Spokane, WA

Whether you are a kid or just a kid at heart, Mission Park located at 1208 E. Mission Avenue across the street from Avista, has something for everything. They have tennis courts, softball fields, toys, a swimming pool and lawn bowling. Mission Park is also connected to the Centennial Trial.

Mission Park sits on 13.33 acres right in the heart of the city. I wanted to enjoy the nice weather and take a walk and allow my son to play all in the same visit. Mission Park was the place for this.

We began our adventures at Mission Park by hoping on the Centennial Trail and took a walk downtown and back. The first part of the Centennial Trail is really not the most beautiful part of the trail. However, if you stick with it and make your way across the Hamilton Street Pedestrian Bridge and make your way through Gonzaga campus you will enjoy the walk along the river. On our walk we saw marmots, ducks, geese and your share of seagulls.

The marmots were so friendly they walked right up to our stroller and sat up and begged for food! Of course my son needed no prodding to throw some of his crackers to the creatures. They devoured it right up. We walked to the end of Gonzaga Campus and then back to the park.

Once at the park I could not make it to the toys fast enough. There was a great play structure, swings and a dinosaur for riding. The mixture of toy items kept him occupied for well over half an hour. After he was done playing with the toys Simon decided to enjoy the acres of open space and run.

If playing on the toys or enjoying an activity in the open space, you can find lots of other things to do. Mission Park has 2 gazebos for picnics, dozens of picnic tables and lots of place to throw your picnic blanket. They also have 6 tennis court, a swimming pool, a lawn bowling area and a softball field.

Mission Park offers something that appeals to everyone of all ages. So next time you are looking for somewhere to burn off some energy head to Mission Park.