This fall’s road trip and getaways guide proves some of the best adventures are within a tank of gas.
Cover photo courtesy of Swan Mountain Outfitters and Discover Kalispell
Gas prices have a way of making a place feel bigger than it is. Every summer, the cost of filling up creeps into road trip planning, and every summer, Spokane’s location quietly makes the case for staying close to home. We sit within a few hours of the Selkirks, Cabinets, Cascades and vast mountain wilderness in Western Montana, with cultural hubs like Sandpoint, Kalispell and Missoula to the east, Bellingham to the west, and Nelson, BC, and the Kootenays just across the border. That’s a lot of ground to cover without ever needing a plane ticket or endless tanks of gas.
Fall makes the case even stronger. The smoke that hangs over late summer here tends to clear out by September, temperatures drop into that sweet spot where a jacket is optional by afternoon, and the crowds that pack trailheads, restaurants, hotels and campgrounds in July thin out considerably. It’s the season locals wait for, when the region’s best drives, rivers and singletrack open back up without the elbow-to-elbow feel.
This year’s guide leans into that spirit, with stories that range from fossil digging near Republic to soaking at hot springs and paddling across the BC border, scenic color drives and old mining towns, disc golf detours, history lessons in towns built on mining, high-country hikes, rail-trail rides and fall fishing on rivers running low and clear. Some can be day trips, and others deserve a weekend or longer, but none require more than a few hours behind the wheel.
Consider visiting someplace new this fall, and slow down and savor what’s arguably the best season here in the Northwest. Your best fall trip ever is out there waiting for you to discover it.
