Driving tour reveals the best of Spokane

If you're headed to Spokane, newcomers as well as repeat visitors can enjoy a self-guided overview of the city on Spokane's historic "City Drive."

To drive the 32-mile route, follow the brown "City Drive" signs with the arrowhead. (It also helps to have more specific directions to drive the route easily; see the accompanying story.)

The City Drive, mapped out 61 years ago by city groups to showcase Spokane, will take you past many Spokane attractions and through a variety of residential areas and historic buildings. It meanders past parks and museums, golf courses and picnic areas, and is a great way for visitors or newcomers to get a taste of Spokane.

Children will enjoy spotting the next City Drive sign — there are more than 50 out there to help keep you on track.

City Drive begins at South Stevens and Sprague, then heads straight up into the heart of the South Hill toward Manito Park.

Follow the meandering route east, through the Rockwood neighborhood, before heading south all the way up to High Drive, and you've gone through some of the most spectacular residential areas in Spokane.

Coming off the South Hill, City Drive takes you through Browne's Addition, past both the Museum of Arts and Culture and its historic Tudor-style Campbell House, before you hit Sunset Boulevard and Finch Arboretum.

From there it goes way north to Riverside State Park and its Bowl and Pitcher, a scenic area gorge with a footbridge along the Spokane River, turning south to return to downtown, ending at the city's downtown Riverfront Park.

On the way, you pass more attractions than you can possibly manage in one day, so pick and choose a few stops in advance.

Sculpture Walk

For a good walk along the City Drive, stop to take a walk and enjoy the public art. You could spend more than an hour exploring Riverfront Park and its art.

The Spokane Arts Commission has published a map of the Spokane Sculpture Walk. (A word of caution: Numbers indicating Rotary Riverfront Fountain and the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial have been switched on the map.)

The sculpture walk begins on the Riverpoint Campus east of Division and ends at the Monroe Street Bridge, but most of the art pieces are along the Centennial Trail, a paved recreational trail that skirts the Spokane River. It's a diverse collection, ranging from the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial and a poem about Spokane Falls engraved in granite.

"New" City Drive

This is an updated version of the "old" City Drive that takes you to many of the same destinations, but also north to Cat Tales Zoological Park and out to the fruit growers at Green Bluff.

Beginning at the Spokane Regional Visitor and Information Center on West Main downtown, this 60-mile loop features 26 highlights, including the Gonzaga University campus with singer Bing Crosby's childhood home. Because this tour includes both GPS coordinates and street addresses, it's a great guide to separate destinations and includes a lot of information about individual landmarks.