Recreation

Sun., Oct. 24, 1999

Add Spokesman-Review on Google

Park

1. Manito Park

2. Riverfront Park

3. Riverside State Park

Honorable mention: Franklin Park, Audubon Park, Comstock Park, Mission Park

Scenic drive

1. High Drive

2. Upriver Drive

3. Mount Spokane

Honorable mention: Lake Coeur d’Alene, Riverside State Park

Place to walk/jog/bike

1. Centennial Trail

2. Manito Park

3. Riverfront Park

Honorable mention: Riverside State Park, High Drive

Fishing hole

1. Clear Lake

2. Williams Lake

3. Sprague Lake

Honorable mention: Medical Lake, Badger Lake, Fish Trap, Lake Pend Oreille

Campground or picnic spot

1. Riverside State Park

Outdoors-savvy readers recognize a gem and, just a few miles west of downtown Spokane, Riverside State Park shines bright.

Readers tabbed the multi-use park as their favorite campground or picnic spot, putting it ahead of the popular Manito Park, where you can picnic but not pitch a tent.

Riverside State Park boasts 101 campsites and an equal number of picnic sites. There’s also a 600-acre off-road vehicle area, a boat launch and almost 37 miles of hiking and equestrian trails.

Manito came in a close second with readers, and its charms are well-known — flowers, flowers, and well, flowers. The Gaiser Conservatory, with its lush tropical floral display, is open year-round.

2. Manito Park

3. Priest Lake, Idaho

Honorable mention: Farragut State Park, Bowl & Pitcher (at Riverside State Park)

Swimming spot

1. Lake Coeur d’Alene

2. Priest Lake, Idaho

3. Loon Lake, Wash.

Honorable mention: home, Coeur d’Alene City Beach, Comstock Park

Place to ski or snowboard

1. Mount Spokane

Perhaps it’s the friendly lift operators. Or night skiing. Or special package deals for kids. Or the enhanced terrain park.

Or maybe Mount Spokane won this Reader Review category thanks to those three important features that real estate agents tout: location, location, location.

Whatever the reasons, Mount Spokane retained its crown as the Inland Northwest’s favorite ski resort.

That may come as a shock to second-place Schweitzer, considering North Idaho’s premier resort had 159,000 visitors last year to Mount Spokane’s 100,000.

Go figure … and while you’re at it, think snow!

2. Schweitzer Mountain Resort

3. 49 Degrees North

Honorable mention: Silver Mountain, Big Mountain

Health club

1. 24 Hour Fitness

2. Gold’s Gym

3. North Park Racquet Club

Honorable mention: Stroh’s, Spokane Club

Place for a weekend getaway

1. Seattle

2. Coeur d’Alene Resort

3. Sandpoint

Honorable mention: Leavenworth, Wash., Coeur d’Alene

Local Web site

1. jaykevin.com

2. spokane.net

3. khq.com

Honorable mention: krem.com, kxly.com

Golf course

1. Indian Canyon

City of Spokane courses finished in the top three slots. The region’s most honored layout, Indian Canyon, just edged out another

venerable course, Downriver, while one of the area’s newest, the Creek at Qualchan, came next.

Play at Indian Canyon began in 1935. Just six years later, the course hosted the National Public Links Championship. Since then, several other regional and national tournaments have been played there. Indian Canyon has won numerous accolades as one of the best municipal golf courses in the country.

Downriver opened in 1916 as a nine-hole course. Green fees were 25 cents on weekdays and 50 cents on weekends and holidays.

2. Downriver

3. The Creek at Qualchan

Honorable mention: Hangman Valley, Wandermere, MeadowWood, Esmeralda, Coeur d’Alene Resort

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.