Start in Reardan. The whole scabland opens up from here.
A small town on Highway 2 sits at the center of some of eastern Washington’s best-kept secrets: a world-class rail museum, a lake full of swans, a landscape carved by Ice Age floods, and a hundred-mile reservoir just up the road. Most people know Reardan as a bend in the road between Spokane and the coulees. They are missing the good part. This page fans outward in three rings, so wherever you start, the wheat country and the channeled scablands do the rest.
The gems hiding in plain sight.
For a town of a few hundred people, Reardan punches far above its weight. Two of these draw visitors from clear across the region.
Inland Northwest Rail Museum, a full railyard restored by hand.
Just west of town sits one of the finest railway museums in the region, and one of Reardan’s genuine surprises. A dedicated nonprofit has restored a yard full of rolling stock you can climb right through, filled a depot with history, and built an incredible model railway upstairs, with a rideable scale train circling outside for the kids.
“Bar none the best railway museum I’ve visited. The restored rolling stock really shines.”
Reardan’s Audubon Lake, a swan sanctuary in the wheat.
On the north edge of town, an 80-acre alkaline lake and its wetlands form one of eastern Washington’s great birding stops. More than 200 species pass through, and each fall hundreds of tundra swans drop from the sky into this green oasis in the dry country. Two viewing blinds, one with mounted scopes, sit at the end of short paved, accessible paths.
It is a stop on Audubon’s Great Washington State Birding Trail and a feature of the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail. Spring and fall migrations are the spectacle.
Reardan City Park
The town’s shady community park, with a playground, big trees, restrooms, and the summer Farmers Market. The natural spot to stretch your legs and let the kids run.
Reardan Community Hall
The heart of town events, from antique and toy shows to celebrations and gatherings. Check what is on when you are passing through; small-town Reardan turns out in force.
You are standing in the path of the Ice Age floods.
The strange, sculpted country around Reardan is not ordinary farmland. It is the channeled scablands, carved when glacial Lake Missoula burst its ice dam and sent walls of water, at times ten times the flow of every river on Earth combined, roaring across eastern Washington, again and again. The coulees, dry falls, and basalt canyons you will drive past are the floods’ fingerprints. Reardan’s Audubon Lake sits right on the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, so much of what follows is really one long tour of a landscape shaped in days, not eons.
Half an hour, in any direction.
West to Davenport and the river, or east to the city and its parks. All of these are an easy there-and-back from Reardan, most of them under an hour.
Lincoln County Museum
An eclectic, lovingly kept county museum where the story runs from Columbian mammoth bones and petrified wood through pioneer and Native American history. Volunteers give tours worth catching.
Fort Spokane & Lake Roosevelt
Where the Spokane River meets the 130-mile Lake Roosevelt, the 1880s Fort Spokane stands with interpretive trails and a sobering, honest history as a former military post and Indian boarding school. Below, a swim beach, boat launch, and campground open onto great boating and fishing.
Spokane’s Riverfront Park
The city’s crown jewel, wrapped around the thundering Spokane Falls: a historic carousel, the SkyRide gondola out over the water, gardens, playgrounds, and the beloved Garbage Goat. A full day of city fun, close to home.
Manito Park
Ninety acres of free public gardens on Spokane’s South Hill: the formal Duncan Garden and its fountain, a serene Japanese garden, a glass conservatory, and rose and lilac gardens. One of the loveliest, and most underrated, city parks in the Northwest.
The MAC (Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture)
The region’s flagship museum, with rotating art and history exhibits and a deep American Indian collection, plus the restored 1898 Campbell House next door. The best rainy-day stop in the city.
Riverside State Park & the Bowl and Pitcher
Cross the swaying suspension bridge over the Spokane River to the dramatic basalt rock formations called the Bowl and Pitcher. Miles of hiking and biking trails, plus the Centennial Trail, make this the city’s outdoor playground. Discover Pass required.
Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge
A 23,000-acre sweep of scabland wetlands and ponderosa pine with a 5.5-mile auto-tour loop and accessible trails. Home to 200-plus bird species, trumpeter swans, and moose, elk, and beaver. Wildflowers peak in mid-May. A natural companion to Reardan’s own swan lake.
Green Bluff
A loop of family farms and orchards famous for u-pick fruit, apple season, pumpkin patches, cideries, and country festivals. Cherries in summer, apples and pumpkins in fall. A beloved seasonal day out for the whole family.
Airway Heights Resort Casinos
Two full resort casinos with dining, spas, sportsbooks, and headline concerts, the closest big night out to Reardan. See the Lottery & Gaming guide for the full rundown.
Clear the whole day for these.
The bucket-list landscapes of the Inland Northwest, all within a scenic drive of Reardan. West to the coulees, south to the Palouse, or north to the mountains.
Dry Falls
Stand at the lip of what was once the largest waterfall on Earth: a 400-foot, 3.5-mile-wide cliff that dwarfed Niagara when the floods poured over it. A free overlook, deep blue lakes, hiking, and swimming below. The single most jaw-dropping stop in flood country.
Steamboat Rock State Park
An 800-foot basalt butte rising straight out of Banks Lake, with a summit hike to 360-degree coulee views, a sandy swim beach, and camping on green lawns. In winter, Northrup Canyon hosts one of the region’s largest bald-eagle roosts. Discover Pass required.
Grand Coulee Dam
One of the largest concrete structures on Earth, holding back the head of Lake Roosevelt. Tour the visitor center, and on summer nights catch the free laser light show projected across the dam face. Pure scale, and pure spectacle. Pairs perfectly with Steamboat Rock.
Palouse Falls State Park
Washington’s official state waterfall: a 200-foot cascade plunging into a stark canyon carved by the Ice Age floods. Three viewpoints, interpretive displays, and one of the most dramatic sights in the state. Best in spring runoff. Discover Pass required.
Steptoe Butte State Park
A lone quartzite peak rising a thousand feet above the rolling Palouse wheat hills, with a spiral road to a summit view that photographers chase at sunrise and sunset. On a clear day you can see three states. A National Natural Landmark. Discover Pass required.
Mount Spokane State Park
Washington’s largest state park: winter skiing and snowboarding at Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, a summit drive to the historic stone Vista House, and miles of summer hiking and biking with views into three states. Discover Pass required.
49 Degrees North & Chewelah
A friendly, uncrowded mountain for winter skiing and snowboarding, with hiking and mountain biking once the snow melts. The northern getaway when you want pines and elevation instead of wheat and sky.
Palouse to Cascades Trail
A long-distance rail trail for hikers, cyclists, and riders, threading through scabland, farmland, and tunnels on the old Milwaukee Road grade. Pick a segment for a flat, scenic outing. Check the state map, as some sections have gaps and closures.
The best of each season.
Out here, timing is everything. Here is when to chase what.
Spring
Waterfalls at full roar. Palouse Falls thunders with snowmelt, wildflowers erupt across the scabland, and Turnbull’s wetlands fill with migrating birds. Green wheat as far as you can see.
Summer
Lake weather. Swim and boat Banks Lake at Steamboat Rock or Lake Roosevelt at Fort Spokane, then catch the free nightly laser show on Grand Coulee Dam after dark.
Fall
The swans return to Audubon Lake, the wheat turns to gold, and Green Bluff bursts with apples and pumpkins. The finest season for a drive through the Palouse.
Winter
Snow country. Ski Mount Spokane or 49 North, watch hundreds of bald eagles roost at Steamboat Rock’s Northrup Canyon, and duck into a warm museum when the wind bites.
A perfect day, centered on Reardan.
Coffee, then the swans
Start with a latte on Broadway, then walk the accessible path out to the Audubon Lake blind while the birds are active and the light is soft. See Food & Dining for the local coffee stop.
All aboard the Rail Museum
Head west of town to the Inland Northwest Rail Museum. Climb through the restored cars, ride the scale train, and browse the depot, then grab lunch back in town.
Out to the river
Drive northwest to Fort Spokane. Walk the interpretive trail, take in the confluence from the bluff, and cool off at the swim beach on Lake Roosevelt.
Your choice of night
Quiet it down with dinner and a sunset over the wheat, or point the car east to Airway Heights for dining, a show, and the lights of the resorts.
Or, chase the floods.
Have a full day and an early start? Drive west into the coulees instead: stand at the Dry Falls overlook, hike or swim at Steamboat Rock, tour Grand Coulee Dam, and stay for the laser light show after dark. It is the single best day of Ice Age geology in the state.
A few things to pack & know.
Grab a Discover Pass
Most state parks and lands here need a Washington Discover Pass to park (about $10 a day or $30 a year). National Park Service sites like Fort Spokane do not require one.
Time it to the season
Spring runoff for the falls, spring and fall for the swans and migrations, summer for the lakes and the dam’s light show, and winter for skiing and the eagle roost.
Check for closures
Summer wildfire and smoke can temporarily close parks and roads in this dry country, so check parks.wa.gov and current conditions before a long coulee drive. Some visitor centers keep seasonal hours.
Download your map
Cell service thins out fast on the back roads, so download directions before you lose the signal. Bring water, sun protection, and, in spring, watch for ticks in the shrub-steppe.
Keep exploring
About This Page
This page is part of Discover Reardan, an independent community guide to Reardan, Washington, operated by Steinwood Investments, LLC. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to any museum, park, agency, tribe, business, or attraction named here, including the National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Washington State Parks, the Bureau of Reclamation, the City of Spokane, or any resort or grower. All names, trademarks, and logos are the property of their respective owners and are used for identification and informational purposes only. Hours, seasons, fees, access, and conditions change often, especially at seasonal and outdoor sites, and wildfire, weather, or maintenance can close destinations with little notice, so please confirm directly with each place and check current road, trail, and park status before you travel. Distances and drive times are approximate. Guest comments are drawn from publicly posted reviews and reflect individual opinions, not the views of Discover Reardan. Recreate responsibly, respect private land and tribal lands, and pack out what you pack in. In any emergency, call 911.