Inland NW links

Sports, recreational, & event venues

Miscellaneous

Sports venues you'll find here; sports clubs are on Inland NW page 3.

Avian Balloon http://www.avianballoon.com/: Manufacturing hot air balloons since 1974; also local balloon rides.
Bing Crosby Theater http://www.mettheater.com/: The former State Theater, my old favorite for date movies, more recently called Metropolitan Performing Arts Center or "The Met" locally. It was renamed for Bing early in 2007 and has a new marquee, and is being advertised as such, but while the site apparently is being maintained as to upcoming events, strangely it still references the old name, more than three years later (July 2010). The site begins playing music as soon as you load it, which is very uncool.
Center Target Sports (Post Falls ID) http://www.centertargetsports.com/: Indoor firing ranges, guns for sale or rent, firearms training courses.
Eagles Ice-Arena http://www.eaglesicearena.com/: Local ice skating venue since 1974, hockey and figure skating.
FastKart Indoor Speedway http://www.fastkartspeedway.com/
Flow Adventures http://www.flow-adventures.com/: Salmon River and Spokane River rafting trips, kayak instruction.
Full Spectrum Kayak Tours (Sandpoint ID) http://www.kayaking.net/: Lake Pend Oreille and Priest Lake.
The Glover Mansion http://www.glovermansion.com/: Available for weddings, receptions, meetings, other events.
Hillyard Skatepark http://www.hillyardskatepark.com/
Knitting Factory Spokane http://sp.knittingfactory.com/
Martin Woldson Theater at the FOX http://www.foxtheaterspokane.com/: Art deco former movie theater, now home of the Spokane Symphony, refurbished and reopened in 2007.
Mt. Spokane State Park http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=Mount%20Spokane: 13,919 acres surrounding 5,883-foot Mt. Spokane northeast of the city; aee also Friends of Mt. Spokane State Park site, Wikipedia article, and the link for the ski & snowboard park below.
Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture http://www.northwestmuseum.org/
Pangaea River Rafting (Superior MT) http://www.leaveboringbehind.com/: Clark Fork, Spokane, Blackfoot rivers; Superior is on I-90 between Lookout Pass and Missoula.
Riverfront Park http://www.spokaneriverfrontpark.com/: Large park in the city center, surrounding the falls, including a newly refurbished cable car ride, and a couple of suspension footbridges that are a bit frightening during spring runoff; legacy of world's fair Expo 74. (Downtown Spokane's style before 1974 could pretty well be described as industrial grim.) Outdoor music events, IMAX theater, fireworks on July 4th and New Year's Eve.
Riverside State Park http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=Riverside Riverside State Park Foundation http://www.riversidestatepark.org/: 10,000 acres on both sides of the Spokane River downstream from the city center; camping, hiking, interpretive centers.
Rockin' B Ranch http://www.rockinbranch.com/: Cowboy dinner theater is what I guess I'd call this; seems to be meant mostly for families with kids. South side of I-90 at exit 299 (State Line).
Roller Valley Skate Center http://www.rollervalley.com/
Sharp Shooting (Spokane) http://www.sharpshooting.net/: State-of-the-art indoor shooting range: classes, rentals, sales.
The Shop: Hot spot in the South Perry neighborhood.
Silverwood Theme Park http://www.silverwoodthemepark.com/: About 15 miles north of Coeur d'Alene; three roller coasters, including a wooden one that dives underground.
Spokane Convention Center & Opera House http://www.spokanecenter.com/: We're now supposed to call the Opera House the "INB Performing Arts Center."
Spokane County Fair & Expo Center http://www.spokanecounty.org/fair/: Interstate fair every year.
Spokane Raceway Park http://www.spokaneracewaypark.com/: AHRA and AARA drag and stock car racing.
Spokane Soccer Center http://www.nwsoccercenters.com/html/sp/
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena http://www.spokanearena.com/: 12,500 seats: events including Spokane Chiefs hockey, Spokane Shock af2 arena football, basketball, concerts, and the 2007 US Figure Skating Championships.
St. John's Cathedral (Episcopal) http://www.stjohns-cathedral.org/: French Gothic style stone cathedral on the edge of the South Hill bluff overlooking downtown, visible from much of North Spokane; large pipe organ and 49-bell tower carillon. Also sometimes serves as a music venue.
Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge http://www.fws.gov/turnbull/: 16,000 acres near Cheney WA, including 3,000 acres of wetland habitat.
The Warehouse Athletics Facility http://www.warehouseathletics.com/: Gonzaga district.
Wild Walls http://www.wildwalls.com/: A climbing walls establishment, downtown.
Wildwaters Water Park http://www.wildwaterswaterpark.com/: Waterslide park, near junction of I-90 and US95 in Coeur d'Alene
Wiley E. Waters (Post Falls ID) http://riverrafting.net/: White water river rafting on the Clark Fork River (Montana/Idaho)
Winterhawk Ranch Sporting Clays (Nine Mile Falls area) http://www.claytargetsonline.com/club.php/1951: Clay pigeon shooting for shotgunners since 1992.
Wonderland Golf & Games http://www.wonderlandusa.com/: Miniature golf, go-karts, climbing, arcade.

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Bike related

Bike shops

2 Wheel Transit http://twowheeltransit.com/: Seems to have the local experts on the more esoteric or technical aspects of cycling; Cannondale dealer.
Argonne Cycle: Sun/EZ-1 recumbent bicycles.
Bicycle Butler http://bicyclebutler.com/
North Division Bike Shop http://www.northdivision.com/: Sun/EZ-1
Pedal Pushers Bike Rental & Repair (Harrison ID) http://bikenorthidaho.com/: On the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes (see trail link below). Also has recumbent bicycles for rent including one recumbent tandem, mountain bike sales, and offers shuttle service for the Trail. New location added May 2005 in Heyburn State Park on the west side of Coeur d'Alene Lake.
Wheel Sport http://www.wheelsportspokane.com/: Several locations around Spokane. As of July 2010 they seem to have dropped the Web site; maybe it's temporary.

Cycling clubs & organizations

For annual organized bike rides, see my Events by date page in this section.

Baddlands Cycling Club http://www.baddlands.org/
Fat Tire Trail Riders Club (mountain biking) http://www.fttrc.org/
Spokane Bicycle Club http://www.spokanebicycleclub.org/
Spokane Rocket Velo http://www.spokanerocketvelo.com/
Spokane Bicycle Advisory Board http://bikespokane.org/
Pedals 2 People http://pedals2people.org/

Bike trails

Guidebooks always insist on treating the Washington and Idaho sections of the Centennial Trail as completely separate entities, which I'm sure they are legally, but your experience as a cyclist will be of a single trail.

Centennial Trail http://www.spokanecentennialtrail.org/: Excellent paved bike trail along the Spokane River, about 60 miles, from Nine Mile Falls through downtown Spokane, on upriver across the state line to the Coeur d'Alene lakefront, and continuing along the lakeshore to Higgens Point on an eastern arm of the lake, close to where I-90 crosses Blue Creek Bay and heads up into the Rockies; refer to the map on my main Inland NW page. A footbridge was completed in 2004 across the Spokane River which will better connect the westernmost section in Riverside State Park with the rest of the trail (at the moment you have to ride streets).
Route of the Hiawatha Mountain Bike Trail http://www.skilookout.com/hiaw/: A spectacular 15-mile rail trail high in the Bitterroot mountains, with tunnels and tall trestles, which was the route of a named passenger train; it's been converted to compacted-gravel mountain-bike trail,¹ with safety railings on the trestles. A shuttle bus is available. Helmets and lights are required; the tunnels are unlit and one, the St. Paul Pass or Taft tunnel, is 1.6 miles long, although it's easy to skip that tunnel and many do. There are also friendsofcdatrails.org, US Forest Service and Wallace ID home pages for the trail.
Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes http://friendsofcdatrails.org/CdA_Trail/index.html: A beautiful 70-mile paved rail trail, down the historic Silver Valley² and alongside and across Coeur d'Alene Lake, managed in partnership by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and the Idaho Dept. of Parks & Recreation. There are 2% maximum grades at the east and west ends, with 1,100 feet elevation change in the Silver Valley at the east end, but most of the western half of the trail is essentially flat. There's an illustrated brochure and map for the trail available at many area bike shops. Other home pages for this trail: Wallace ID, Idaho Parks & Recreation.

1. This compacted-gravel surface should also be fine for recumbents with the fatter tires they usually have; maybe not so great for upright roadie bikes with super skinny tires.
2. Construction of the rail line in the Silver Valley was begun in 1888 to support mining of silver and other heavy metals including lead, high in the valley. This was decades before anybody had a clue that heavy metals were a health problem. Mine waste rock and tailings containing heavy metals were used for the original rail bed, and the rail bed was also contaminated with accidental ore concentrate spillage. The asphalt surface and gravel side barriers of the trail are part of the environmental cleanup.
• Stay on the trail.
• Wash hands and face before eating, and eat at designated waysides and trailheads.
• Remove dirt from clothes, toys, pets, shoes, and equipment before leaving the area.
• Don't let children play near shorelines or off the trail.
• Carry water for drinking and washing.

Local cycling blogs

100KM http://100km.us/
26InchSlicks http://26inchslicks.blogspot.com/
Cycling Spokane http://cyclingspokane.blogspot.com/
F---ing Bike Club http://fbcspokane.blogspot.com/

Ski resorts

49 Degrees North http://www.ski49n.com/: At Chewelah Peak in Stevens County, which borders Spokane County on the north.
Lookout Pass Ski Resort http://www.skilookout.com/: Lookout Pass is where I-90 crosses the Idaho-Montana border, east of Coeur d'Alene.
Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park http://www.mtspokane.com/: Maybe not the most inspiring ski hill in the world, but close enough to ski after work on a week night.
Schweitzer Ski Resort http://www.schweitzer.com/: Near Sandpoint in Bonner County, which borders Kootenai County on the north.
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Silver Mountain Ski Resort http://www.silvermt.com/: Silver Mountain is east of Coeur d'Alene, in Shoshone County.

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