Mount Spokane State Park – state parks quest #76

Five things

#1. I really, really wanted to see a moose. The mountain was wreathed in dense fog, perfect weather for being surprised by a moose. I’m a sucker for those descriptions that say a particular charismatic megafauna is “often spotted” near a particular place. So when I read a piece about Mount Spokane State Park and it said, “moose,” I was hopeful. Very hopeful. Too hopeful. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that when you hope to see wildlife, and you keep a sharp eye and ear out, you absolutely will not see anything. As we hiked up to a cabin built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (State Parks rebuilt it in 1998, and it is a warming hut during winter months), the fog thickened. Every shrub looked like it could be harboring a moose or three. At every little sound, I whipped around and peered into the murk. I found recent moose tracks, and another ranger cleaning up the campground further up the trail said he’d seen a mom and juvenile hanging around the day before, but that was as close as I got.

#2. At the summit, a large stone field is the obvious source for the stone the CCC used to build the rustic 1933 Vista House, a chunky confection of boulders, wood, and Forest Service-green trim. A round window at one end is surrounded by a sunburst of stone, and windows on the first story sport Richardsonian Romanesque style keystones. Inside, a giant fireplace and chimney are blackened with the soot of many warming fires, and picnic tables line the walls. The weather began to clear as we headed down, and though we saw more people, the moose stayed hidden. Hiking from the CCC cabin to the campground with better visibility, I realized that the trail paralleled the summit road, which was a bit deflating. I’m sure there are moose on Mount Spokane, but they probably avoid areas where people are known to be.

#3. Local newspaper owner and real estate developer Francis H. Cook (1851-1920) started the first  recreational development on the mountain. Cook lost most of his money in the 1893 financial panic, but he owned farmland on the Little Spokane River and sold that to buy 160 acres on Mount Spokane in the early 1900s. He built the summit road and charged 50 cents to drive to the top and take in the glorious views. In 1920, Spokane County, through a trustee, purchased land on Mount Spokane to hold for recreation. Back then, the county was prohibited from purchasing land for recreational purposes (too wasteful, I guess, as compared to land purchased for … what? Wastewater treatment plants? Recreation was almost always seen as frivolous.) From 1920 to 1922, the Inland Automobile Association raised more money to buy more land on the mountain, and the Northern Pacific Railway and private owners made gifts of other parcels. In summer 1922, Mount Spokane was dedicated as a Spokane regional park and more people donated land to what was becoming an expansive recreational destination. Beginning in 1927, the land was transferred in incremental parcels to State Parks. Land has been added to the park every decade since, and it’s now one of the largest state parks in the system with nearly 13,000 acres. Combined with nearby Riverside State Park, Nine Mile Recreation Area, and the Spokane River Centennial State Park Trail, the lucky folks in Spokane and surroundings have almost one-fifth of all state park acreage within easy reach.

#4. Skiing began on the mountain in the 1930s when small private clubs began building some infrastructure, adding more acreage and banding together to form the independent Mount Spokane Association. In 1946, what is purported to be the first double chairlift in the world was built there. Today, the nonprofit Mount Spokane and Snowboard Park runs the ski area, now with six chair lifts and a variety of runs. 

#5. Mount Spokane is the site of two horrific air crashes. On September 10, 1962, a KC-135 plane, a unique aircraft used for mid-air refueling missions, crashed into Mount Kit Carson, one of Mount Spokane’s lower peaks. The worst aviation disaster in Spokane County history, the crash killed all 44 people aboard. Barely five years later, in January 1967, the same kind of plane crashed on its way to Fairchild Air Force Base, killing all nine people on board.

Fast Facts about Mount Spokane State Park

• 12,444-acre camping park, open year-round
• this park’s facilities include: picnic tables, fire pits, restrooms, wifi, sno-park, 100 miles of trails, reservable fire lookout
• on land: hiking, mountain biking, road biking, birding, wildlife viewing, camping, horseback riding, metal detecting, skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling
• campsites, cabins, yurts, group camps, vacation houses, kitchen and picnic shelters, marina spots, and retreat centers vary by park and are reservable online
• Discover Pass required, $10 daily or, for a very reasonable $30, purchase an annual pass
• park brochure
• park map

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Land Acknowledgment

Mount Spokane State Park occupies the traditional and unceded lands of the Spokane Indian Tribe, Kalispel Tribe of Indians, and Ktunaxa Nation, who have lived and travelled here since time immemorial. 

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