Northern Idaho/Eastern Washington

Liberty Lake, Washington was a great place for our longest summer stay to date; three weeks. It is located in Eastern Washington between Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The RV resort was very nice, however, there was a lot of highway noise, which was a big change from what we are used to. We did like that you could walk to the grocery store, farmers market, and trail; which is nice when you only have one vehicle. I especially loved the area, as it is truly a biking mecca, with so many Washington and Idaho trails nearby. I absolutely loved running and biking on the Spokane Centennial Trail along the river. The Idaho Centennial Trail was just okay, as they views were pretty ordinary. I did get a chance to ride the rest of the Coeur d’Alene trail, which is one of my all time favorites, with magnificent water and mountain views almost all 73 miles.

Unfortunately the weather was cold and rainy for about a third of our stay in Liberty Lake. The cool weather was a little unusual, but the precipitation was normal for this part of Washington. We took a scenic drive on a dreary day to the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. Mike did a lot of birding, and I did a lot of hiking. I was a little startled by a moose on my walk, thankfully it was far enough away! Mike was also able to go on a birding trip with the local Audubon Society at Liberty Lake Regional Park, which he really enjoyed. We went back to this park on our mountain bikes and rode to the Cedar Grove Conservation Area, which was very pretty. We also did some birding and biking at the Saltese Uplands Observation area. Our favorite hike was in the Rocks of Sharon in Spokane. We went around sunset and the views were panoramic and spectacular. Hiking in Mount Spokane State Park also had some nice views, however, for some reason the road to the top was closed, so we weren’t able to get the full experience.

The Spokane Riverfront is definitely a “must” if you are in the area. The water level was very high while we were in town and the power and sound of the rushing water was amazing. The area is very pretty and there are tons of things to do, places to eat, shop, etc. You can even bike to the riverfront on the Centennial Trail and to Riverside State Park.

Next stop Kennewick, Washington!