Walla Walla

Walla Walla is a long way from any big cities - local wags like to say "it's not the end of the Earth, but you can see it from here." But this town of 33,000 people has a lot of history and culture, and has in recent years become a center of high quality wine production. This walk takes in the buildings and activities in the revitalized old downtown, goes through the prestigious Whitman College, and includes a plethora of beautiful old houses and civic buildings. The walk is 4.4 miles long, but is flat.

The walk starts at the Marcus Whitman Hotel. This Walla Walla landmark opened for business in 1927, after community leaders raised 1/3 of the $450,000 construction cost - a downtown "first class" hotel was seen as an essential attribute of any thriving community. After a period of decline the hotel was spruced up starting about 15 years ago and is now an elegant place to stay once again. The lobby and other first floor sitting rooms remain designed in elegant 1920's style. If you stay overnight you will eat a sumptuous breakfast buffet in the morning. The hotel is named after the first European-American in the area, a missionary who built a mission in Walla Walla and was, in 1847, killed by Native Americans after he was blamed for the deaths of half the local Cayuse tribe in a measles epidemic.

Go out the front door of the Marcus Whitman Hotel on 2nd Avenue and turn left. On the next block to the right is the United States Post Office, constructed in 1914, and on the National Register of Historic Places. Unlike the beautiful old post offices in many cities that have been replaced with ugly modern structures, this building remains the main post office for the community.

Continue on 2nd Street another block to Oak Street. Ahead on the right is the 1914 Northern Pacific Railroad Depot, now repurposed as a restaurant. In the parking lot is this old train car, also a restaurant. The depot is on the National Register of Historic Places. Rail passenger service to Walla Walla ended in the 1950's.

Turn right on Oak Street, after one short block turn right again onto Colville Street, and then after one more block turn left onto Cherry Street. At the corner of Colville and Cherry, on the right, is the Kirkman House Museum. The museum is located in this 1880 historic mansion, constructed by Walla Walla farmer and rancher William Kirkman. It was built in an Italianate Victorian style, and is yet another Walla Walla site on the National Register of Historic Places.


Continue on Cherry Street another block, and to the left is the Norman Francis Butler House, constructed in 1882 in a Queen Anne architectural style. No surprise - it is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

At Palouse Street turn right and proceed three blocks to Main Street. Before you cross Rose Street, on your left is the Walla Walla Elks Lodge. The building itself is undistinguished, but the giant Elk on top of it is certainly unusual. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is one of the largest "fraternal" organizations in the U.S., although like all such organizations, its membership has plummeted nationally in recent decades, from 1.6 million in 1976 to 850,000 today.

Continue one more block on Palouse Street to Main Street. At this five-way intersection, take a 45 degree left turn onto Boyer Avenue. You will be heading into the Whitman College campus. This prestigious private liberal arts college converted from a seminary to a more general educational establishment in 1882. It has approximately 1,500 undergraduate students on its 117-acre campus. After crossing Park Street the Hunter Conservatory of Music, located in this attractive brick building, will be on your right. The building was constructed in 1910.






Continuing on Boyer Avenue, Memorial Hall will be on your left. The chief administration building for Whitman College was constructed in 1899, with a classic campanile/clock tower adorning its top.

Continuing along Boyer, on the right side of the street is one of several interesting sculptures on the Whitman campus. This colorful work is entitled "Carnival," and was carved by artist Jim Dine in 1997 from a single tree. It is popularly known by campus denizens as "Venus," due to its vague resemblance to the famous Venus de Milo statue in Paris' Louvre Museum. If you are interested in other sculptures on the Whitman campus, this guide provides a walking tour and descriptions.

If you are on the south side of Boyer, cross to the north side, and if you are on the north side, stay there. Take the trail veering away from Boyer along the north side of Campus Creek. This gently flowing stream provides benches for sitting and enjoying the garden-like landscape.









Eventually you will skirt the side of the admissions building, located in what was originally the President's house. Behind this building is "Treaty Rock," placed in this location in 1955 to commemorate the treaty signed in 1855 between five area tribes and the U.S. government.

Continue on the path as it skirts the edge of the large college quadrangle to the left. Eventually you will reach the edge of campus on Stanton Street. Continue straight ahead on University Street one block until you reach what appears to be a glorified alleyway, but which is actually Brookside Street to the right. Take this street and enjoy the quiet residential atmosphere and the attractive pre-World War II homes on either side of the street.

Brookside Street ends at Boyer Avenue. You will turn left, but to the right is the imposing Washington State Odd Fellows Home. This retirement community is operated by a non-profit associated with the Odd Fellows fraternal organization. The main building was constructed in 1925, with modern senior apartments on the periphery.

Continuing on Boyer, the next intersection is at Clinton Street. To the left is this house at 571 Boyer, a 1909 neoclassical architectural gem.


To the right is this five-story apartment building, the Clinton Court apartments. This building was constructed in 1922, and although Yelp indicates that it is closed, the building looks open and occupied from the outside. Continue on Boyer another long block to Division Street, then turn right. On your left is Wildwood Park, which has a restroom should you need it. Continue on Division for three blocks, crossing Mill Creek, until you get to Alder Street.

On your left once you cross Alder is Pioneer Park. Turn left on Alder and follow the park frontage to Sassayama Drive, which enters into the park. Pioneer Park was completed in 1906. At the end of Sassayama, in the middle of the park, and to the left is this playful covered wagon sculpture. Straight ahead is a gazebo-style bandstand at the park's center.

Continue straight, past the bandstand, and then veer to the right to head for the park's southwest corner. Near the edge of the park is this large aviary, with lots of different birds to watch. At the corner of the park is a small rose garden.

Exit Pioneer Park at the intersection of Division and Whitman Streets and proceed west on Whitman. Across the street from the park at 835 Whitman is this attractive Victorian-style home, built in 1904.

Continue three blocks on Whitman Street, past some attractive early 20th century residences. At Howard Street, on your right, is Sharpstein Elementary School. This school was constructed in 1898, making it the oldest continuously operating elementary school in Washington State. Fortunately the school authorities in Walla Walla did not follow the easy path of demolition taken by other school districts around the country with beautiful old school buildings. Instead the building was remodeled to meet modern health and safety codes for schools.

Continue on Whitman two more blocks to Catherine Street. At the corner of Whitman and Palouse, to the right, is this farmhouse-style home with a large wraparound porch built in 1905. At Catherine Street turn right, then right again onto Newell, and then left onto Palouse Street. Along all of these blocks, and on the next two blocks of Palouse Street, you will find a number of beautiful historic houses. Many of these homes are more thoroughly described on the "Historic Walla Walla Walking Tour, which is a pdf document that can be accessed by googling the above search term.

After crossing Poplar Street Walla Walla's Carnegie Library, built in 1905, is located on the right side of Palouse Street. It is now the Carnegie Art Center. Over 1,600 of these libraries were built in the United States, funded by the philanthropy of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. It's a reminder of the good that can eventually come from massive accumulations of private wealth, a truth that is being proven today by the Gates Foundation.

At Alder Street, after the Carnegie Library, turn left, but before doing so note the two imposing, historic churches on the northeast and northwest corners of Palouse and Alder. On the left is the Covenant Presbyterian Church, constructed in 1912. On the right is the First Congregational Church with its imposing spire, built in 1931. In front of the Presbyterian Church, along Alder Street, is the small Volunteer Park, dedicated in 1904, with a statue commemorating soldiers of the Spanish-American War.

Continue on Alder Street one block, then turn right onto Spokane Street. You are now entering the Central Walla Walla business district. On the right is the Charles Smith Winery Tasting Room, only one of many in downtown Walla Walla, featuring popular "black label" wines such as Velvet Devil merlot and Boom Boom syrah. After one block on Spokane Street, turn left onto Main Street. On the first block, on your left, is Heritage Square, a small park area that seems to be a congregation spot for homeless persons at times. On the next block, past Colville Street, is the former Liberty Theater, built in 1917, and now incorporated into a Macy's department store.

Continue along Walla Walla's main street, one of the finest small town main streets on the West Coast. The retail stores mix both touristy places such as wine tasting rooms along with stores that serve more general local retail needs. This sidewalk clock, located between First and Second Avenues, on the left side of the street, dates from 1910.

Main Street showcases a number of historic structures, more thoroughly described in the online "Historic Walla Walla Walking Tour" pdf document mentioned above. This building, on the left between Fourth and Fifth Avenues, is the Dacres Hotel, built in 1899.

Continue on Main Street to Fifth Avenue, then turn right. But before doing so, take a look at the monumental Walla Walla County Courthouse, on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1916. To its right is the former County Jail, built in 1906. In front of the courthouse is a statue of Christopher Columbus donated by Walla Walla's Italian-American community.

Once on Fifth Avenue continue two blocks to Sumach Street. After crossing Rose Street (the first block) you will see this concrete channel for Mill Creek, which you have already crossed twice on the walk. Beyond is a sign of prosperity for downtown Walla Walla - new townhomes between Sumach Street and the creek. The Vue Twenty-Two development was completed in 2008. A couple of the homes are listed on VRBO in an attempt to attract affluent wine country visitors.

Go one block on Sumach Street and then turn left onto Fourth Avenue. On your right is a large institutional building which houses a large U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office. After one block on Fourth turn right on Cherry, and then right again on Third Avenue. On your left is the historic Whitehouse-Crawford building constructed in 1904 as a woodworking mill but transformed in 2000 for occupancy by the Seven Hills Winery. The Whitehouse-Crawford restaurant and the winery tasting room are open to the public.

After one block on Third Avenue turn right on Rose Street. On the right at the corner of Third and Rose is the Walla Walla City Hall, built in 1908 and a grand civic building in its own right. At Second and Rose you will return to the Marcus Whitman Hotel, the start of the walk.

Juanita Bay - Kirkland

Yes, there is a state to the north of Oregon that is also in the "Pacific Northwest." And yes, this blog hasn't featured any walks in this state - but that is about to change. For our first walk in Washington we go to an area that lives up to the state nickname, the "Evergreen State." Kirkland is on the east shore of Lake Washington, about 15 miles northeast of Seattle, and Juanita Bay is an especially scenic area of Kirkland, located north of the city's downtown. This walk includes interesting natural areas, a brand new urban neighborhood, a stroll on a walkway out onto the waters of Lake Washington, and beautiful views of the lake and surrounding terrain. There is even a glimpse of downtown Seattle's skyscrapers on a clear day. The walk is 3.8 miles long and includes one steep hill, but the views and sights from the top are worth every step.

This walk starts at the corner of 97th Avenue NE and Juanita Bay Drive. Look for this modest restaurant, Spud Fish and Chips, which has been a local fixture since 1969. The namesake fare is reportedly very good.

From Spud, cross Juanita Drive to the south side of the street and head to the left. You will walk by the land side of a condo development and an office building that both front on Lake Washington. At the corner of Juanita and 98th Avenue NE is a Michael's Craft store. Turn right at the intersection. Soon, the heavily trafficked street veers to the left and straight ahead is the "old road," now a pathway along Lake Washington. Go straight onto the pathway.

The pathway was, until the 1970's a roadway for motor vehicles known as the Juanita Bay Bridge. It was replaced by the new roadway veering inland. The bridge provides views of wetland areas on both sides. Before 1916 these wetlands were under water - in 1916 the Montlake Cut, providing a water connection between the other side of Lake Washington and Lake Union to the west in Seattle was opened, and Lake Washington's water level was lowered by nine feet. Pass underneath this archway and continue back onto dry land.

Where the walkway is reunited with its replacement road take the trail to the right into Juanita Bay Park. From 1932 to 1975 this park was a nine-hole golf course. Follow the trail into the park and then take one or both of the pathways to the right, which head back toward the bay. Both pathways turn into wood bridges which cross over wetlands to viewing points of Juanita Bay.

The viewing platforms provide views of Juanita Bay and the landscape to the north, but also provide excellent opportunities for viewing wildlife in the park. Among the species on display are painted turtles, sunning themselves on exposed logs.

After taking in the scenery, retrace your steps back through the park and then back across the old Juanita Bridge roadway. On a clear day the views to the west include the tops of skyscrapers in downtown Seattle. You can also see remnants of piers used by Lake Washington ferries in the early 20th century among the lily pads.

Continue along the old roadway to Juanita Drive, where you will cross the street at the signalized intersection. On the other side of the street is the entrance to Juanita Village. This 11.5 acre mixed use development was begun in 2002, replacing an old strip commercial center on the site. After recent construction activity it is now fully built out with apartments and a variety of shops and restaurants on the ground floor of all the buildings.

Continue north 98th Ave. NE past a new Walgreens on your left. At 117th Lane turn left, and you will be walking between two commercial buildings with head-in parking along the street. After one block, at the end of this lane, turn right and proceed on a lane into the heart of Juanita Village. At the end of this lane turn left, and then exit Juanita Village by taking a right onto 97th Avenue NE. The entire site contains 580 apartments and 56,000 square feet of retail space, along with outdoor seating areas and attractive landscaping. Parking is generally underneath the buildings, and, as should be to no one's surprise in a suburban location, has become a problem for employees and visitors. It will take a lot longer than a few years for people to start regularly visiting or commuting to places like Juanita Village by public transit.

Proceed north on 97th Avenue NE to NE 120th St., and then take a left turn. NE 120th Street is flanked on both sides by houses and the Corbella at Juanita Bay apartment complex. It has no sidewalks and has no good place to walk along the side of the road in several places, so walk carefully along this stretch of road. Fortunately there isn't much traffic.

Eventually you will cross 93rd Avenue NE and NE 120th Street will proceed up a steep hill. While there are no sidewalks on this portion of the roadway either, traffic drops to very low levels, and the cars are going very slowly up and down the hilly road. The houses become more and more interesting as you head up the hill. At some point NE 120th becomes NE 117th St., although the roadway is continuous. This home at the intersection of NW 117th` and 90th Avenue NE has spectacular views, but definitely needs some cosmetic repairs.

As you climb up the hill you will begin to see panoramic views of Juanita Bay and Lake Washington to your right. Homes along this street are oriented to take in these views as well. Here are two newly-constructed homes along the street.

Then the road starts going back down the hill, and you will reach a switchback, which after the turn becomes NW 116th Street. You will get more panoramic views of Juanita Bay and Lake Washington as you descend the hill. Eventually NW 116th St. empties onto busy Juanita Drive. Continue left on Juanita back to toward Juanita Beach.

Cross Juanita Drive at 93rd Avenue NE, and take the trail heading into Juanita Beach Park that starts on the other side of the street. It winds through some trees and across a creek, with benches along the route.

After crossing the creek the trail empties into the main part of Juanita Beach Park. The highlight of the park is a walkway out onto Lake Washington that encloses a swimming area along the beach. Take the walkway and go out onto the lake. On a clear day you will see views to downtown Seattle along with closer views of the Lake Washington shoreline and hills. After traversing the walkway to the other side of the park you will be back at the starting point for this walk.

Bend - the Old Mill District

This 1.7 mile walk goes along both sides of the Deschutes River. It starts at Bend's Old Mill District and goes north to Columbia Park, returning on the opposite of the river to the starting point. This walk is in the urban area of the City of Bend, but also includes some natural areas, and the scenic beauty of the river shines throughout. The walk is on level terrain. This walk is part of a longer 6-mile walk along the river described very well here.

This walk begins at the Old Mill District. There is plenty of parking available in the shopping center. This upscale commercial district was, as you can probably guess from the name, once a paper mill. Actually, originally two paper mills - the Shevlin-Hixon Mill and the Brooks-Scanlon Mill. Activity began on this site in 1916, soon after the Great Northern Railroad reached town and Bend began its boom years processing pine logs from the once abundant forests in the vicinity. By 1983 the mills were closed, and after a decade of decay the site was reclaimed for its current use. The three large smokestacks of the most prominent of the old mill buildings now adorn an REI store. No better symbol of Bend's transformation from mill town to outdoor recreation hub can be found.

Go to the riverfront walkway to the left of the shopping areas. The rest of the walk follows the banks of the Deschutes River, with a few detours onto paralleling streets. If the weather is decent there is a good chance you will see canoers, kayakers, rafters, inner tube floaters, and others enjoying the cold waters.

Continue north on the trail. You will see this warning sign indicating that you are entering private property and that permission to entry can be revoked at any time. Some lawyer was undoubtedly paid a lot of money to advise the landowner to put up these signs, ensuring that the public did not ever acquire what is known as a "prescriptive easement" to use the pathway. But clearly the landowner has no thoughts of actually cutting off access - it is undoubtedly good for business - or would be very bad for business, if the property owner became known around Bend as the person who cut the riverfront trail in two!

Continuing on the riverfront trail, you will come to the Colorado Street Bridge over the Deschutes, and, immediately downstream, Colorado Dam. Unless the river is high you can actually go under the Colorado Street bridge adjacent to the river - otherwise go up to the street crossing to the right. Colorado Dam was constructed in 1915 to create a pool for the Shevlin-Hixon and Brooks-Scanlon mills upstream, and is actually owned by the owner of the Old Mill Shopping Center.

Once beyond the dam continue north along the river. As you near the entrance to Miller's Landing park you will see this osprey nest along the river.

Continue through Miller's Landing Park, which was recently acquired for use as a riverfront recreation area. At the north end of the park, where the trail ends, continue straight ahead on Riverfront Street. To your right at the north end of the park is this very shabby and very interesting old garage-like structure.

Go one block north on Riverfront Street until you see this pathway to the left. Going between houses on either side, you will come to a pedestrian bridge over the Deschutes River.

The bridge goes to Columbia Park on the west bank. The views from the bridge, both upstream and downstream, are bucolic and inviting.

After crossing the river follow the trail up the hill to Columbia Park, which includes a nice children's play area. Whenever there is as fork in the trail, go to the left. You will cross the park and exit on its south side onto Allen Road. Go left on Allen.

Walk for two blocks along Allen Road. At that point you will see a trail to the left leading back to the river. Take the trail, and you will come to this stairway, with a great view of the river and the opposite bank.

Go down the stairway and walk through the park. For part of the walk you can either use the sidewalk on Shevlin Hixon Drive or walk on the grass along the river. If you've brought a dog and a ball along (and your dog is a good swimmer) you have some fun like these folks.

Continue along McKay Park. Soon you will be viewing the Colorado Dam again from the opposite shore. The dam is currently being retrofitted for easier passage by both recreational users (who must portage around it now) and fish. The project, which sounds quite complex, is described in more detail here.

After viewing Colorado Dam head along the path away from the river back to Shevlin-Hixon Drive and turn left. go under the Colorado Avenue overpass and continue on the sidewalk. At Simpson Avenue keep left and continue on Shevlin-Hixon. Soon on your left you will see the Les Schwab Amphitheater. This ten-year old venue features summer outdoor concerts and other events, in a great setting along the Deschutes.

With the amphitheater on your left you will eventually get to this left turn onto a pathway along the back side of the concert venue. Follow the path, which will take you back to the Deschutes River. Where the path meets the river turn right and continue along the Deschutes.

When you come to the pedestrian bridge turn left and head over the bridge back to the Old Mill District shopping area. This bridge is part of the extensive redevelopment of this area from its previous use as a lumber mill, which also required extensive remediation of "brownfields," lands polluted by prior industrial activity. The flags along this bridge add a splash of color and a suitable end to this scenic walk.