Most people think of the Pacific Northwest as Seattle under gray skies, Portland coffee shops, expensive homes and traffic backed up toward the mountains.
There is much more to the region than its two biggest cities.
Across Washington and Oregon are towns built along rivers, surrounded by mountains and filled with old storefronts that have survived decades of change. Life can be slower in these places, but it is not always easier. Winters are long, jobs can be harder to find and several of these towns are more expensive than they used to be.
Even so, they still offer good food, local history and quick access to the outdoors without the traffic and cost of Seattle or Portland.
Spokane is large enough to feel like a city. Hood River and Walla Walla are already well known in the region. The others receive far less attention. All ten are worth visiting, and a few might make you wonder what it would be like to stay.
Spokane grew up around its river. It runs through downtown before dropping over Spokane Falls, and in Riverfront Park you can often hear the water before you see it.
The park covers land once crowded with rail yards and was rebuilt for Expo ’74. Its trails and bridges now connect much of downtown. Walk along the falls, spend a few hours at Manito Park, then return for the old brick buildings, shops and restaurants near the river. Mount Spokane, hiking trails and several lakes are easy day trips. Winters are cold and snowy, but Spokane gets more sunshine and far less traffic than Seattle while still feeling like a proper city.
Salem is easy to overlook between Portland and Eugene, but Oregon’s capital is more than a collection of government buildings.
The city has been the state capital since 1859, and its older neighborhoods, civic buildings and downtown streets still reflect that past. The Willamette Heritage Center preserves several buildings from the region’s early agricultural and industrial years, including the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill, built in 1896.
Walk through downtown and the capitol grounds, then drive into the Willamette Valley for vineyards, farm stands and quiet country roads. Portland, the Oregon coast and the Cascades are all close enough for a day trip.
Walla Walla is known for wine now, but farming shaped the town first. Wheat fields surround it, and many families in the area have worked those fields for generations. The wine boom brought money and visitors downtown, filling old storefronts with tasting rooms, restaurants and hotels.
You can walk between shops, cafés and tasting rooms, then drive a few miles into the hills to visit the vineyards. With more than 130 wineries in the region, Walla Walla is no longer undiscovered, and weekends can get busy. Visit during the week or outside peak season, when reservations are easier and dinner can stretch late over a bottle made nearby.
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