weekender.
Weekend trips from Gonzaga
Hidden spots near Spokane, day trips and weekend road trips from Gonzaga in November, scored 1–10 on price, timing and what's happening, with gas, park fees, a campsite or room and food included.
Plan your own trip from Gonzaga →Local finds near campus
Riverside State Park
Basalt rocks and a suspension bridge over the Spokane River's rapids at Bowl and Pitcher.
Day trips
The Palouse & Steptoe Butte
Rolling wheat hills that look like velvet from the top of Steptoe Butte. Free.
Palouse Falls
Washington's state waterfall drops 200 feet into a basalt bowl in the middle of farm country.
Dry Falls & Grand Coulee
The skeleton of a waterfall four times wider than Niagara, left by Ice Age floods.
Coeur d'Alene
A resort lake town in Idaho with a floating boardwalk and Tubbs Hill's cliff trail.
Sandpoint
A small lake town on Idaho's biggest lake, with Schweitzer's ski runs above it.
Wallace
A whole silver-mining town on the National Register, that declared itself the center of the universe.
Weekend trips
Lake Chelan
A 50-mile glacier lake with sunny beaches and wineries, Washington's summer escape.
Leavenworth
A whole mountain town dressed as a Bavarian village, with river tubing and alpine lakes.
Sandpoint
A small lake town on Idaho's biggest lake, with Schweitzer's ski runs above it.
Wallace
A whole silver-mining town on the National Register, that declared itself the center of the universe.
North Cascades & Diablo Lake
A glowing turquoise lake under jagged peaks, on one of America's least-visited national parks.
Glacier National Park
Going-to-the-Sun Road, turquoise lakes and mountain goats on the Highline Trail.
Long weekends
Lake Chelan
A 50-mile glacier lake with sunny beaches and wineries, Washington's summer escape.
Painted Hills
Hills striped red, gold and black that change color with the light. Free.
Columbia Gorge & Multnomah Falls
A river canyon lined with waterfalls, the tallest 620 feet, 40 minutes from Portland.
Leavenworth
A whole mountain town dressed as a Bavarian village, with river tubing and alpine lakes.
Smith Rock
Golden river cliffs where American sport climbing began; Misery Ridge has the view.
Silver Falls
The Trail of Ten Falls, where you walk behind several of the waterfalls.
Personalize it
Set your budget, how many friends are coming, your car (or no car: train and bus), and what you're into (hiking, beaches, camping, stargazing, food and more), and Weekender re-ranks every trip for you, with a day-by-day plan, directions and campsites.
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