Love watching car or motorbike racing? Get in on the live action at Spokane County Raceway. Jet cars, local drags, funny cars, and bikes roar all summer and fall, including a NASCAR weekend in September.
This weekend, you can watch or participate in the Super Chevy Show, with races (Chevy-bodied or Chevy-powered only), a car show, and a swap meet to find and trade parts, racing paraphernalia, cars, or whatever. This is a great show to take Dad to or for a date with a Chevy fan. The show runs July 29–31 (but the evening of July 29 is scheduled for $4 Friday night stock car racing). See the schedule for details. Spectator tickets are $25 per day or $40 for a weekend pass. Kids 12 and under are free with a paid adult.
August 20 is the Napa Night of Fire, where you can see jet car racing at night. Click here for a video. September 2 and 3, NASCAR comes to Spokane for the K&N Pro Series West, and the WMDRA Fall Nationals will be held on September 24–25. In between, there are Wednesday and Friday night drags plus a full schedule of other racing events. Visit the website for schedules for drag, road course, and oval track racing. Generally, tickets are available at the gate, but for special events, like NASCAR, tickets may be purchased in advance.
Spokane County Raceway is located in Airway Heights (750 N. Hayford Road), just minutes from the Spokane Airport. If you are travelling to see the races, Stratford Suites, the Spokane area’s best lodging value, is located very close by and features silent air conditioning and 50” hi-def. televisions for a comfortable stay.
It finally feels like summer here in the Inland Northwest. Kids are out of school and looking for some summer fun activities, and grown-ups love summer outdoor fun, too, so it’s time for splashing, playing, and sliding through the water in the sun. Here is a list of some of the best water park and pool options in the Spokane, WA area, whether you just want to spend an hour or two at a city facility or would like to make a full day’s trip to one of the bigger parks. Most are open daily, but check the websites for specific hours. Note: Wild Waters in Coeur d’Alene, ID is closed for the season.
A brand new slide just opened today at Boulder Beach! Ricochet Rapids is a family raft ride that includes side-to-side sliding through a 20-foot diameter tube and sharp turns and drops aboard a raft with five other people. The park also offers two large wave pools, a 650-foot raft slide, tube sliding, high speed water slide towers, a slow-moving tube creek ride, and two play areas just for smaller children. Ticket price includes admission to the many attractions at Silverwood: $41.99 general admission and $21.99 youth 3–7 and seniors over 65. Keep in mind that Silverwood does not allow outside food and drink in the park. Restaurants and concessions are on site. Silverwood and Boulder Beach are located in the same large complex just north of Coeur d’Alene on Highway 95 in North Idaho.
Money-saving tips: Buy your admission tickets before you go at Costco. As of this writing, they were $34.99 for general admission. If you want to make a weekend of your trip, stay in the area (Stay in Coeur d’Alene or, if you want to stay in Spokane, Stratford Suites, near the Spokane airport with easy freeway access, offers beautiful one- or two-bedroom suites with full kitchens for families) and go to the Silverwood side of the park one day and the Boulder Beach park one day. Silverwood offers a 20% discount for two-day passes, but they must be used on consecutive days.
A long-time local favorite, Splash Down (11127 E. Mission) has been a fun place for families for 26 years. New this year is “Splashketball” basketball competition in which the loser gets soaked, new barbeques (you can bring your own picnic food and drink!), and Frisbee golf. You can also soak your friends in “Water Wars” with water balloon launchers. Several different water slides provide plenty of thrills, including the “Fast Ball,” which clocks your speed as you freefall down six stories. Splash Down also features an area just for small children with kiddie pools and small slides. Bonus: Thursday evenings, there is live music! Local reports indicate that the lines at Splash Down move quickly, so you won’t be standing around in a wet bathing suit waiting for each slide.
Admission is $13.99 for juniors 48” and under, $16.99 for those over 48”, and free for seniors 65+ and little ones 3 and under. Chaperones who just want to watch can turn in their dry admission wristbands at the end of the day for a $7 refund. Concessions are on site.
This water park has just one big slide, but it has plenty of interactive play structures (like playgrounds for pool areas and VERY fun), plus water cannons, spray tubes, a lazy “river” with geysers and rapids, and a heated swimming pool to keep kids of all ages happy all day. In addition to having a blast playing in the water, the surrounding 8-acre Prairie View Park gives you more things to do, with a playground, a BBQ and picnic area, and a basketball court.
Admission is only $2 for kids 3–5, $4 for 6 and over, and free for 2 and under. The water park center is located at 3724 E. 61st on Spokane’s South Hill. Note: If you are looking for a water park on the north side of Spokane, check out the Northside Aquatics Center (18120 N. Hatch Road in Colbert). This water park has a smaller slide and less activities than the Southside center, but it does have fun amenities that put it head and shoulders above a standard pool.
Liberty Aquatic Center
Extra Cool Spokane City Pools Made for Play [insert picture with caption “”]
In addition to large water parks, Spokane has several great aquatic centers throughout the city that feature fast water slides, play features, and separate pools for lap swimming and recreation swimming that are great for families and kids who need a place to hang out with friends for the afternoon. Here are the locations with great play facilities:
A.M. Cannon at 1900 W. Mission
Shadle at 2005 W. Wellesley
Hillyard at 2600 E. Columbia
Comstock at 600 W. 29th
Liberty at 1300 E. 5th
Admission is $2 for youth (4–17) and seniors (65+) and $4 for adults.
Looking for an affordable, quick getaway this summer that is close to Spokane? Check out the line-up at the 29th annual Festival at Sandpoint, which runs the evenings of August 4–14: Rickie Lee Jones, Brandi Carlile, Chris Isaak, Josh Ritter, Michael Franti, Rodney Crowell, and David Nail, plus a family concert by the Spokane Youth Orchestra and a Spokane Symphony grand finale with fireworks. Click here for a full schedule.
The non-profit Festival at Sandpoint brings big acts to the area for casual outdoor concerts at War Memorial Field (855 Ontario St., Sandpoint, ID) right on the shore of beautiful Lake Pend Oreille, the state’s largest and deepest lake. You can lounge in lawn chairs (bring your own or rent theirs), sit on a blanket, or sit in the grandstands. There are two areas where you can sit in lawn chairs. If you want to sit closer to the front, bring chairs with back legs that are four inches or less and backs that are shoulder height. Larger lawn chairs are allowed behind the blanket/short lawn chair section. There is also room to dance. Unlike most other outdoor music festivals, you are welcome to bring your own cooler and have a picnic, saving you a bundle, or you can try the food and drink for sale on “Festival Street.” Ticket prices are substantially less than typical concerts ($29.95–$49.95) at city venues, and the family concert (August 7), which features an instrument and animal petting zoo, face painting, and other activities for kids, is only $6. You can buy tickets online.
Sandpoint (population 6,800) is a 90-minute drive from Spokane, WA. There are plenty of things to do if you would like to make a mini vacation out of your trip, including golfing, Silverwood Theme Park/Boulder Beach Water Park, Lake Pend Oreille Cruises, and, of course, hiking and swimming (the lake warms up to temperatures in the 70s as summer progresses). Check out the Sandpoint Visitor Guide for more information.
Travel Spokane is a website built to inform Spokane visitors about the latest news, events, and opportunities in Spokane. The information is provided free courtesy of Stratford Suites. If you are looking for a Spokane Hotel be sure to check out our website at www.stratfordsuites.com
Love watching car or motorbike racing? Get in on the live action at Spokane County Raceway. Jet cars, local drags, funny cars, and bikes roar all summer and fall, including a NASCAR weekend in September.![[del.icio.us]](http://www.travel-spokane.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
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