Lewiston a top waterfront town

The rivers that surround Lewiston are now beckoning to a national audience. A National Geographic audience.

National Geographic Adventure has named Lewiston as one of its top waterfront destinations: one of the 50 best places to live and play in the United States. The magazine made the listing in its September issue, which hit newsstands this week.

Deb Smith, events and tourism coordinator for the Lewiston Chamber of Commerce, admitted she “woo-hoo’d” when she first heard about the news.

“Any time our valley gets recognized we get excited,” Smith said. Articles like the one in National Geographic Adventure substantiate the chamber’s pitch that Lewiston is a great place to relocate or visit, she said.

The city’s waterfront is a main component of a new valley tourism strategic plan, she said, and articles like the one in National Geographic Adventure give the community more credentials in marketing the waterfront.

Smith cited Sandpoint as a town that has seen an increase in inquiries and tourism dollars because of listings like those in national magazines.

Lewiston previously was rated as one of the six best places to buy a home in a 2006 article by Kendra Todd, a winner of “The Apprentice” television show. That article first appeared on the Yahoo Web site.

The article named the mile-high walls of Hell’s Canyon as the reason Lewiston is on the map.

“Salmon River, though, is the real prize: The 56-mile Class III stretch is the longest run without dams in the continental U.S.,” according to the article.

Almost all regional raft, fishing and boat traffic eventually ends up in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley, said outfitter John Barker, of Lewiston. Barker River Trips runs on the Clearwater, Snake and Salmon rivers, and Barker called the magazine listing “pretty big scale.”

“I think it will help in the visibility of the community,” Barker said, noting listings like this one have a direct impact on his business.

Fellow outfitter Curt Chang, manager of Oars Dories in Lewiston, had not yet seen the article Thursday but said it gives the city exposure Lewiston does not get very often. “Any time we get that kind of publicity showing this area as a place to come for river and water related activities, it’s a great thing,” Chang said.

Lewiston Mayor Jeff Nesset echoed those sentiments, noting magazine articles like this give the city exposure and recognition on a national stage of a great place to live, work and play. “For us that live here it’s just an endorsement of how good we have it.”