoo’s first baby elk was born. His mother was from Yellowstone

and they named him “Pow Wow the First.” The Chronicle said he was “mostly legs and feet to date.” Three years later, in 1916, the first buffalo was born, and the Chronicle said he was “mostly hump.”

Buffalo roamed where the Lilac Garden now sits. Deer and elk walked among the roses, or at least on the Rose Garden’s current location. The Spokane and Inland Empire Railway donated money to chisel dens into an outcropping of basalt near the park’s center for the zoo’s growing collection of bears.

In November 1910, a cub bear that “caused terror to residents of the Lidgerwood section when it escaped and later nearly caused a law suit between Rich (his owner) and the Humane society, now occupies a cage at Manito Park.” They called him Bruin, and he wasn’t the only bear to cause such terror.

In 1916, a bear cub that had been captured from the wild near Twisp decided he had enough. Within 15 minutes of arriving, he tried to escape.

Such derring-do didn’t persuade zoo officials to secure his cage any better, and the little bear soon wriggled its way through the bars.

The zoo foreman, Felix Paquin, discovered its absence soon enough and formed a search party.

The following December day, the bear-hunting posse tracked its charge to Latah Creek, and twice “treed” the bear, but both times he raced down the tree and into the brush.

On the third day of the hunt, the posse gained a new member in a shotgun-wielding farmer, who took aim twice at the bear and, both times, missed. The chase continued for miles that day and, at one point, the posse was within 10 feet of the young bear.

“Had we wanted to kill the bear, we could have shot him a number of times,” said Duncan, the park superintendent.

“Our plan of capture was to run the bear up a tree and have Felix Paquin, the animal foreman at the Manito Park Zoo, lasso him. The bear wisely steered clear of trees yesterday, as if he were

aware of the plan of attack.”

Little did Duncan know that the bear had already won. The following day, Day Four, was Christmas and the posse took a day off, never to begin the hunt again. A few days later, the demoralized bear-hunter Tom Hopper and zookeeper Paquin said that the “bruin should now be allowed to return to his native haunts without further effort at recapture.”

It wouldn’t be the last time Manito Zoo bears would make the news.

A discharged soldier from Tacoma, fresh from duty in Alaska, brought home a pair of little polar bear cubs, which soon grew to outweigh him. His parents, perhaps wisely, put the bears up for sale for $200 and Aubrey White, president of the Spokane Park Board, raised the money and brought them to Manito.

On July 10, 1923, a 9-year-old named Elizabeth Harris was visiting the zoo with her nanny. Like many of the zoo’s visitors, Harris had a handful of bread to feed the bears. She stuck her arm into the cage, clutching the bread. The two bears pounced, severing her arm. Harris lived, and so did the bears.

Seven years later, on a 91-degree day in July, the second hottest day of the year, the paper reported that such heat “brought on the lust to kill” in one of the bears. He jumped on his mate with all four paws, breaking its back.

“Attendants rushed to the cage and forcing the ugly uxoricide back with iron rods locked him in adjoining cage.”

The violence wasn’t exclusive to bears. An article described the drowning of two coyotes by a monkey.

Its headline: Murderous Monkey Drowns Two Baby Coyotes In Manito Zoo. “Five little coyotes were lying in the sun near the monkey’s cage, when the latter reached through the bars and drew one of them into its quarters and quickly threw it into a pool of water,” the article reported. “A second followed in quick succession. After repeating the act of throwing the baby coyotes into the water and watching them swim out several times, the monkey then held each in turn under the water until it drowned.”

It appeared the monkey was planning to extinguish the entire pack, but “the cries of women” alerted zoo attendants, who stopped the “murderous monkey.”

Such brutality wasn’t the only offensive thing about the zoo. While it remained a point of pride and joy for many Spokanites, the stench and sheer cacophony of the zoo grated on some of its neighbors. Visitors would goad the coyotes into howling. Cougars screamed. The hordes of animals, fed bread and peanuts by visitors, left behind countless pounds of excrement, surely made worse by their unnatural provisions.

But it wasn’t the noise, smell or fear that signaled the end for the zoo.

Though the Olmsted brothers’ report from 1913 recommended closing the zoo because of insufficient space and costly maintenance, it was the Great Depression that shut the zoo’s doors See ZOO, 5

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PARKS ZOO Continued from 4 forever.

In April 1932, The Spokesman ran its last uplifting story about the zoo, with provides details about Queen Marie, the ostrich, laying an egg that weighed more than 4 pounds.

That summer, the Schade Brewery, in what is now the University District, was called “the jungle” and it housed scores of unemployed, homeless single men.

Jobs and money were scarce, and when Duncan asked for $2,977 to feed the zoo’s animals for the next year, people balked.

By a 6-5 vote, the park board voted to close the zoo. Duncan had until January to “dispose” of the animals. It was a tall order.

Duncan submitted an inventory of the animals to be “abolished” and noted that hunting rules prevented him from an easy path. Three buffaloes, one polar bear and one emu had “no open season for slaying them.” Also on the inventory:

five elk, one fox, three raccoons, five bobcats, two cougars, six deer, three grizzly bears, three brown bears, one black bear, two coyotes, 70 pigeons, six pheasants, one golden eagle, two crows, one owl, one hawk and 78 ducks, 60 of which were mallards.

Duncan tried to find new homes for all the animals. The Sandpoint zoo got Maggie the black bear. The brown bears went to the Tacoma zoo, as did some pheasants, the eagle, the owl and pigeons. The deer were given to the Spokane County game commission and released near Blanchard. Elk were released in Pend Oreille County.

Not all were so lucky.

On Jan. 8, 1933, the paper heatedly exclaimed, “A polar bear was shot within the city limits the other day! Two grizzly bears were killed in the residential section of the south hill!

Three buffalo bit the dust within two miles of the city’s downtown business center!”

Another article described the “sharp cracks of a .30-30 rifle” hastening the end to the beasts, as well as the zoo. The

Bamontes wrote that “some Spokane residents still remember the trauma of hearing gunshots ring out from the zoo, sealing the fate of those animals for which no homes had been found.”

The strange tale of Spokane’s only public zoo ended that cold January day, but signs of it continue to live on.

What is now called the Campbell House at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture kept a number of the zoo animals, but only after they’d been killed and stuffed. In 1955, the museum’s director, Florence Reed, said they had a stuffed polar bear, grizzly, cougar, elk, a kangaroo, a buffalo, bobcat and spotted fawn, as well as some birds, all from the zoo.

In 2016, the MAC featured an the exhibit “Fangs, Fur and Feathers: The Art of Animals”, with many old, taxidermied critters, many of them pulled out of storage, dusty and – perhaps – from the zoo. The museum could not confirm their origins for this article.

A 1968 Spokesman article about a “relatively small elk herd in

northwestern Pend Oreille County” brought up another theory at the time.

“There is some belief that the Sullivan Lake herd, estimated at about 150 animals, was established by elk from the old Manito Park zoo,” said the article, which was reporting on the Inland Empire Big Game Council’s request for 40 to 50 more Yellowstone elk to be added to the herd. The frisky ancestors of these northeastern Washington elk once lived in the Rose Garden.

For the curious visitor to Manito Park, there’s an outcropping of rock just behind the Park Bench Cafe, where visitors could buy peanuts to feed the monkeys. Just up a short, walkable rise, in the shadows of the basalt shelves, an old rusted hook is still embedded in the stone. Manito’s bear keepers would tether the big beasts to this hook while the pens were cleaned.

The bears are long gone, but the zoo remains.

CONTACT THE WRITER:

(509) 459-5440 nickd@spokesman.com

SPOKESMAN-REVIEW PHOTO ARCHIVES

Young boys play among the ruins of what was part of the Manito Park Zoo that closed in January, 1933.

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THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

SUMMER CHECKLIST

DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Central Valley Elementary School students hike along a trail in the Dishman Hills Natural Resources Conservation Area in Spokane Valley in July 2014.

Dishman Hills: different every time Natural area’s hundreds of acres filled with wildlife, miles of trails

By Jim Allen THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Nothing says Spokane quite like the Dishman Hills Natural Area.

Near nature and seemingly near everything else, Dishman is the place where families grow together and stay together.

It’s a perfect blend of city park and country wilderness, yet doesn’t compromise the best of each.

“There’s always something new,” said Doug Chase, director for Spokane County Parks, Recreation and Golf. “At different times of the year that scenery is constantly changing.

“You can be barely in the park and feel like you’re 100 miles away,” he said.

Climbers transport themselves back 15,000 years, when the granite chunks were formed by the Missoula flood. Amid the rocks are ravines and ponds, which support deer, coyotes, pheasant, frogs and dozens of species of butterflies.

Contained in the area’s 530 protected acres are miles of meandering trails flanked by more than 300 different flowering plants.

The fun begins at Camp Caro, which serves as the northern gateway to Dishman Hills but is its own entity in the county parks system.

“If you haven’t driven up that little road … oh, my goodness,” said Chase, who’s done so many times. “From there it just gets better.”

Camp Caro is a children’s delight, a 5acre traditional park with spacious greenery and the ubiquitous Camp Caro Lodge, which accommodates 75 and is available for rent from May through October.

“Folks who come to Camp Caro are always surprised – it’s a hidden gem,” Chase said.

Caro is flanked by rising bluffs, rock outcroppings and the natural area.

A few more steps take the hiker into dense forest, where it’s possible for a father and his two sons to lose their bearings and be guided home only by the distant sound of autos whizzing along Appleway Boulevard.

Climbing out of the brush, hikers find their way to Eagle Peak and a panoramic view of the Spokane Valley.

The far reaches of the park reveal a landscape changed by wildfire. Wildflowers and saplings share the ground with downed trees scarred by fires.

On a good day you can catch a glimpse of Mount Spokane; then again, there’s no such thing as a bad day in Dishman Hills.

Parks in the Spokane area range from manicured to wild. Often, a park will feature both. Here’s a list of 25 parks – with the notable exceptions of Riverfront Park and Manito Park – that offer a bit of everything, from music, swimming, and picnicking to softball tennis, canoeing and hiking.

Pine River Park 626 E. Greenleaf Drive, Spokane There may not be a better suburban

JESSE TINSLEY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

The small beach at Liberty Lake Regional Park is a getaway for many families in search of a scenic lakefront where kids can play and sit in the sun. The regional park also has an extensive trail system and a large wetlands for birdwatching. community park in the county than tiny Pine River, which sits invitingly along the Little Spokane River, just north of Wandermere Golf Course north of Spokane.

Pine River’s 14 acres include a footbridge and 300 feet of naturally sandy beach and a laid-back atmosphere. Crowds are small, perhaps because it’s often overlooked, even by north-siders.

“In May, when the greenery is coming into full bloom, it’s one of the most beautiful areas we have in the park system – it’s just gorgeous in there,” said Doug Chase director or Spokane County Parks.

Valleyford Community Park 11418 E Palouse Highway, in Valleyford It isn’t exactly hidden – it sits adjacent to the Old Palouse Highway – but it’s often overlooked as motorists speed toward the lakes of North Idaho and other destinations.

That’s too bad, because the park holds a nature trail, shelters, basketball courts and a barbeque area in its 22 acres. California Creek meanders through the park, which is operated and maintained by the Freeman School District as part of an agreement with the Spokane County parks department.

It’s open from May 1 through Sept. 30.

“It’s definitely a hidden gem,” Chase said.

Gateway Regional Park 26715 E. Appleway Ave., Liberty Lake A stroll by the river doesn’t get much

better than this, as Gateway holds more than 2,000 feet of shoreline.

This 50-acre park provides access to the Centennial Trail and includes the popular Patricia Simonet Laughing Dog Park at 26715 E. Spokane Bridge Road.

Mirabeau Point Park 2426 N. Discovery Place, Spokane Valley Spokane Valley got this one right. The Mirabeau area was built for everyone.

The Discovery Playground, arguably the region’s best, is a must stop in the summer for children and their parents who need a break.

In many ways, Mirabeau could be called a park and community campus.

There’s so much happening, from the YMCA fitness center, to the stellar access to the Centennial Trail, a pretty waterfall feature, a senior center and a natural area crisscrossed with trails.

Fish Lake Regional Park 14314 S Myers Park Road, Cheney Southwest of Spokane, this 67-acre park draws swimmers from around the region. As the name implies, the fishing is decent, too.

The small lake also is a fun paddle.

Watch for turtles and listen for the frogs. Besides the water, Fish Lake park has a basketball court, playground, trails and a picnic area.

Holmberg Community Park 9615 N. Wall St., Spokane The best of both worlds, 54-year-old Holmberg is only 7.4 acres, but it

adjoins a 103-acre conservation area with plenty of hiking trails.

The park has tennis courts, a playground, picnic shelter and a softball field.

John H. Shields Park 5625 E. Upriver Drive, Spokane Definitely for the upwardly mobile, this 26-acre park includes the Minnehaha climbing rocks and hiking trail access to the top of Beacon Hill.

It’s a ruggedly beautiful park jointly operated by the the city and county that also provides access to the Centennial Trail and mountain bike paths. It’s not to be confused with ...

Minnehaha Park 4000 E. Frederick Ave., Spokane Before this land was turned into a city park, its mineral springs were turned into a spa, and later, the Union Brewing and Malting Co. Development of the 39-acre park under city ownership began 15 years after the city purchased it in 1909. The old stone building in the park is rumored to be haunted.

Today, the park is a popular spot with a playground, ballfields and trailhead for Beacon Hill hikers and bikers.

Plantes Ferry Sports Stadium 12308 E. Upriver Drive, Spokane Valley Game on! The 95-acre regional sports See LIST, 7

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PARKS LIST

spring that for centuries served as a freshwater destination and camp for native people.

A plaque sits near the park, detailing Chief Garry’s contributions with the region’s first school, which was at the site.

Today, the park is mostly used by students to learn about native vegetation and history.

Continued from 6 complex offers softball and soccer fields galore. It’s also the site of many regional college and high school cross country meets.

An obelisk marks the site where Antoine Plante’s ferry crossed the Spokane River.

Mission Park 11123 E. Mission Ave., Spokane The Logan neighborhood’s Mission Park has many amenities of a great park. There’s a pool, splash pad, the Centennial Trail, ball fields, tennis courts, river frontage and play equipment.

It has 13 acres that can handle picnics, big gatherings, and it’s located conveniently close to Gonzaga University.

Bear Lake Regional Park 29109 N. Newport Highway, Chattaroy Located 15 miles north of Spokane, the 166-acre county park features the spring-fed lake with surrounding wetlands and forest.

There’s also play equipment, picnic areas, a sandy volleyball court, swimming beach and hiking trails. It’s also a good place to canoe and fish.

Audubon Park

Liberty Lake Regional Park 3707 S. Zephyr Road, Liberty Lake

3405 N. Milton Ave., Spokane From high school cross country runners to toddlers, the 26.5 acres of Audubon Park have a bit of something for everyone.

It’s a popular choice for family picnics and birthday parties for neighborhood kids. During the summer, watch for free community concerts that draw dozens of people.

There are ballfields, trails, splash pads, playgrounds and, of historical interest, a cobblestone fireplace built in 1936 with money donated by North Side Camp Fire Girls.

This 3,591-acre park is a county jewel where activities abound for everyone.

It’s the biggest park in the county, with wetlands, lake shore, a designated swimming beach and the popular 8.3-mile Liberty Lake Loop Trail for hikers.

There’s a modest entry fee of $2 per person ages 6 and up. Younger children enter for free.

An ORV park features gentle and steep slopes, mud bogs and hill climbs.

Prairie View Park 3724 E. 61st Ave., Spokane The best place on the South Hill for kids to make a splash, this park includes the Southside Aquatics Facility.

The 17-acre park also includes a basketball court, climbing wall, picnic facilities, trails and a playground.

Cliff Park 426 W. 12th Ave., Spokane A giant basalt outcrop is the centerpiece of this 4-acre South Hill park.

There might not be a playground, but kids love the mysterious trail that leads up a stairway to the top of the cliff, which once served as a lookout for local tribes. The cliff top is a large grassy area ringed by a stone wall.

Lincoln Park 2300 E. 17th Ave., Spokane This 51-acre park created a century ago has two personalities.

The lower section is traditional, with a playground and open fields for practicing lacrosse teams or best friends throwing a Frisbee.

A paved path leads away from this orderliness, climbing beneath cliffs until emerging at the true showpiece of this Olmsted-inspired park: a wild oasis surrounded by city.

The paved path continues in a quarter-mile loop around a natural pond alive with ducks and the calls of blackbirds and songbirds.

Dirt trails branch from the pavement to explore basalt outcroppings, pines forest and open meadows.

Today, the park is a stunning feature of the South Hill. A pond sits where the brickyard one was. A stone bridge recommended by the Olmsted brothers was built to link what was once a wading pool with the larger east pond. It still stands and is an exploration destination for kids.

The park is perfect for strolls and small picnics.

There’s play equipment and open field areas.

Once one of Spokane’s showpieces before engineers and construction crews embarked on the Interstate 90 project, Liberty Park remains an important respite for East Central.

The Liberty Park pool entices youngsters during the heat of summer. There are tennis and basketball courts, places to picnic including a large shelter, ballfields, horseshoe pits, play equipment, and rocks and stairs to explore.

Don’t forget the nearby Underhill Park at 2910 E. Hartson Avenue connected by the newly paved and widened Ben Burr Trail. While sledding is its calling card during the winter, during summer the 19-acre park has a beautiful, large open green space and plenty of activities.

Cannon Hill Park 625 W. 19th Ave., Spokane It could be said that Cannon Hill Park built Spokane. The land was home to a bustling brickyard and helped rebuild the city after the Great Fire of 1889.

Pavers from the brickyard were used on many of the city’s streets and can still be seen in some areas.

2914 N. West Oval St., Spokane This 12-acre park basks in history. It’s one of Spokane’s best parks because of its history first as an oval track for horse racing. It is hugged on all sides by well-kept homes built during the turn of the century.

The modern park was designed in 1916 by the famous Olmsted brothers, from the family that designed New York City’s Central Park and left their mark in Spokane through design and park consultation.

Today, the park is a mature, lovely space of walking trails, playgrounds and fields.

Grant Park 1015 S. Arthur St., Spokane The 13-acre park in the Perry District features open fields for play, a busy basketball court and big play areas with adjacent Grant School.

The park has a splash pad, tennis courts, some great climbing trees, the rainbow arch and open fields for ballgames.

Polly Judd Park 1802 W. 14th Ave., Spokane Overlooking Latah Creek, the 6-acre Polly Judd Park features an exercise course for fitness aspirants, along with a play structure, open field, picnic area and access to the South Hill bluff network of hiking and mountain biking trails.

This relatively new park is embraced by the neighborhood with pancake feeds and other community events.

Sekani Park

Liberty Park 502 S. Pittsburg St., Spokane

Corbin Park

FILE. STEVE THOMPSON/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

The Minnehaha rocks at John H. Shields Park along Upriver Drive seem to be covered with clouds.

6707 E. Upriver Drive, Spokane The old Boy Scout camp sprawls across 238 acres of undeveloped hills and ravines north of the Spokane River.

It features some of the area’s best mountain biking, full of single-track trails, jumps and tricks. It also features a challenging disc golf course that takes players up and around basalt cliffs, through towering pine trees and across ravines.

Finch Arboretum 3404 Woodland Blvd., Spokane You could call this Picture Park.

For decades, high school seniors have had their portraits taken amidst the glorious trees at Finch Arboretum. Is there a prettier place to walk during autumn? Once the snow falls, a hearty group of cross-country skiers cut trail in the park for fun and fitness.

The 65 acres along the Sunset Hill southwest of downtown feature extensive botanical and tree collections – 2,000 and counting – including lilacs, maples and conifers, and a rhododendron grove.

There’s a self-guided walking tour and year-round activities.

Comstock Park 601 W. 29th Ave., Spokane Free symphony concerts. One of the city’s busiest and best swimming pools. Kids everywhere. Tennis courts. And a fun field for throwing a boomerang.

Comstock Park has a bit of something for everyone.

It’s situated along busy 29th Avenue, and yet once you’re in the 25-acre park, it’s quiet enough for a perfect picnic, nap or concert.

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The Browne’s Addition park is the city’s first and sits within a historic district full of distinctive homes.

The 10-acre park features a historic gazebo, play equipment, a splash pad and picnic area among the towering pines.

On Thursday evenings during summer, the park hosts the Browne’s Addition concert series.

Drumheller Springs Park 3135 N. Ash St., Spokane This lightly used 12-acre park is a natural area complete with basalt outcroppings and a natural

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This summer, do some math homework.

Pools + Parks + Trails = Summer Fun

Cool off at Park Road, Terrace View and Valley Mission Pools. $1 per person, per swim.

Explore our 191 plus acres of unique parks and playgrounds. Check out our programs for kids.

Spokane Valley Parks and Recreation Why go anywhere else? View summer program guide and register for activities at www.spokanevalley.org/parksandrec or call 509-720-5200.

Take a hike in Mirabeau Point Park or bicycle the Appleway Trail through Spokane Valley.

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PARKS LAWS

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Fishing is allowed on Howard Street Bridge in Riverfront Park and in any city park in rivers and creeks, but you are not allowed to drop your line into ponds.

If you must harangue, please leave the park Get to know the park rules, including a few new regulations just approved for summer

By Kip Hill THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Apparently, Spokane’s early park system had a problem with profanity.

Regional historian John Fahey, in an article for the Pacific Northwest Quarterly journal in October 1981, included in his profile of Spokane’s first park board president, Aubrey L. White, that rules were promulgated in 1913 intended to clean up the discourse in neighborhood parks.

“Persons in the park were forbidden to gamble or to make ‘any oration, harangue, or loud outcry; to utter profane, threatening, abusive, or indecent language … or to bathe or fish in lakes or ponds.’”

Parkgoers in 2018 still can’t fish in those ponds, and bathing might get you in trouble with local law enforcement.

Here are a few other helpful tips of what to do, and what not to do, in Spokane’s extensive park system, including rules approved earlier this spring ahead of the busy summer season.

DO bring your pet, but make sure it’s on a leash. Park policies also require you to pick up after it has done its business.

Pets are barred from Riverfront Park during certain special events, including Bloomsday, Hoopfest, Fourth of July and Pig Out in the Park.

DO use provided barbecues and fire pits for your picnics, but don’t build fires during designated burn bans, often during the dry months of the summer (July and August).

DO pay for your round of golf before walking onto the links. Entry onto park grounds where fees are assessed – among them the city’s golf courses – require payment under new rules. That includes early morning runners in the summer, which can present a safety issue, said Jason Conley, executive officer of Spokane Parks. “What we don’t want is them on the playing surface, when the fee base is there,” he said.

DON’T bring your sleds or skis to city golf courses. Sledding has been prohibited on the city’s links since 2006, in a controversial decision that caused a rift between Spokane’s independent Park Board and the Spokane City Council.

Skiing was allowed on two groomed trails at Indian Canyon Golf Course last year as part of a pilot program, but officials aren’t sure if they’ll repeat it during the 2018-19 winter because of planned improvements at area courses.

DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

It may be entertaining to watch a duck and goose get into a tug-of-war over a bread roll, as seen here in 2009, but feeding wildlife in Spokane’s parks is discouraged.

DON’T smoke or drink inside the parks. Play areas for children are designated as “tobacco-free zones” within the city, including playground equipment, ballfields and splash pads. The Spokane City Council recently added marijuana to its rules governing smoking in parks, making the opening of any packages of marijuana products an infraction that could net a fine of $56. That’s the same amount someone drinking alcohol without prior approval by park officials would receive. The city allows the sale of alcohol on designated park property, which includes Riverfront Park, Finch Arboretum and golf courses.

DON’T bring your metal detector to Riverfront Park, People’s Park or any of the flower beds in the Manito Park gardens. Archaeologists have found some cool things beneath the earth in Riverfront Park as part of the renovation, including some artifacts believed to have originated in Spokane’s original Chinatown, but park rules prohibit hobbyists in this area. Other parks are OK, but digging implements smaller than a shovel are required.

DON’T bring your fireworks. They’re prohibited by law not just within the city’s park system, but also within city limits. Violations can net up to $1,000 in fines under the city’s laws.

DON’T enter the Spokane River near

Riverfront Park. This includes those with kayaks and other floatation devices.

There is a boat exit beneath the Division Street bridge, near the Spokane

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FRIENDS OF THE PARKS

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Dave Lennstrom, president of Friends of Manito, stands in front of a pergola in Manito Park’s Rose Garden that his organization funded several years ago.

Private groups pitch in with park projects Nonprofit organizations raise funds for improvements, training, more

By Will Campbell THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

From inside a classroom at Manito Park, Dave Lennstrom opens the door, letting light flood the room. He points outside to the native shrubs on the hill beyond the manicured gardens.

“That’s where the Owl Castle used to be,” he said. To the left, he points to parts once occupied by polar bears, monkeys and elk.

The old zoo animals were removed from the park during the Great Depression, and many of their spaces now hold gifts like gazebos and pergolas from the nonprofit Friends of Manito.

Lennstrom, president of the Friends of Manito, is constantly raising money and seeking to construct improvement projects in one of Spokane’s most beloved parks, ranked the No. 1 destination in the city by the website Trip Advisor.

One of the biggest fundraisers the

Friends of Manito hosts is its yearly plant sale, selling over 500 species. It was held June 9.

“So it rained pretty much all day,” Lennstrom said.

Lennstrom said the sale drew about half the number of people as last year, but it exceeded last year’s revenue by about $5,400. Although the profit numbers won’t show until the year’s end, he’s hopeful for the organization’s growth.

“We also brought in 142 memberships,” he said, “which was fantastic.”

Lennstrom has a list of about 30 projects that he is considering, including a new Japanese garden gazebo and a new gate to Duncan Gardens.

The Friends of Manito’s office sits in the middle of the park and partners with the city parks department. The nonprofit is able to use the grounds; the city maintains the gifts from the nonprofit.

Lennstrom isn’t sure what projects the Friends of Manito’s board of directors will vote to fund next, but they tend to be short-term additions.

“We like to be able to point to some success,” Lennstrom said.

Spokane Parks Foundation Terri Fortner spent one Thursday this month unpacking and sorting about 500 swimsuits.

Fortner is the executive director of the Spokane Parks Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to complement parks and recreation in Spokane. She was joined by her team in the basement of an office building on West Mission Avenue. The name of their program is Make a Splash.

The swimsuits will be given to children who can’t afford them.

“You may not be able to swim because you don't have the appropriate attire,” she said. This is the ninth year the nonprofit has been giving swimsuits to those in need.

But this year, the gesture is amplified because the six city pools are free every day – for the first time since 2009. The county’s pools have only one free day, but Fortner said she is working to make those free every day,

too.

The Spokane Parks Foundation is also offering free water safety lessons for children to prevent drowning.

“Our region has over 66 bodies of water. Therefore, we felt it was critically important for us to put financial resources to ensure we are teaching our kids how to swim,” Fortner said. “It’s just a matter of time until they’re around a body of water.”

The nonprofit also boosts community parks with tens of thousands of dollars in grant money it gives to camps, trail projects and other programs in the city and county.

Fortner said this year, the foundation was able to accept every grant application that fit the criteria – a total of 12 grants and $61,300.

“This is the first year that we were able to do that,” she said.

The biggest grant went to the Airway Heights recreation complex for paved pathways to make the grounds more accessible.

Fortner said the idea of nonprofits like Spokane Parks Foundation and Friends of Manito is to maintain and preserve quality, and to encourage great recreational programs.

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Friends of Manito volunteers spend time each year preparing plants for the annual spring plant sale that raises money for the popular park.

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BEST PLAYGROUNDS

PHOTOS BY KATHY PLONKA/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Three-year-old Josiah Baumgartner runs through the mist in the splash pad at McEuen Park in Coeur d’Alene on June 12.

Playgrounds are aging, but help is on the way New, custom designs are replacing many built with money from 1998 city bond

By Jonathan Brunt and Nathanael Massey THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

A voter-approved bond in 1998 paid to remake about half of the city of Spokane’s playgrounds.

Nearly all of them are still entertaining kids.

But playgrounds in Spokane usually last at least 15 years, said Al Vorderbrueggen, Spokane parks operations director.

“You’re starting to see them at the end of their life cycle for sure,” he said.

Vorderbrueggen said that despite the age of some of the playgrounds, they remain safe. The park department has a certified playground inspector who checks each playground once or twice a month for safety issues.

“They’re definitely safe and available to the public,” Vorderbrueggen said.

There are 87 developed parks in the city of Spokane’s system; there are 61 playgrounds in those parks, said Nick Hamad, Spokane parks’ landscape architect.

Replacing a playground usually costs between $75,000 and $150,000, he said. The park department’s main budget usually includes replacement of one playground a year, but sometimes the department gets grant money to develop more. The recent tax approved by voters to upgrade Riverfront Park will pay for a new playground there.

Vorderbrueggen said he expects the park department to begin planning to boost playground replacement in the

Kaelin Armstrong holds her daughter Ellie, 16 months, while she plays the xylophone at McEuen Park in Coeur d’Alene on June 12. next few years to deal with the aging infrastructure from the 1998 bond.

Hamad is working to design new playgrounds at Wildhorse Park in Northeast Spokane, Dutch Jake’s Park in West Central and Riverfront Park.

The Riverfront Park playground will be the largest in the system, probably larger than an acre, Hamad said. Most the city’s playgrounds are closer to a quarter-acre.

The design is tailored to be an outdoor learning experience, and will tell the story of the floods of the past Ice Age which formed the geology of the Spokane region.

Generally, Spokane’s playgrounds have two parts, one geared to 2through 5-year-olds and bigger equipment for 5- though 12-year-olds.

There’s more to designing a playground than ordering equipment.

“We try to always match the feel of the park with the equipment,” Hamad

said.

Officials also examine the population of a neighborhood to determine if equipment should be more geared toward certain age groups. And more effort is being made to make playgrounds more accessible to children with sensory or mobility impairments.

“Providing accessible routes to the playground is important to us,” Hamad said.

Looking for something different?

Every playground has its charms, but a few regional attractions stand out for their characteristically unconventional designs.

Nearly a decade in the making, the Discovery Playground in Spokane Valley offers a “multi-sensory” experience for children of all ages and abilities, with features that include

wheelchair-accessible paths, hanging chimes, fragrant plants, textured walls and trampolines. Designed specifically to include those with disabilities, the park is a popular spot in all weather, and prompted similar design elements to be added to McEuen Park, which boasts Coeur d’Alene’s largest playground.

The playground has, unfortunately, been the subject of theft and vandalism over the years – statuary of salmon, an inchworm and a couple of eggs have been pilfered or uprooted – but the spot remains one of the city’s more unique play places.

For a more conventional but no less satisfying experience, swing ’round to Manito Park’s lower playground, where a webbing of climbable ropes offers a more unstructured – but no less physically challenging – environment than the rigid forms typical to city parks.

Named the Pentagode M Castle, the playground was designed by German company Berliner and completed in 2016, replacing a wooden set in the same spot that had begun to rot. It was created as a test case, city officials told The Spokesman-Review in 2016, to see if other Berliner models could be erected around Spokane.

The general philosophy of the design – which centers around one of mankind’s most basic tools, the rope – is that versatility comes chiefly through simplicity, and that imagination can provide the context that explicit symbols do not: a rope can be a ship’s rigging, a liana vine, a prison or a castle.

Of course, like all playgrounds, the Berliner design relies on imagination and energy – characteristics young people bring in abundance.

CONTACT THE WRITER:

(509) 459-5420 nathanaelm@spokesman.com

Mercedes Martin, 9, jumps off the in-ground trampoline at Discovery Playground in Spokane Valley on June 13.

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Josh Teichmer empties a wheelbarrow of bark into the new Helen Keller Garden at Manito Park on June 1. Teichmer is a volunteer with the Lions Club.

Parks gain new features just in time for summer Disc golf courses, garden for the blind among improvements around the region

By Rachel Sun THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

New park developments inside and outside Spokane city limits will offer residents more opportunities for recreation this summer, and in the months to come.

A new youth disc golf course at Loma Vista was recently installed and includes four holes. The course is a partnership between the United States Youth Disc Golf Association, Spokane Public Schools and Spokane Parks and Recreation.

Disc golf is a safe sport that helps more children be active, said Erin Johnson with the USYDGA. “It’s a sport that’s low-impact,” Johnson said. “Eight percent of the kids don’t play football or run.”

The association plans to add four more junior courses around Spokane over the summer. The four courses cost about $12,000, paid for by the Spokane Parks Foundation. Additional design and miscellaneous costs are paid for by the association, Johnson said.

The Helen Keller Garden at Manito Park was just finished this month. It features benches engraved with quotes from the activist, a Braille tablet to accommodate blind visitors and fragrant plants including lilacs, and others that will still be planted in the near future. The garden is estimated to have cost about $17,000

JESSE TINSLEY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

A new irrigation system is planned for the Indian Canyon Golf Course. . and was primarily paid for by the the Spokane Central Lions Club.

The city added improvements to several facilities, including renovations at Dutch Jake’s Park, and is planning a new irrigation system at the Indian Canyon Golf Course starting this fall.

In the coming years, residents may also see construction of an arboretum, which is currently in planning stages.

The city has also purchased private land to connect the bluff trails on the South Hill.

In Spokane Valley, plans for a new section of the Appleway Trail will soon be complete between Evergreen and Sullivan roads, which is estimated to cost roughly $2,343,000. The trail will also get a restroom and other amenities

added on its Sullivan-to-Corbin section, to be constructed this year at an estimated cost of $2,363,000.

When the trail is done, it will be a 5.5-mile stretch including pedestrian crossings, trees, benches, restrooms, drinking fountains and interpretive and historical signs, said Michael D. Stone, director of parks and recreation for Spokane Valley.

Valley parks and recreation also recently completed the first renovations for phase one of the CenterPlace West Lawn project, which cost $200,000. The department is looking to raise another $2,000,000 to complete the project, he said.

Browns Park also will get new renovations, including eight new sand

volleyball courts. But those won’t be installed until after Labor Day, Stone said. Once they’re installed, the 16 courts will give Spokane Valley the largest outdoor sand volleyball facility within 400 miles, he said.

Local parks in Spokane County also are getting renovations, with improvements to the Dishman Hills Glenrose Trailhead and the Stevens Creek Trail scheduled for this year.

Renovations will include added parking and landscaping, and bringing electricity to the paths and cameras that hikers will be able to access online. The cameras will help with security, said Paul Knowles, special projects manager for the county parks department, and also allow hikers to log in online and see trail conditions or check how busy the path is before they go.

The Dishman Hills renovations are estimated at roughly $325,000, with another $45,000 to $50,000 investment to install the cameras.

A limited-access gate for the Stevens Creek Trail, along with regrating for the road past the access gate, is estimated at around $15,000. Those changes will also improve access for emergency vehicles, said Chris Crone, park planner and landscape architect with the county.

Funding for the Mica Peak Trail was recently approved, and construction will start this June. When it’s done, the all-season trail will span 14 miles on Mica Peak.

Total costs will be about $180,00, with $106,000 in cash and $74,000 in value of volunteer labor provided by the Washington Trails Association and Evergreen East Mountain Bike Alliance, Spokane Nordic and the Inland Empire Chapter of the Backcountry Horsemen.

No Kennels, No Cages, Socializing, Wading Pool,

“Tail Waggin Good Time” Doggie Daycare and Overnight.

Cat Suites with “Bird’s-eye” View.

FILE, COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Jessica Langston and her brother, Spencer, play tag in Browns Park at 32nd Avenue and Pines Road in Spokane Valley on June 24, 2014. The Spokane Valley City Council will hear public feedback on the Browns Park Master Plan, which would add a tournament-quality sand volleyball venue.

509.993.6820 • www.auntielindas.com • lkunz@cet.com

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THE PARK THEN AND NOW

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A park bond was approved by voters in 2014 to upgrade and modernize Riverfront Park.

The park had seen very little reconstruction since it was transformed after Expo ’74 ended.

Several of the main projects funded by the bond have been constructed.

The rest of the work will be complete by 2020.

Looff Carrousel

Flour Mill

NEW RIVERFRONT PARK

2014 Riverfront Park bond projects 1

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The 100-year-old, hand-carved Looff Carrousel was formerly housed in Expo ’74’s Bavarian Beer Garden. Temperature extremes were stressing the wood carvings and the structure provided little room for getting on and off the carrousel.

The new larger structure is climate-controlled and better displays the carrousel.

Convention Center exhibit halls

A new event facility provides a space for parties, concessions and a gift shop.

Conven Cent

DoubleTree

by Hilton Convention Center addition

2

South Gateway: Reconstruction of the Howard Street Bridge COMPLETED COMPLETED SPRING SPRING 2018 2018

The reconstructed Howard Street Bridge redesigned as main entrance and a visual connection to the rest of the park is meant to steer the visitor to the center of the park and the Spokane River gorge.

The new bridge offers a step-down feature for a closer look at the river.

Decorative pavers used on the bridge are also used throughout the carrousel and fountain area to provide continuity. There also are new lights, benches and railings.

10

Central plaza TO TO BE BE COMPLETED COMPLETED FALL FALL 2019 2019

• Conceived as a multiuse central green, decorative paved paths lead pedestrians to various points

11

U.S. Pavilion Event Center

TO TO BE BE COMPLETED COMPLETED FALL FALL 2019 2019

After Expo ’74 the U.S. government made a gift of the U.S. pavilion to Spokane.

The master plan envisions the structure as a flexible-use event space with: • Restored views of the Spokane River • Flexible seating

• Elevation changes to create terraces for climbing and seating

• Lighting with 4-foot by 1-foot LED reflective panels attached to the cables. The lights will ch color and patterns and are fully programmable.

• Improved access for pedestrians and to the parking lot to the north.

3

Skate Ribbon and SkyRide facility COMPLETED COMPLETED WINTER WINTER 2018 2018 The Skate Ribbon is a 16-foot-wide, 650-foot-long circular pathway with a 3,500-squarefoot attached pond. There are also changes in elevation along the path. The center of the path contains fire pits and landscaping.

The Skate Ribbon and the SkyRide share a ticket office which also houses a cafe with a large-windowed dining area.

In summer the ribbon is available for roller-skating, strider-biking, art walks and food trucks.

Terraced floor and seating

Wes Build

Food servic

5

4

Expanded parking surface

7

Sister Cities Garden

Viewing terrace 8

6

Conservation area

Improved playground

Riverview Terrace

THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

JUNE 24, 2018

RIVERFRONT PARK EXPO ’74

Main attractions and exhibits at the 1974 World’s Fair

MAN-REVIEW

Montgomery Wards

9 8

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A&W Sky Float

25

Department of Ecology Pavilion

3

Washington State exhibit

26

Northwest Orient Airlines exhibit

4

Washington State Opera House

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Soviet Restaurant

5

Ford Pavilion

28

USSR Pavilion

6

Bavarian Beer Garden

29

Washington state Department of Ecology

7

Sermons from Science Pavilion, Montana and California Pavilion, Idaho and Oregon Pavilion, Vanishing Animal Pavilion

30

Federal Republic of Germany, Philippines, NASA

31

Buffet restaurant

Strawberry shortcake, Expo souvenirs, ice cream, pizza, hamburgers, Korean imports

32

Australia Pavilion

33

International Amphitheater

9

General Motors Pavilion

34

British Columbia Pavilion

10

Ride Over the Falls

35

Canada Island

11

Energy Pavilion

36

Alberta Amphitheatre

12

Afro-American Pavilion

37

Pedestrian bridges

13

Kodak Pavilion

38

14

American Forest Pavilion

15

Japan Pavilion

Indian imports, Expo souvenirs, strollers, ice cream, hamburgers, Water Falls Restaurant

16

Book of Mormon Pavilion

39

17

Food Fair

Union Pacific Steam Engine exhibit

18

World’s Fair headquarters

40

Folk Life Festival

19

Iran Pavilion

41

Joy of Living Pavilion

42

Republic of Korea Pavilion

43

Hamburgers and fish and chips, United Nations shop, Expo souvenirs

44

Bell System Pavilion

20 Republic of China Pavilion

An interactive sculpture Meejin Yoon’s “Step Well” has been chosen as the signature art piece for the park. The interactive piece measures approximately 28-feet by 18-feet. It will be composed of steel and wood. The illustration at left is a preliminary concept of the piece.

21

Plaza Mexicana

22

International Bazaar

23

Great Northern Clock Tower

The Skate Ribbon, cafe, ticketing and skate rental facilities

Larger structure showcases the Looff Carrousel INB Performing Arts Center

Red Wagon 1

2

City Hall

Rotary Fountain 3

12

Clock Tower

Lilac Bowl

SkyRide

Reconstructed Howard Street Bridge is the main entrance to the park

7 Avista

4

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The lower falls 5

A redesigned pavilion will serve as a central gathering point with new lighting design and a reconstructed interior with better views of the river 13

PO ST

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A new central plaza will use paths made of decorative pavers to guide pedestrians in various directions

Pedestrian bridges

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Pavilion (cover was removed after Expo)

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Artwork of the park is from a brochure for Expo ’74

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The lower falls

Pedestrian bridges

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Canada Island has been renamed w snx mene (sin-HOO-men-huh) Salish for Salmon People

12

STA bus drop-off

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Regional playground

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Viewing terrace

15

Viewing terrace

16

Viewing terrace

Shade panels Flour Mill

• Heavy-duty cloth panels attached to the pavilion cables will create patterns of shade on the pavilion floor.

13

Regional playground

DESIGN DESIGN 30 30 PERCENT PERCENT COMPLETE COMPLETE

One of the top requests by the public for the redesigned park is a playground area. A concept being looked at is a learning center and play area related to the formation of our area during the ice age.

To be located on the North Bank an interactive 1 to 1.5-acre playground would tell the story of how the ice age floods created the geography of our area.

Great Floods Play Area

A 40-foot-high viewing platform inside the pavilion

ce

Architectural renderings by NAC Architecture and GuildWorks Architecture of the Air Sources: Spokane Parks and Recreation Department; staff photography, The Spokesman-Review MOLLY QUINN/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

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THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

PARADISE LOST

JESSE TINSLEY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Spokesman-Review reporter Becky Kramer marvels at the Mystic Falls, a little-known treasure of beauty and history at Indian Canyon Park.

Get away from it all at magical Mystic Falls Ge

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Sometimes, I’m content to spread my picnic blanket among the masses on a grassy field at a local park. But more often, lesser-known places beckon to me.

Like naturalist Edward Abbey, I want trails that are “crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.”

And when the trail leads to a hidden waterfall and stories about Chief Spokane Garry, I’m willing to put up with hungry mosquitoes, too.

Indian Canyon Park in west Spokane has such a waterfall. It’s in the general area where Garry spent the last years of his life.

Mystic Falls creates a small grotto where it tumbles over a basalt cliff into a deep ravine. On a hot day in early June, the temperatures dropped as we approached the

y Wa

By Becky Kramer THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

waterfall, which sent out a cooling mist.

SFCC Debbie Cole had set up her tripod at the base of the falls for a photo Palisades N shoot. Though she’s a Park lifelong Spokane resident, Cole only Mystic recently learned about Greenwood Rd. Falls the waterfall.

Indian Indian “It is mystic, and it has Canyon Canyon Golf Golf a grandeur I would never Course Course have expected in Indian 2 Spokane,” she said.

Canyon Park The moss and other 90 greenery near Mystic 0 1/2 mile Falls reminded Cole of S P O KAN E the lush vegetation in the Washington Cascades or THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW even Olympic National Park. And the unspoiled nature of the spot appealed to her.

“I like to see places that people respect,” Cole said.

Getting to Mystic Falls isn’t immediately obvious.

Spokesman-Review photographer Jesse Tinsley and I ton Hous

nt me ern Gov

Secluded spot in Indian Canyon Park was near camp for Chief Spokane Garry

parked at the trailhead on Indian Canyon Drive. A short distance down the trail, we could hear the tumbling water, but we couldn’t see the falls or a path to safely descend into the ravine.

A little farther along our hike, we found several steep, unmarked trails to the falls. I grabbed a hold of sturdy branches as we inched our way down past fragrant mock orange bushes and hovering swallowtails and dragonflies.

The mosquitoes were thick in the shady ravine.

Neither of us had brought bug spray.

It’s not hard to imagine Garry bushwhacking to this enchanted spot, although no marker says “Chief Spokane Garry was here.” If he did visit the waterfall, it might have been a quiet place to reflect on a life that spanned the “fur trading, missionary and white settlement eras in the region,” according a biography in Historylink.org, written by Jim Kershner, a former Spokesman-Review writer.

Garry was born around 1811 to a chief of the Spokane Tribe. In his teens, he attended a boarding school in Eastern Canada, where he learned English and French, studied math and agriculture, and became a “Bible-quoting Christian,” according to the biography.

See MYSTIC, 15

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PARKS

JESSE TINSLEY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Sharelle Scott, Madie Dahl and three dogs find their way down into the grotto around Mystic Falls, a spot mostly hidden from view by the foliage above.

MYSTIC Continued from 14 Garry returned to the area as a young adult, teaching English and farming methods to the Spokanes. But following years were difficult ones, marked by conflicts with encroaching white settlers.

Garry tried to keep the young men in his tribe from fighting with the whites, but some joined other tribes in attacking Col. E. J. Steptoe’s 1858 expedition near Rosalia and Steptoe Butte. The Army retaliated, defeating the warriors at the Battle of Four Lakes and the Battle of Spokane Plains.

Over the next two decades, Garry tried to secure a substantial reservation on the tribe’s ancestral lands.

He “spoke like a lawyer and knew how to filibuster like a congressman,” according to the biography. But the Spokane Tribe’s eventual reservation was established in 1881 to the west, near the confluence of the Spokane and Columbia rivers.

Garry refused to leave his farm just east of present-day Hillyard. After a fishing trip to the Spokane River with his family, however, he returned one day to find that a white settler had taken his farm.

Garry tried to get his land back through the courts, but he wasn’t successful. A white landowner allowed him to camp in Indian Canyon, where he died in 1892. He was about 81.

I pondered Garry’s story as I visited the falls.

Before I left the ravine, I pulled out a bag to pick up litter. I collected a pacifier, two plastic water bottles, a candy wrapper and broken glass from around the waterfall. On the hike back to the car, I picked up cigarette butts.

It was a small token of respect, honoring Garry and a beautiful place.

CONTACT THE WRITER:

(509) 459-5466 beckyk@spokesman.com

Other Chief Garry-linked sites The Mystic Falls trailhead address is 4812 W. Canyon Drive, Spokane.

Another local park has ties to Chief Spokane Garry and local tribes.

The natural springs at Drumheller Springs Park made this a stopping point for travelers for hundreds of years. Native Americans gathered roots in the area. Garry built a rough schoolhouse of poles and mats, where he gave English lessons. The 12-acre park features vernal pools and scablands. Address: 3135 N. Ash St., Spokane.

Corbin Park in Post Falls is one of my favorite spots along the Spokane River. It’s a popular put-in spot for rafters and people floating the river. I like the dramatic rock formations. Despite picnic shelters and a disc golf course, this 28-acre park often feels deserted when I visit. I’m not aware of any association with Spokane Garry. But since he was affiliated with the Spokane Tribe’s Middle and Upper bands, he was probably familiar with this stretch of the river.

Directions: Located at the south end of Corbin Road in Post Falls, off Riverbend Avenue from McGuire Road.

– Becky Kramer

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THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

PARKS GUIDE TO ALL THOSE OPEN SPACES If there is a part of town you prefer, a certain activity, or you just want to know if there is parking available, use this guide to check out the public parks in the Spokane area.

PARK

ADDRESS

ACRES

PLAYGROUND

PICNIC AREA

SPORTS FACILITIES

PARKING SPACES

OTHER AMENITIES

CITY OF SPOKANE Camp Sekani Park

6707 E. Upriver Drive

238

High Bridge Park

136 S. A St.

200

Riverfront Park

507 N. Howard St.

100

25

Downriver Park

Pettet and Ft. Wright Drive

95

YES

Golf course

Manito Park

1702 S. Grand Blvd.

90

100

Duncan Garden

John A. Finch Arboretum

1299 S. “F” St.

57

37

Botanical and tree garden

Lincoln Park

2300 E. 17th Ave.

51

10

Diverse topography

Franklin Park

302 W. Queen Ave.

44

312

Softball, tennis, horseshoes

Shadle Park

4302 N. Belt St.

40

80

Pool, baseball/softball

Minnehaha Park

4000 E. Frederick Ave.

39

Audubon Park

3405 N. Milton St.

27

22

Splash pad, baseball/softball, basketball

Sky Prairie Park

8501 N. Nettleton Court

265

101

Softball, tennis

Comstock Park

601 W. 29th Ave.

25

20

Pool, horseshoes

Campion Park

U.S. 195 along Latah Creek

23

Liberty Park

302 S. Pittsburg St.

22

50

Pool, softball

Underhill Park

2910 E. Hartson Ave.

16

49

Splash pad, tennis

Mission Park

1208 E. Mission Ave.

13

111

Witter Pool, softball, lawn bowling

Cannon Hill Park

1831 W. 19th Ave.

13

52

Softball/baseball

Edwidge Woldson Park

525 W. 7th Ave.

13

38

Corbin House

Grant Park

1015 S. Arthur St.

13

50

Basketball, tennis, softball

Drumheller Springs

Euclid and Ash

12

Friendship Park

631 E. Greta Ave.

12

Corbin Park

2914 N. West Oval St.

12

Chief Garry Park

2515 E. Sinto Ave.

101

Harmon-Shipley Park

6018 N. Regal St.

11

Wentel Grant Park

1708 S. Inland Empire Way

11

B.A. Clark Park

3922 N. Normandie St.

10

Coeur d’Alene Park

2195 W. Second Ave.

10

Upriver Park

Upriver Drive and Boulder Beach

9

Nevada Park

800 E. Joseph Ave.

9

Ben Burr Park

4401 S. Havana St.

9

11

A.M. Cannon Park

1511 N. Elm St.

8

52

Pool, basketball

Thornton Murphy Park

3105 E. 27th Ave.

8

25

Basketball, softball

Hays Park

1812 E. Providence Ave.

8

Softball

Hamblen Park

37th and Crestline

7

Natural area

Loma Vista Park

5804 N. Alberta St.

6

Soccer

Grandview Park

3203 W. 17th Ave.

6

Polly Judd Park

1802 W. 14th Ave.

6

Cliff Park

426 W. 12th Ave.

5

Rock wall, view point

Pacific Park

5211 W. Lowell Ave.

5

Splash pad, basketball

Westgate Park

5402 W. Conestoga Ave.

5

Basketball, tennis

Heath Park

613 E. Mission Ave.

5

Basketball, softball, soccer

Rochester Heights Park

1801 E. Everett Ave.

4

Splash pad, softball, basketball

Hill N’Dale Rotary Park

502 E. Jay Ave.

4

Courtland Park

3514 N. Stone St.

4

Emerson Park

116 W. Alice Ave.

4

Basketball, softball

Indian Trail Park

7007 N. Flemming St.

4

Totem pole

Glass Park

627 E. Heroy Ave.

3

Splash pad, softball, basketball

Whittier Park

3400 W. Seventh Ave.

3

Basketball, tennis, softball

Patrick S. Byrne Park

125 E. Walton Ave.

3

Basketball

Wildhorse Park

3717 N. Ralph St.

3

Webster Park

3721 W. Lacrosse Ave.

2

Your Place Park

224 S. Cook St.

2

Glover Field Park

216 N. Cedar St.

2

Cowley Park

602 S. Division St.

2

Kehoe Park

4903 N. Nelson St.

2

Ruth Park

6011 N. Calispel St.

2

James J. Hill Park

42527 E. Nebraska Ave.

2

Stone Park

2304 E. Desmet Ave.

<1

Logan Peace Park

2535 N. Morton St.

<1

Loren Kondo Park

4119 E. Longfellow Ave.

<1

Basketball

Dutch Jakes Park

2104 W. College Ave.

<1

Basketball

Fairview Park

3004 N. Dakota St.

<1

Parkwater Park

5428 E. Commerce Ave.

<1

Skeet-so-Mish Park

1518 W. Maxwell Ave.

<1

Mirabeau Point Park

13500 E. Mirabeau Parkway

56

77

Discovery Playground, waterfall

Valley Mission Park

11123 E. Mission Ave.

24

115

Splash Down Waterpark

Sullivan Park

1901 N. Sullivan Road

16

151

Centennial trailhead

Terrace View Park

13525 E. 24th Ave.

9

118

Pool and lazy river

Greenacres Park

1311 N. Long Road

8

29

Play fields, disc golf

Browns Park

3101 S. Pines Road

8

81

Basketball, splash pad

Edgecliff Park

800 S. Park Road

5

40

Splash pad, pickleball court

Ballfour Park

105 N. Balfour Road

3

14

Sand volleyball

Castle Park

3415 S. University Road

3

Park Road Park

906 N. Park Road

2

Disc golf course Skating ribbon, skyride

Softball/baseball

Hiking trails

Undeveloped 12

Basketball, tennis, softball Basketball, tennis, softball Basketball, softball

34

Spray pool, softball, skating Basketball, softball

51

Softball Splash pad, tennis

40

Spokane River Splash pad, softball Basketball

Splash pad, ADA access 4

25

ADA access

Softball

Softball Basketball 15

Basketball, softball

Basketball

SPOKANE VALLEY

101

Pool

SPOKANE COUNTY Liberty Lake Regional Park

3707 S. Zephyr Road

3,591

Dishman Hills

625 S. Sargent Road

530

Bear Lake Regional Park

29109 N. Newport Highway

166

175

Swimming area

Plante’s Ferry Sports Stadium

12308 E. Upriver Drive

95

225

Soccer, baseball, softball

Fish Lake Regional Park

14314 S. Myers Park Road, Cheney

68

43

Hiking trails, basketball, boat launch

Gateway Regional Park

26715 E. Appleway Ave.

30

50

Dog park, conservation area

John H. Shields Park

5625 E. Upriver Drive

26

Valleyford Community Park

11418 E. Palouse Highway

22

15

Basketball

Camp Caro

625 S. Sargent Road

20

26

ADA pathway

Bidwell Community Park

801 E. Handy Road, Colbert

19

115

Pool

Pine River Community Park

626 E. Greenleaf Drive

14

50

Swimming area, fishing access

Camelot Community Park

910 W. Percival Ave.

10

10

Basketball

Holmberg Community Park

9615 N. Wall St.

7

50

Baseball/softball, basketball, tennis

Prairie View Community Park

3724 E. 61st Ave.

7

Gleneden County Park

15205 N. Columbus St.

5

Northwoods Community Park

310 W. Regina Ave.

5

Orchard Avenue Park

3300 N. Park Road

4

Linwood Community Park

1100 W. Eastmont Way

<1

Sontag Community Park

9808 W. Charles Road

<1

Swimming area, trails, RV park Designated trails

Hiking trails, mountain bike trails

Climbing wall, pool 6 25

Basketball Baseball/softball Baseball/softball, tennis, basketball

46

Baseball/softball, Hiking trails, tennis

THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

JUNE 24, 2018

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FINANCING

DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Leroy Eadie, Spokane Parks and Recreation director, views the new construction of the Howard Street Bridge on June 27 in Riverfront Park.

Region’s parks receive varied levels of funding Spokane’s dedicated source has enabled a large, varied system

By Kip Hill THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Rambling across the thousands of acres of pristine nature or tumbling over playground equipment, you might wonder, “Who’s paying for all this?”

The simple answer, of course, is we are.

But a more specific answer depends on whether you’re swinging a golf club, stopping for an ice cream in Riverfront Park or scampering through the fossilized maze at Discovery Playground.

Spokane The envy of the region is the city of Spokane’s system, a voter-protected relic of the age when the so-called “father” of the city’s park system, Aubrey L. White, earned his other moniker as Spokane’s “Civic Horse Trader” by snatching up land for use by the public in the early 20th century. The city charter, the document that gives municipal government its authority, requires that Spokane spend no less than 8 percent of its taxpayer-supported budget annually to maintain its parks.

“The structure seems a little bit unique,” said Kevin Roth, vice president of research at the National Recreation and Park Association in Washington, D.C. “It’s definitely a very progressive, very forward-thinking way to protect those assets in the park system.”

Still, today’s system is not as generous as it might have been. Following the approval of an appointed Park Board in 1907, free from the influence of city politicians, White led the charge three years later for passage of a property tax assessment requiring $1 of every $1,000 worth of assessed valued on property in the city to be spent on parks. The money raised helped expand the city’s park system dramatically and remained in place for more than 75 years.

But in the early 1980s, the rapidly increasing value of land within city limits and the relatively stagnant growth of its budget presented Spokane leaders with a new problem: They might be required to spend too much on parks, at the risk of other city services.

In March 1982, Spokane Parks Director Frank McCoy told the Spokane Park Board the city was on “a collision course” where its obligation to fund parks would require the city to pry away as much as $300,000 from other city services in order to not violate the city’s founding document.

The 8 percent figure represented roughly what the city had been spending on parks for the eight years prior to the vote, then-City Manager Terry Novak told The Spokesman-Review at the time. It was intended to keep funding level even if property values continued to soar.

The plan was defeated by voters in 1982 but fared better a year later as city voters appeared more keen to alter their governance. The Parks Department promptly began investigating ways to chop their budget in November 1983 by as much as a quarter million dollars, according to a story in the Nov. 11, 1983, edition of The Spokesman-Review.

Today, that 8 percent has continued to grow, as has the city’s overall spending on taxpayer-supported services, Parks Director Leroy Eadie said.

“I think that’s what good leaders in the past did,” Eadie said. “I think that was

Who pays what City/gov’t.

General fund 2018 Spokane $ 188,957,015 Spokane Valley $ 42,625,888 Spokane Co. $ 194,867,976 Coeur d’Alene $ 38,430,152 Kootenai Co. $ 88,051,123

Parks in 2018 Population Park funding (General Fund) (2016 estimate) per resident $ 14,225,042 215,964 $65.87 $ 3,009,954 96,337 $31.24 $ 2,586,994 499,072 $5.18 $ 2,858,440 47,842 $59.75 $ 391,935 154,311 $2.54 Sources: Annual adopted 2018 budgets

their thought process. We want an extensive park system. We want to maintain our park system; we want it to be the best in the nation. We’re going to make an investment there.”

The guarantee allows park planners to have a pretty good idea of their budget each year early in the process, rather than fight through a political process for budget money against other departments, such as police or fire. The park system brings in additional money through other programs and initiatives, including partnerships with organized enthusiasts of archery, pickleball, bocce ball and the region’s extensive trail system, to name a few.

“Sometimes it blows me away, that there’s so much complexity and diversity in the offerings that we have,” Eadie said.

“That’s something that Spokane does. I know a lot of other neighboring communities don’t have the opportunity to pull that off, necessarily. We’re pretty glad to be able to do that.”

Spokane Valley As a share of its taxpayer-supported services, Spokane Valley spends a relatively equal amount each year of its budget on maintaining the park system.

The difference is the scale.

“Our challenge here is to continue to try and elevate the awareness of parks and recreation so that people see it as a necessary part of the infrastructure,” Spokane Valley Park Director Mike Stone said. “That’s challenging, I think, as you are working with such a young city.”

Compared to Spokane’s 4,000-plus acres of parkland, 87 city parks and 90-plus full- time employees, the city of Spokane Valley is what Stone called “an infant.” He oversees a staff of nine, five of whom are assigned to CenterPlace, a city-owned event facility that is funded through the city’s parks and recreation system.

When it incorporated in 2003, Spokane Valley decided to contract out many of its services and keep the city’s payroll to a minimum, said Stone, who’s also served as head of parks for the city of Spokane. That includes trash collection, law enforcement – and upkeep of the city’s 191-acre park system, which is handled by Senske Services.

“It’s pretty novel, unique and rare for the country,” Stone said. “Over time, they’ve become the face of our department.”

Spokane Valley lacks the influence of an Aubrey White-type figure, and has no document like the Olmsted brothers plan, drafted in 1908 and calling for development of a park system to combat urban life’s “decidedly depressing effect on the general health and stamina of the bread winners.”

“We are neighbors to one of the best park systems in the country,” Stone said.

“We don’t have to go very far to see a good role model.”

Spokane Valley’s taxpayers will spend a little more than $3 million this year on its park system. By comparison, Spokane’s system – which encompasses more than 4,000 acres and 87 city parks – will cost the city taxpayers $14 million in 2018. That

doesn’t include the bond money being spent to renovate Riverfront Park.

Different cities fund their parks in different ways, said Roth, the researcher for the National Recreation and Park Association. But one of the ways the organization can track a community’s commitment to its park system is by tracking the per capita expenses on public spaces.

“Those numbers can vary dramatically,” Roth said. “In some areas, it’s between $200 and $300. In some areas, it’s as low as $20.”

A 2018 study by the association found the average local government spends $78.26 per person on its park system each year, when you include both taxpayer-funded expenses out of the general fund as well as other costs.

Spokane will spend about $99 per citizen on its parks this year, about two-thirds of which will be funded by taxpayers; Spokane Valley, a little more than $57, with more than half of that ($31) coming from the general fund.

Spokane County Spokane County falls on the low end of the spectrum, at just $20 if you include the $7 million paid to run its three golf courses. Like the city of Spokane, golf is what’s known as an “enterprise fund,” a

service that is supported by user-generated fees.

Doug Chase, Spokane County parks director, said there are many competing interests for county dollars, including a large portion of each year’s budget toward running the aging jail.

“There is no dedicated percent, or portion of the budget if you will, that is guaranteed or earmarked regardless of any and all things that happen, the way that the city of Spokane does it,” he said.

That led to some decisions during the economic downturn caused by the 2008 housing bubble to cut back on maintenance at some county parks. A tiered system was created that prioritized which parks would receive the most attention, while others were left to the care of private, charitable organizations.

That wouldn’t have happened if the county had a dedicated funding source like the city’s, Chase said.

What is unique to the county is the Conservation Futures program, a tax created by voters 24 years ago to pay for buying undeveloped land. Think of it as the descendant of White’s plan in the early 20th century, adapted for a time when development has become attractive on the outskirts of the region’s urban boundaries.

The program has raised nearly $37 million and led to the purchase of nearly 8,000 acres of land, all of which is protected from future development.

Acquisitions include areas along the western banks of the Spokane River, where trails are envisioned to link Riverside State Park with downtown Spokane, as well as the Dishman Hills Conservation Area providing overlooks of the Palouse plains to the south.

CONTACT THE WRITER:

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BEST THINGS TO DO

KATHY PLONKA/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

One-year-old Daniel Melin Jr. plays with his father, Daniel, at Discovery Playground in Spokane Valley on June 13.

Where to begin?

Here are a few ideas Hikers gather at the Rocks of Sharon in the Iller Creek Conservation Area overlooking the Palouse to the south.

From splash pads to nature hikes, it’s out there

By Kip Hill THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

The center of Spokane’s park system is undoubtedly the city’s 100-acre playground, Riverfront Park, built from the remnants of Expo ’74.

But we’re near nature, near perfect in the Inland Northwest. Options for an afternoon in the sun abound, if you know where to look.

“A lot of the citizens in Spokane Valley can step right outside their house, almost, and be in nature,” said Mike Stone, director of that city’s Parks Department.

That was also the goal of Aubrey L. White, father of the city of Spokane’s park system. He envisioned an urban center where a neighborhood park was less than a 10- minute walk away. That spirit lives on in the city’s parks today, said Leroy Eadie, Spokane’s park director.

“We’re not just a one-size-fits-all community,” Eadie said. “We’re a diverse community that can plug in to a diverse park system.”

Whether you’re looking for a leisurely stroll through the flower beds or making a rugged climb to the cliffs overlooking the rolling fields of the Palouse, here are a few of the top park spots to check out in the Inland Northwest:

For the little ones Discovery Playground in Spokane Valley is designed just for that: allowing children to find their own fun.

Opened in May 2010, the playplace was designed with children of all abilities in mind. Splash pads gush

And if you forgot your lunch, the Park Bench Cafe is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the summer months, offering sandwiches, salads, pastries and coffee drinks.

Location: Manito, 1702 S. Grand Blvd.

Size: 90 acres Amenities: Shelters, playgrounds, splash pad, picnic areas, softball/baseball fields, restrooms, public gardens, conservatory, cafe.

Climbing to the heavens

FILE, RICH LANDERS/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

during the summer, along with rock-climbing walls, a trampoline set into the ground and a four-person “we-saw.” Discovery includes other traditional playground amenities such as swings and slides, all with an Inland Northwest flair.

Discovery has become so attractive that thieves had made off multiple times with the fiberglass egg shells, rainbow trout and inchworm that beckon children for some afternoon fun.

The playground is next to CenterPlace event center in Mirabeau Point Park. Picnic areas are located both within and outside of the park’s 4-foot-high fencing. Reservations are required for the shelters outside the park.

Location: Mirabeau Point Park, 13500 Mirabeau Parkway, Spokane Valley.

Amenities: Splash pads, picnic shelters, bathrooms, playground equipment, educational and musical features, outdoor classroom.

How about a picnic?

Spokane’s Manito Park, boasting 90 acres of garden space, winding trails and

COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

The 90 acres at Manito Park provide plenty of sunny areas to enjoy picnics with spectacular views and shady or sheltered spots for gatherings.

playgrounds on the South Hill, has plenty of nooks and shaded spreads for a late spring or summer outing. Shelters are available on the park’s northern and southern borders, with ample green space and a splash pad available to the south. The northeast end of the park offers tennis courts and a reflecting duck pond.

Gabi Tilley, a longtime South Hill resident and gardening volunteer with the group Friends of Manito that provides upkeep of the historic park, said it’s the variety of options available that make Manito a keen spot for picnickers.

“You can go with all kinds of different age groups,” Tilley said. “If you’ve got little ones, you can find some shade near the playgrounds. For adults, you can go up by Duncan Garden or the Rose Hill, which is a little more romantic.”

After lunch, stroll through Manito’s many gardens, including the “sunken” Duncan Garden that is a popular spot for wedding photos. If the weather turns sour, Gaiser Conservatory – named after longtime Park Board member David Gaiser – opens its doors at 8 a.m. every day.

The southern edges of Spokane are lined with trails affording breathtaking views, but perhaps none are more accessible than the 3-mile round-trip trek to Big Rock in the Dishman Hills Conservation Area.

“You very quickly get some terrific views,” said Jeff Lambert, executive director of the Dishman Hills Conservancy, whose charge is to protect natural areas at the southern reaches of Spokane Valley. “All ages, kids especially, like climbing around on those rocks.”

The hike begins in wetland areas, where snow lingers in the spring months beneath the shade of towering conifer trees. Hikers are presented a choice at the base of the cliffs: Turn left on a switchback that gently ascends about 600 feet to the rocks, or plow straight up on a Spokane County road that was never built.

Either way, hikers end at Big Rock, part of the Rocks of Sharon system that attracts climbers of all abilities. Pack a picnic lunch to enjoy while dangling your legs over the rock face and enjoying the rolling hills of the Palouse, which include swaying strands of wheat and canola.

Location: Dishman Conservancy Area. Park at the Stevens Creek See BEST, 19

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Riders race around the BMX track at Dwight Merkel Sports Complex, an island of light surrounded by darkness. The track is free to use.

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With several inches of fresh snow on the ground, Rob Roose and his daughters, Lena, front, and Robin, sled down Manito Hill in Manito Park in 2012.

Continued from 18 trailhead, 9102 S. Stevens Creek Road, and hike in to the north.

Size: Roughly 90 acres, purchased in 2011 as part of the Spokane County Conservation Futures program for $331,425.

Amenities: Trails

A nature hike?

Come for the view at Spokane’s Palisades Park near the Indian Canyon Golf Course. Stay for the winding seven miles of trails that are suitable for walkers, joggers, bikers and equestrians, granting a view of the same Indian Canyon waterfall that enchanted White back in the early 1900s.

“It has some of the best views of the city and the whole valley that we’ve got,” said Brent Hendricks, president of the group Palisades that cares for the park.

On a clear day, Palisades visitors can see Mount Spokane to the northeast and downtown Spokane rising around the river. Doubling as a conservation area, Palisades also offers a bevy of birding options, including many different types of owl, swallow, hawk and thrush. A Washington Discovery Pass is not required to park at Palisades.

Palisades is also a short drive from downtown, and the group has put on guided tours that showcase some of the park’s unique geological and plant features, Hendricks said.

Location: West Hills, 198 S. Rimrock Drive Size: Around 700 acres Amenities: Trails

An afternoon of sports?

Whether you’re looking for traditional sports action or some X Games-inspired fun, the Dwight Merkel Sports Complex in northwest Spokane has you covered.

Adjacent to Joe Albi Stadium, the

COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

complex is home to a sprawling BMX track that recently received an infusion of grant money to rebuild the starting hill and starting gate for races. Best of all, it’s free to use, as long as you’re not interrupting regular gate practices every Monday night.

“We knew we had a national-caliber track; we knew it needed a lot of help,” said Jay Brothers, track operator for Spokane BMX. The improvements, which also included paving the corners of the track for skid-free racing, helped the organization pull in a national contest last month.

The complex, which was expanded and reopened in 2010 after voters approved a park improvement bond several years earlier, also features six full-size soccer fields with real turf, two synthetic athletic fields, six diamonds Palisades Park near Indian Canyon Golf Course, just a short drive from downtown, offers great views. Hikers can take advantage of guided tours that highlight the diversity of the park.

for baseball and softball, a concession stand and skate park, in addition to a neighborhood park and splash pad. A paved trail runs the perimeter of the complex.

Location: Shadle/Northwest, 5701 N. Assembly St. Size: 76 acres Amenities: BMX track, skate park, ballfields, picnic areas, splash pad, on-site parking, playground, concessions

Winter sledding fun Spy the dozens of children slipping down Manito’s bare hills just off Grand Boulevard, and the boneyard of snarled plastic shrapnel left in their wake, and it’s easy to draw the conclusion the South Hill destination offers the best sledding in town.

But that would be wrong.

Thrill-seekers should instead trek east to Underhill Park, where an 80-foot hill awaits that tests plummeters with three cascading downhill layers that will put air between your rump and your sled.

The treacherous descent led The Spokesman-Review to name Underhill Park the city’s best spot to sled in 2008, and despite the construction of a 1.5 million-gallon subterranean stormwater tank in 2015, it remains the best place to slip and slide on a wintry Spokane weekend.

Location: East Central/2910 E. Hartson Ave., Spokane Size: 19.2 acres Amenities: Playgrounds, restroom, baseball fields, picnic areas, splash pad.

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POOLS

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The Southside Family Aquatics Facility on the South Hill features a 200-foot water slide and a lazy river with rapids. Spokane County has a similar facility in Colbert.

Area public pools offer fun for families – and dogs Deejays, outdoor games, movie nights, pooch parties and more are available

By Amy Edelen THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Spokane area parks with aquatic facilities are offering several amenities this summer.

The Spokane County Parks, Recreation and Golf Department, in partnership with the Spokane Federal Credit Union, the Spokane Parks Foundation and iHeartMedia, is continuing its swim-and-a-movie series for a second year.

The events are free this year and include a two-hour swim with three family-friendly movies played on each facility’s large, inflatable screen beginning at 6 p.m. July 7, July 21 and Aug. 4.

“This is the first year where we made it a free community event,” said Bekah Bennett, recreation program manager for Spokane County. “We’d like to continue to do that moving forward.”

Spokane Valley is offering a swim-and-a movie for $1 at its Valley Mission Park on Aug. 10 beginning at dusk. There will be snacks and outdoor games as well as arts and crafts before the movie begins.

The city of Spokane will offer free family nights at its Shadle Park, Hillyard, Liberty, A.M. Cannon and Comstock aquatic centers this summer.

“We will have some family-friendly activities in the pool,” said Josh Oakes,

JESSE TINSLEY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

An aerial view of Comstock Park shows the pool area, which is now an aquatics center with slides and play areas for children, in addition to deeper areas for lap swimming. It was completed in 2009 in the northeast corner of the park, which was donated in 1936 by Josie Shadle, daughter of pioneer James Comstock. She paid for the pool, then the city’s largest, and tennis courts, now hidden by trees. recreation manager for Spokane parks.

“People can bring in their own food and we’ll have a deejay.”

The county, city of Spokane and city of Spokane Valley aquatic centers will offer swimming lessons this season.

Bennett said the county aquatic facilities offer two-week swimming lessons, which are $40 and held Monday through Thursday.

“People have access to wonderful

lakes and rivers here, and learning to swim is so important,” she said. “That’s a big amenity we offer.”

Spokane Valley offers swimming lessons at its three outdoor pools for $35. The two-week lessons are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon in varied half-hour blocks. Evening swimming lessons are available at Valley Mission Park and Terrace View Park from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The lessons

teach basic swimming techniques, a variety of dives and survival swimming as well as a lifeguard and water-safety course.

The city of Spokane has swimming lessons for children from 6 months to 15 years old that cost $48 for classes spanning two weeks.

“We also have private swim lessons that we offer for all ages,” Oakes said.

The city of Spokane and city of Spokane Valley pools are allowing people to bring their dogs to a one-day swim event just before they close for the season.

The city of Spokane will allow people to bring their dogs to a “Doggie Dip” at its aquatic centers the last week of August. The event, which costs $10 and is sponsored by the Spokane Parks Foundation and SpokAnimal, will raise awareness of and funds for the High Bridge Dog Park.

Valley Mission Pool offers “Paws in the Pool,” a $5 swim session for dogs on Aug. 26, which is from 1 to 1:45 p.m. for small dogs and 2 to 3:30 p.m. for dogs 65 pounds or heavier.

“Each year we have run this, it has continued to get bigger and bigger,” said Mike Stone, Spokane Valley park director. “It provides much fun for the dogs and the owners.”

The city of Spokane is offering free swimming at its six aquatic centers this year if people register for a SplashPass, which is an electronic membership that allows pool access.

“When they show up to swim, they give their name, and we’ll get them checked into the facility,” Oakes said.

CONTACT THE WRITER:

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Children from a Spokane Valley day camp walk outside of Terrace View swimming pool after an afternoon swim on a sunny afternoon. The Terrace View pool offers exercise classes, swim lessons and open swimming.

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Michael Miethe adds a little twist to his jump off the diving board on opening day of swimming at the Hillyard Pool in 2010. Swimming is free at all the city pools.

Come on and take a free dive SPOKANE

A.M. Cannon Aquatic Center 1900 W. Mission Ave. Details: Includes a six-lane, 25-yard lap pool; two water slides; recreation swim area; and zero-depth entry area. The facility offers open swimming 1 to 4 p.m. seven days a week and 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Monday through Thursday. A parent/tot open swim is 11 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday. Admission is free with a registered SplashPass obtained through the Spokane Parks Department. Free family night is 6:30 to 8 p.m. Aug. 3.

Comstock Aquatic Center 600 W. 29th Ave. Details: Includes a six-lane, 25-yard lap pool; four-lane, 50-meter lap lanes with a recreation swim; and zero-depth entry areas. Open swim is 1 to 4 p.m. seven days a week and 6:30 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. A one-lane lap swim is offered 6 to 7:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Saturdays.

Admission is free with a registered SplashPass obtained through the Spokane Parks Department. Free family night is from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Aug. 17.

Hillyard Aquatic Center 2600 E. Columbia Ave. Details: Offers a six-lane, 25-yard lap pool; recreation swim and zero-depth entry areas; and two water slides. The facility has birthday and meeting rooms available for events. Open swim is 1 to 4 p.m. seven days a week and 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Monday through Thursday. Parent/tot open swim 11 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday. Admission is free with a registered SplashPass obtained through the Spokane Parks Department. Free family night is 6:30 to 8 p.m. July 6.

Liberty Aquatic Center 1300 E. 5th Ave. Details: Offers a six-lane, 25-yard lap pool; two water slides as well as birthday and meeting rooms for events. Open swim is 1 to 4 p.m. seven days a week and 6:30 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Admission is free with a registered SplashPass obtained through the Spokane Parks Department. Free family night is 6:30 to 8 p.m. Aug. 3.

Shadle Aquatic Center 2005 W. Wellesley Ave. Details: Offers a six-lane, 25-yard lap pool; recreation swim area; and two water slides. Open swim is 1 to 4 p.m. seven days a week and 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Monday through Thursday, with lap swim 9 to 9:30 a.m. Saturdays. Admission is free with a registered SplashPass obtained through the Spokane Parks Department. Free family night is 6 to 8:30 p.m. June 22.

Witter Aquatic Center 1300 E. Mission Ave. Details: Offers a 50-meter competition pool, a recreation area, water

slide and birthday/meeting rooms. Open swim is 1 to 4 p.m. seven days a week, with lap swim 11:30 to 12:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and an inflatable “fun run” 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Admission is free with a registered SplashPass obtained through the Spokane Parks Department.

SPOKANE VALLEY

Park Road Pool 906 N. Park Road Details: Has a slide feature and offers swim lessons 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday. Lap swim is available 12:05 p.m. to 1 p.m. Open swim is 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday with an additional hour on Sunday, as well as an evening session 5:30 to 8 p.m. Free open swim is offered on Mondays. Open swim passes are $20 for 25 swims.

Terrace View Pool 13525 E. 24th Ave. Details: Has a “lazy river” feature and offers water exercise classes 12:05 p.m. to 1 p.m. five days a week. Swim lessons are offered 9 a.m. to noon. Free open swim is 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays. Open swim passes are $20 for 25 swims.

Valley Mission Pool 11123 E. Mission Ave. Details: Has a zero-depth entry area.

Open swim is 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday with an additional hour on Sunday as well as an evening session 5:30 to 8 p.m. Swim lessons are 9 a.m. to noon. Lap swim is 12:05 to 1 p.m. Free open swim is 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays. Open swim passes are $20 for 25 swims.

FILE, JESSE TINSLEY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Spokane’s Witter Pool is a 50-meter pool that hosts meets for competitive swimmers in the region. It also includes a water slide and open swimming.

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Southside Family Aquatics Facility 3724 E. 61st Ave. Details: Includes a 200-foot-long water slide, lazy river with rapids, geysers and tumble buckets, giant shade umbrellas, zero-depth pool area, a concession stand with $2 snacks on Tuesdays. The park has a barbecue and picnic area with tables, basketball court, interactive play area and a large deck.

Daily entry fee to the aquatics facility is $5 for adults, $4 seniors and $2.50 for children 3 to 5 years old.

Swim-and-a-movie nights on July 7, July 21 and Aug. 4.

Northside Family Aquatics Facility 801 E. Handy Road Details: Offers a 12-foot-deep end area with room for lap swimming, a 20-foot water slide, diving board and a zero-depth activity area. The park offers concessions and deck space for picnics.

Daily entry fee to the aquatics facility is $5 for adults, $4 seniors and $2.50 for children 3 to 5 years old.

Swim-and-a-movie nights on July 7, July 21 and Aug. 4.

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FLOATING THE GORGE

PHOTOS BY DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Rafters participating with Wiley E. Waters Whitewater Rafting float to the Plese Flats takeout area on the Spokane River on June 14.

Near the city center, and yet a world away Minutes from everywhere, the Spokane River offers a range of water-based adventures

By Eli Francovich THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

On this particular stretch of the river, it’s not hard to imagine oneself in a remote wilderness. One far from cars, people or any of the other various demands present during the average day.

The water is rushing over exposed river rock, laughing as it makes its way downstream. The steep banks of the

Spokane River Gorge, covered in pine trees and long grasses, protectively hug the river.

“I came around here one time and I saw two huge mule deer buck,” said Jerry White Jr., Spokane Riverkeeper. “I had to pinch myself.”

The reason for White’s disbelief is underscored just minutes later when a jet roars overhead on its way to landing at Spokane International Airport.

The truth is, this stretch of river is just minutes from downtown Spokane.

Directly above the steep banks is Kendall Yards and West Central, two of Spokane’s fastest-growing neighborhoods.

Within minutes of exiting the boat at the T.J. Meenach Bridge, we’re on busy roads bouncing our way back downtown.

For decades, the Spokane River was seen first for its economic value, an affordance used and abused by industry and the city alike. It was not a recreational venue. You would not voluntarily enter the Spokane River. The

waters were full of heavy metals. Raw sewage befouled the waters Native American’s sometimes called the “place of fast water.”

Some stretches smelled so bad houses were built well back from the bank to avoid the reek.

“It was our septic tank,” said Andy Dunau, the Spokane River Forum executive director. “That’s where we flushed. Because of its industrial legacy, people just accepted that they didn’t have river access.”

Spokane “literally turned its back” on See RIVER, 23 Rafters with Wiley E. Waters Whitewater Rafting practice their strokes before launching into the Spokane River.

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Rafters glide through the Devil’s Toenail on the Spokane River. The river, once considered the city’s “septic tank” has been transformed into a playground.

RIVER

Apartment buildings are barely visible along the banks of the Spokane River, downriver from the city.

Continued from 22 the river, he said. Buildings near the river faced away. Prime real estate locations, like Kendall Yards, remained undeveloped for decades.

But that’s all changed. With increasing environmental regulation and awareness about the state of the river some started to wonder: Why not turn back toward the river? Why not recognize it as the remarkable resource it is?

“The change has been dramatic,” Dunau said.

Dunau and others have spearheaded that change, creating the Spokane River Water Trail. The trail highlights different recreational access points along the river extending as far downstream as Fort Spokane. Each year, Dunau said. the water trail’s website gets between 13,000 and 15,000 unique visitors.

Those online numbers reflect real-life interest. Outfitters and others who work regularly around the river have seen a sharp increase in river use.

“Everyone agrees that people getting out on the river and enjoying it has gone straight north,” Dunau said.

Those efforts have been closely aligned with the city and Spokane Parks and Recreation. The city has spent millions reducing the amount of raw sewage that enters the river. At the same time, projects such as the river loop trail are making headway. A planned boat launch at Glover Field – in Peaceful Valley – is moving forward.

“You see more people using it, and it’s just so close to town and people are really understanding that the river is close to Spokane and easily accessible,” said Ryan Griffith, the city’s assistant outdoor recreation director.

While the river is not a park, it runs through several. And Spokane Parks and Recreation runs kayaking and rafting trips on the flat-water sections of the river.

The city contracts with river guide companies such as Row Adventures, Flow Adventures and Wiley Waters for more challenging whitewater trips.

ELI FRANCOVICH/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

On a recent Thursday, a group of Wiley guests hailed from across the country, including Hawaii and San Diego.

“It was the most awesome experience I’ve ever had outdoors,” said Wendy Turner from Hawaii.

At the same time, anglers are rediscovering the Spokane River. Fishing for redband trout has increased, White said. Silver Bow Fly Shop in Spokane Valley runs guided trips.

“It’s just recently rediscovered in the last decade or so,” White said of the trout fishing opportunities.

But with all that increased interest and use comes certain hazards.

Trout fishing, for instance. White estimates there are 300 redband per mile on the Spokane River. That’s not a lot when compared to other trout fisheries.

But in the past when there were fewer anglers there were plenty of fish to go around.

Not necessarily anymore. With

ELI FRANCOVICH/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

A fisherman plies the Spokane River near the Sandifur Bridge.

increased use comes increased pressure.

“That means, now, each fish is getting caught one or two times a season,” he said.

Catch-and-release fishing doesn’t hurt fish when done correctly. But the more times a fish is caught, the more times it’s exposed to possible mishandling.

And while the river may be cleaner than it’s been in a long time, there are still serious problems, White said.

While floating the river with White, it was clear when we passed the Latah Creek confluence. The emerald water turned frothy and brown. Agricultural runoff and erosion has long fouled the 60-mile-long tributary.

Another, ancillary concern for White is how more people will impact the aquifer. Currently fresh, cool aquifer water flows into the Spokane River year-round. That ground-cooled water is key to keeping the redband trout happy and healthy, even late into the summer months.

However, White worries that more use from an increasing population could drain the aquifer to a point where it wouldn’t be able to refresh the river.

Still, White and others are mostly optimistic about the increased exposure and attention given to the river. That increase can prompt people to conserve and care for the water resource in their midst.

White points to the Spokane Indians’ recent marketing and rebranding campaign focused on redband trout.

“They’ve really brought attention to the redband trout,” White said. “That’s an example of where use has been a good thing for the fishery.”

Dunau agrees that increased use can lead to increased care.

“I’ve always called the gorge area the holy grail,” he said.

CONTACT THE WRITER:

(509) 459-5508 elif@spokesman.com

SPECIAL 24

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SUNDAY

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JUNE 24, 2018

THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

PARKS

Overlooked, city parks give us a bit of outdoors without the road trip ago realized something.

It’s an article of faith that They knew it was important Spokane residents have a mad that those who live and work crush on the outdoors. here have nearby places to go Especially at this time of year. that remind them of a fundaIf our area had a summertime mental truth. Spokane isn’t just lifestyle mantra, it might be: buildings, cars and bridges.

“It’s too nice out to be cooped It’s people. And people need a up in here.” bit of elbow room now and then.

Often the image this conjures You want majestic? The is an idyllic mountain scene or a PAUL Northwest is rich in glorious vision of living large at the lake.

TURNER national parks.

You know, the far-flung NorthBut if what you need is a west classics.

But sometimes we take for SPOKESMAN place to push your kids on the granted the in-town option for COLUMNIST swings or have a picnic, dozens of local parks are ready and those craving a quick, conwaiting. venient hit of nature – city Outdoors doesn’t have to parks. mean 50 miles away. Remote It’s easy enough to do. In a part of the country with ready access to a isn’t always the right choice.

OK, maybe you’ll encounter used syrvariety of backcountry diversions, the Spokane area’s in-town parks are the inges and a half-ton of dog droppings.

Nobody said the city parks are guaranpoor relations of outdoors experiences.

Maybe that’s because we don’t give teed to transport you away from reality.

At their best, though, they offer you and them the credit they deserve. your family a refuge from the countless Let’s change that.

Here’s the thing. Not everyone has a distractions tugging at you. They can ofsprawling backyard. Not everyone owns fer a respite from the numerous nuisances clamoring for your attention, tryplayground equipment.

But anyone can visit one of our parks ing to sell you something or wanting you to type in your password. when they need a change of scenery.

Plus, it’s free. No “Members Only” Anyone with a companion can grab a couple of mitts and go play catch at a city signs.

Maybe you will see some familiar facpark. Anyone can go for a walk in the park and feel the sun on his or her face or es. Maybe you won’t.

But have you ever noticed how a park sit in the shade of a tree and scroll can start to feel like your park after just a through Twitter.

Anyone can go sit on a bench and few visits?

Some of the smaller sites have a neighwatch crows act like they own the place.

And maybe make a big life decision or borhood feel. The bigger ones can procome up with a solution to a problem at vide a bit of urban anonymity.

Everyone is free to choose. work. (The parkgoer, that is, not the Now, Spokane is no concrete jungle. A crows.)

You see, our various parks aren’t just view from the air would show a sea of defined by whether they have tennis turf lawns.

But the parks silently extend an open courts or wading pools. They are places invitation to one and all. shaped by potential and imagination.

Live in an apartment? That’s OK. NoThe key concept is this: They are our body is going to ask to see your papers. parks.

Reside in another part of town? Fine.

No, city parks aren’t necessarily the place where you would go to get away The ducks and squirrels don’t care.

Our city parks are proudly public. from it all and experience a moment of sun-kissed epiphany. But there’s some- They welcome all comers.

You can toss a Frisbee or fly a kite. thing to be said for being alone with your Yes, there are rules. This is America. thoughts in a setting that all but shouts But mostly the parks just ask that you community.

Our parks are less about escape than pick up after yourself.

You can plop yourself down at a picnic they are an embrace, a savoring of a deditable and marvel that the land wasn’t sold cated green space right here in town.

The people who designed this city long and turned into condos and shopping

DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

The abundant area parks offer a place to escape with a nice change of scenery. centers.

You can even time travel. You can stand on the grass at Manito Park in summer and think about times you sledded there many years ago. You can stroll through Audubon Park and remember the time a friend shared a big secret over by that tree you are approaching.

Or you can just hang out and daydream with a gentle breeze in your face. Some things are just better outdoors, especially if you don’t have to travel far to get there.

CONTACT THE WRITER:

(509) 459-5470 pault@spokesman.com