The Columbia River flows directly through the Tri-Cities. The river offers endless recreation to Tri-Cities locals and visitors. Everything from kayaking, water skiing, jet skiing, swimming, fishing, sailing, wake boarding, inner tubing, wind surfing, parasailing, feet soaking, and now cruising.
Join the Portland Spirit as they bring the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler to the Tri-Cities area for a week of cruises starting Friday, April 15th - Sunday, April 24th. Riverboat dining experiences aboard the Portland Spirit vessels includes fresh Northwest cuisine prepared in their on board galleys, superb service, beautiful views of the Tri-Cities and live entertainment and narration. A lunch cruise, brunch cruise, dinner cruise, or a Snake River Locks cruise on their vessels is perfect for entertaining out-of-town guests or for celebrating your special occasions.
For more information and to schedule your cruise head to http://www.portlandspirit.com/ or call 800-224-3901.
Some golfers in the Northwest may take the winter months off to sit by the fire place with some hot cocoa, reading up on their latest golf magazine and figuring out how they are going to solve their slice come springtime. In the Tri-Cities of southeastern Washington that's not the case. Golfers come from all over the Northwest and get out on the course all winter long to work on their game. "The only day we are scheduled to be closed is on Christmas Day and even then a lot of members will sneak out and play," says Mike Lundgren, President and General Manager of Canyon Lakes Golf Course in Kennewick.
The Tri-Cities is known for 300 days of sunshine a year and those sunny days keep on shining in the wintertime.
"Golfers from western Washington are pleasantly surprised with the amount of roll they experience on the Tri-Cities dry fairways." "On the west side they often run into the problem of balls falling short because of damp air and soggy landing areas, typical this time of year. And of course they love our blue skies and sun shine," says Nick Rodriguez of Horn Rapids Golf Course in Richland.
"One of the best things about winter golf at Canyon Lakes is that we are generally open year ‘round and ‘play summer rules.' Everything on the golf course is off grass. There are no mats and no reason to "bump the ball," explains Lundgren.
As an added bonus, the Tri-Cities is located in the Heart of Washington Wine Country. There are over 160 wineries for you to visit within an hour drive. Tasting rooms at area wineries remain open throughout the winter months.
Drive times to the Tri-Cities are convenient. If conditions are ideal across mountain passes in Washington and Oregon plan on a three and a half hour jaunt from both Seattle and Portland and just over two hours from Spokane. Direct daily flights are also available from Seattle.
Golf packages including green fees, carts, and hotel accommodations are being offered right now on http://www.visittri-cities.com/, so don't let old man winter keep you inside. Get out on the course in the Tri-Cities.
Whether it's grape events, the delicous smell of wine grapes, the sight of lush wine grapes hanging off the wine, or the sweet taste of the wine grapes, the grapes rule the Tri-Cities in September. The grape harvest is upon us and it truly is one of the greatest times of year in our area.
If you have driven past a vineyard in the Tri-Cities recently or been around one during harvest time you know the incredile aroma that is present. The best way I can describe the scent is that it smells like the little grape Jolly Ranchers candies. When passing a vineyard I will make sure to roll down all the windows to get the full experience.
If you are into more than just smelling the grapes, this weekend (Sept 25 and 26) you can actually experience the wine grape harvest in the Tri-Cities through a couple great events. First of all, join us during the 24th annual Catch the Crush event. Many wineries in and around the Tri-Cities will give tours of their wineries and vineyards, explain the wine making process, and of course have wine to taste. Oh, lets not forget one of the more popular activities during this weekend, the grape stomps. This is where you can get down and dirty with the wine making process and stomp the grapes with your bare feet.
Some wineries do offer complimentary tasting and others charge a small fee, however, you can purchase a premiere Catch the Crush pass for $30 online at www.wineyakimavalley.org or for $35 at select wineries in the Tri-Cities area including Goose Ridge Estate Winery and Tapteil Vineyard Winery. As a premiere pass holder tasting fees will be waived and other discounts will be given at participating wineries.
This Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. you can also head over to Historic Downtown Kennewick for Grapefest 2010. Here you will also be able to stomp grapes, enjoy live music, BBQ, arts and crafts, and a fun run.
This is a great weekend for wine enthusiasts. Let the Tri-Cities be your central hub during this event, go to http://www.visittri-cities.com/ for hotel accommodations and for a list of local wineries.
The Tri-Cities region offers you the chance to visit many different wineries and tasting rooms within a short driving distance, but now you can explore where the whole wine making process starts, in the vineyard. Terra Blanca Winery and Estate Vineyard, located in the Red Mountain AVA, is offering guided vineyard walks through October.
Red Mountain lies within the rain shadow of the Cascade Range and only averages about eight inches of precipitation a year. The vineyards are watered through drip irrigation that comes from wells. Specifically, on the Terra Blanca grounds, temperatures are about five degrees warmer than the nearby valley floor. Warm summer days subside to cool desert nights, giving the grapes ample ripeness, while maintaining natural acid profiles. The soil of the Terra Blanca estate is composed of silty fine sands and fine, sandy silt loams with interbeds of carbonate-coated gravels, cobbles and boulders. Silt, sand and loam hold very little water and when combined with drip irrigation allow for very tight moisture control. Calcium carbonate also adds to the flavor and texture of the wines, imparting silky chalk and earthy notes.
Vineyard walks are Fridays at 3pm and Saturdays at noon and 3 pm. The cost is $15 a person and reservations are required. Contact Terra Blanca at (509)-588-6082 and find them at 34715 North Demoss Road in Benton City.
No, we aren't talking about the actual city of Kennewick here, but it was announced this month that a brand new Ferry named after ‘Kennewick' will be motoring through the sound in the future.
The Washington State Transportation Commission has been excepting proposals to name this new ferry, which is under construction now. The proposal, created by Kennewick city officials and greatly supported by the Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau, mentions that Kennewick refers to "grassy place" and that the community is known for mild winters and early nautical history when steamboats ran on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Not to mention that Kennewick is the home to both the 9,300-year-old Kennewick Man skeleton and the state fossil, the Columbia Mammoth.
Out of five other nominations the Transportation Commission voted 6 to 1 in favor of calling the new ferry ‘Kennewick'.
The City of Kennewick and the Visitor and Convention Bureau couldn't be more pleased about the Commission's decision and believes this will promote tourism throughout our region as passengers learn more about the name and where it comes from.
The new 64-car ferry, Kennewick, will start motoring through the Puget Sound in spring of 2012.
Stroll through the park and take a look at brilliant photography, jewelry, metal art, furniture, pottery, paintings, glass art, and much more. No need to worry about parking, a shuttle will be running to the park from nearby Fran Rish parking lot, the Federal Building, and Carmichael Middle School. Shuttle service is $1.25 per person; $3.50 for a family of three or more.
Art in the Park is the annual fundraiser for Allied Arts Association. The funds from this event support the operation of their gallery located at 89 Lee Boulevard and also scholarships for art students.
The Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau's Awesome Experience at the 2010 Wine Bloggers' Conference in Walla Walla
When I first heard about this conference I knew it would be a great opportunity to spread the word about the Tri-Cities and how we are the epicenter of Washington Wine Country. I was aware there was a huge community of wine enthusiasts and in this day and age, a lot of people who like to blog. However, I did not know there was a whole conference devoted to people blogging about wine. Therefore, when I registered for this event I knew I would be in for a learning experience.
I arrived to the third annual "Wine Bloggers' Conference" on a Friday morning at the Marcus Whitman Hotel in Walla Walla. Just outside the ballrooms, several different wineries from all over Washington and Oregon had tables setup and were showcasing their wines. I chatted with a few wineries that are located close to the Tri-Cities before I expanded my communication out into the blogging world. I met a few bloggers who were interested in visiting the Tri-Cities and seeing what we had to offer. After a few minutes of chatting I ran into "Wine Biz Radio". It's a group of bloggers who had a video camera setup and were running a live podcast from the conference. The gentleman running the camera said "You're next." Surprised, I stood there thinking about what I was going to say live over the internet. Once I sat down with the two hosts for the interview I explained that I was from the Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau. There was a moment of silence before one of the hosts asked "What's ....the Tri-Cities?" Alright, fresh meat ...I explained to them that we are an area about an hour west of Walla Walla and visitors and locals have access to over 160 different wineries within an hour drive. The hosts seemed quite pleased about the response and towards the end of the interview I gave out our website, http://www.visittri-cities.com/ , and invited the audience to visit.
Next we all converged on the ballroom for the welcoming ceremony. Just about everyone had out laptops with a glass of wine in hand. Never had I seen so many laptops and glasses of wine all in the same room. Like I said before, this was going to be a learning experience for me.
As the weekend went on I met great people and had insightful conversations with bloggers. One of the more memorable events at the conference was "Live Wine Blogging." The event is pretty much like speed dating, except with wine and again ...laptops. We all gathered in the ballroom once again at tables. A representative from each participating winery had five minutes with each group to showcase their wine and answer any questions bloggers had about it. The bloggers tasted and blogged about the wine live over the internet. It was quite the experience.
On Sunday night it was time to say goodbye to the bloggers. The Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau had the chance to co-host around 100 of the bloggers for dinner at Red Mountain's Terra Blanca Winery during a post conference tour. It was a beautiful evening with the temperature in the mid 80's and the sun showcased the hills in Benton City nicely. During the dinner we enjoyed great food and conversations with bloggers. This is where the ostrich comes in. Throughout the dinner, different plates of food were being passed around. A plate with meat and vegetables on skewers came around. It looked to me like short ribs or maybe chicken. Once I tasted it, it had a different taste, but still great. Later, Chef Frank Magana, owner of Picazo 7Seventeen Wine Bar and Restaurant in Prosser, came out to tell us about the food he prepared for us. I was curious to know exactly what kind of sauce made those skewers taste differently. He then explained to the group "I decided to go with ostrich for the skewers tonight." It was the first time I had tried ostrich and it was a fitting dinner to end the conference since the whole experience was brand new to me.
To wrap things up, the conference was a wonderful opportunity for Washington Wine Country. The blogosphere is still buzzing about beautiful Walla Walla and the Tri-Cities.
It's hot. The days are long. The kids are home for the Summer. Every day they say the same thing by about 2 p.m. "I'm bored". In the Tri-Cities we're very lucky. There are parks in almost every neighborhood and huge mature trees for shade to escape from the relentless rays of sunshine. Summer in the Tri-Cities is never dull or boring with so many parks to visit and so many activities to attend.
The Playground of Dreams, on the East end of the 400 acre Columbia Park, is a monument to the can-do spirit of the Tri-Cities and a testament to the value we place on the upcoming generations. Originally built in September of 1999 by mostly volunteers the park was an instant favorite of Tri-Citians. Near the playground now is an Aquatic Playground, family fishing pond and a stage for performances. In the park you'll find an Audubon Natural Area, barbeque facilities, an 18 hole frisbee golf course, rope course, several boat launches and during the summer the Dreamland J&S Express train.
In Richland's Howard Amon Park you can find another fixture of family fun. You'll find Sturgeon Cove Playground and its signature 16 foot metal sturgeon. There are a couple of rock wall structures totry your hand at climbing. Swings galore, a tot-lot and even a zip-line round out the fun for this huge structure and will be fun for people of all ages. Through the summer there is also a small wading pool for the little ones. Besides boat docks and miles of walking and riding paths you'll find gazebos, barbeque grills and tons of shade. When the kids are done with the playground you can inject a little education into their summer break byvisiting the CHREST Museum which is nearby.
Smaller, but just as fun, is the water feature of theKennewick Grange Park on Union. The kids will have fun turning on the water from the palm trees and other features and they'll have a play structure that has slides, monkey bars and other apparatus to keep their imaginations running. You can even add a little nature hike to their visit by strolling the demonstration gardens produced by Washington State University Master Gardeners. When the kids are running out of energy and need some more quiet activity the Mid-Columbia Library is ready to give them a chance to keep up with their summer reading.
Many neighborhoods across the area have smaller parks that welcome kids, teens, adults and a dog or two. You'll find enough to keep you busy and perhaps you won't have to hear the kids saying "I'm bored" even once this summer.
Washington State has endless experiences to offer visitors. Destinations across the state have created fantastic prizes to be given away during their current promotion, "Experience More Washington."
The promotion is running on www.ExperienceWA.com/more through Mid-April and offers visitors a variety of giveaways from weekend getaways to six-day vacations.
The Tri-Cities Visitor & Convention Bureau has teamed up with the Yakima Valley Visitors & Convention Bureau and Tourism Walla Walla to create an attractive getaway package through the Heart of Washington Wine Country. The Tri-Cities Visitor & Convention Bureau is offering winners of this prize giveaway a wine and chocolate basket upon arrival in the Tri-Cities, overnight accommodations along the Columbia River, a limousine tour through wine country - stopping at any of the 160 wineries located within an hour's drive, and dinner at Anthony's HomePort at Columbia Point.
Winning is simple! Log on to www.ExperienceWA.com/more, and after viewing the complete list of prizes and travel deals and discounts, be sure to register for your chance to win!
There are tons of opportunities for wildlife watching and birding in the Tri-Cities.
If you want to check out American White Pelicans, osprey, bald eagles, black-crowned night herons, great egrets, blue herons, red-tailed hawks, elk, mule deer, coyote, river otter, jack rabbits, tundra swans, and snow geese, you'll want to get to the Tri-Cities and check out our great wildlife viewing and birding areas including:
The Hanford Reach National Monument, Audubon Nature Trail, Badger Mountain Centennial Preserve, Bateman Island, Sacagawea Heritage Trail, Tapteal Greenway/Chamna Natural Preserve, and McNary National Wildlife Refuge. McNary National Wildlife Refuge just opened its new educational facility complete with a detailed taxidermy exhibit.
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