Lake Lenore Caves in the Coulee Corridor

Coulee Corridor - About 100 miles east of Spokane off Highway 2. Of the several interesting features to be found in this area, the Lake Lenore Caves is a point of interest that is an activity that will stretch the legs and the mind. A short but strenuous hike from the parking area off Highway 17 south of Highway 2 about 8 miles, (which is well marked and features a "comfort station" and a information kiosk) takes you and your kids up the face of the coulee to a bench where several rock shelters can be observed. Most of the evidence of human habitation has been erased by time, although you can still see the smoke stains on the overhangs. My kids enjoy this hike annually, and take their friends along. I recommend springtime, after the snow and ice is gone (and that is a good three weeks before Spokane) but before the rattlesnakes*** come out. The wildflowers are in bloom at that time. Or in the fall, before snowfall. I have never encountered a rattlesnake there, but a warning is posted, and it is a possibility. Summers in this area are HOT! So if you go in the summertime, try to do this one in the early morning and takewater with you.

Good Clean Fun at Soap Lake

With a mineral content similar to the famed spa at Baden-Baden, Germany, Soap Lake has long attracted health-seeking visitors from all over the world. A gathering point for the Columbia Plateau tribes before white settlers came to Washington, the Native Americans called it Smokiam, or "Healing Waters." After World War I, the victims of mustard gas attacks developed a disease called Buerger's Disease, and Soap Lake water was the only known cure. A sanitarium was built to treat the afflicted soldiers.

The water is too alkaline to support piscine life, so leave your fishing pole in the car, lest you make a spectacle of yourself. (I have friends that "go fishing" there just to be funny). Brine shrimp and a few water bugs inhabit the water. Some of the locals will attempt to intrigue you with tales of a lake monster, but they are just pulling your leg.

Soap Lake boasts several gradually sloping beaches that make it very safe for little ones to play in the lake. And, because the water is so dense, it is virtually impossible to sink. You can float around all day with your head, hands and feet sticking out of the water (try that in normal water and you sink like a stone). When you come out, the minerals from the lake will dry in white water spots on your skin. There are showers on the developed beaches where you can rinse off if you like.

Another interesting thing about Soap Lake is: when the wind blows, the wave action on the shore actually whips up suds (see photo)! Soap Lake is at the south end of the Coulee Corridor at the junction of Highway 17 and Highway 28.