Spokane, WA

The Spokane Falls are always a beautiful sight to see and this past weekend we had friends come over from out of town who wanted to see them, especially since the river was over flood stage at the time. We walked across a few bridges to get pictures and then ultimately decided to take a ride on the Spokane Falls Gondola to get a better view. The ride definitely delivered on that better view.

It was the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend when we decided to go, so it was rather crowded. We had to wait in line for almost an hour, however I’ve been on less crowded days and have barely had to wait at all. It costs $7 to ride the gondola and the ride lasts for about 20 minutes. It’s only $6 for teens, seniors or military.

The gondolas themselves look like big purple bubbles and can seat up to 4 people. Once you get inside, there are benches on each side and windows all around. You are enclosed completely except for a small open window on the top of one side, which makes the ride safe while still giving you an opportunity to take pictures of the falls without having a window in the way.

The gondola will take you down to a point on the other side of the falls from where you started, will turn around and then bring you back. The window is the opposite of the gondola as the falls on the way down, but on the same side on the way back so the best pictures are usually those taken on the way back. When we were across the falls turning around, we happened to see a mother goose who had just hatched a few chicks. That was a neat sight to see because the turn around area isn’t accessible to anything but the gondola so there were no people to bother the goose.

Once the gondola turns around you are actually below the falls looking up. As with the whole trip on the gondola, the view is amazing. If you turn around you can see the Spokane River winding away from the falls. As you get closer up to where the gondola started, you get a chance for even more breathtaking pictures of the falls and the city in the background.

This is a fun ride to take out of town guests or your kids on. It’s a beautiful view you can enjoy while you ride in the car together. I wouldn’t recommend this ride if you are afraid of heights or extremely claustrophobic though, as you are stuck in a bubble type car for 20 minutes over rushing water. I also would recommend avoiding this in temperatures above 80 degrees. I’ve been on it before in high heat and it is miserable due to the lack of ventilation caused by only one small window. So if it’s a mild temperature and you aren’t afraid of heights, I would definitely recommend this Riverfront Park Experience.