Blessing in Disguise Music Festival: Stay Easy & Explore More in Spokane Valley

Summer in the Inland Northwest hits a high note this July, when the first-ever Blessing in Disguise Music Festival brings 20 artists, four stages and one full day of festival energy to ONE Spokane Stadium and The Podium on Saturday, July 11. But the smartest festival strategy starts before the first set. Just 15 minutes from the stadium, Spokane Valley gives festival goers an easy way to turn one concert day into a full Pacific Northwest weekend, with free hotel parking, quick I-90 access, wide-open scenery and room to recharge away from the downtown rush. It’s the kind of stay that keeps the fun close and the stress far away.

THE FESTIVAL: BLESSING IN DISGUISE

Blessing in Disguise is built for a big summer Saturday. Headlined by Macklemore and AJR, the festival brings a cross-generational lineup to downtown Spokane for an energetic day of stage-hopping.

Macklemore needs little introduction in the Pacific Northwest. The Grammy Award-winning Seattle native, who took home Best New Artist, Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap Performance, is bringing his energy back to the region he’s always called home. His catalog of crowd-ready anthems is made for festival fields and singing along with your whole crew.

AJR brings a different, but equally energetic experience. The multi-platinum brother trio has generated billions of streams and racked up several platinum hits. Their live show is part pop concert, part theatrical production, making it upbeat and easy to enjoy across ages.

The lineup continues with AWOLNATION, Allen Stone, Mother Mother, Everclear, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Ayron Jones, Stephen Day and more. General admission tickets start at $95, with VIP packages offering elevated extras like sky deck views and pre-show dinner. For night owls, a late-night DJ set featuring Hippie Sabotage is available as an add-on.

THE WEEKEND: EXPERIENCES WORTH THE EXTRA NIGHT (OR TWO)

The festival is on Saturday. But the real value of Spokane Valley as your home base is everything else. Sitting squarely on I-90 between downtown Spokane to the west and Coeur d’Alene to the east, Spokane Valley turns a one-day music trip into a full Pacific Northwest weekend. Here’s how to build it.

SPOKANE VALLEY, WA

MICA MOON ZIP TOURS

Start the weekend with something the whole family will be talking about long after the trip is over. Located in Liberty Lake, just 10 minutes from Spokane Valley hotels, Mica Moon Zip Tours is consistently rated the #1 thing to do in the Spokane region. The three-hour guided canopy tour covers nine zip lines, including one of the longest in the country at over 3,500 feet, plus an ATV ride and skybridge over 290 acres of Pacific Northwest forest. Kids as young as 7 are welcome on the zip tour, and the aerial trekking park accepts kids from age 6, so there’s no one sitting this one out.

CENTENNIAL TRAIL & APPLEWAY TRAIL

If you’d rather start Saturday morning with something more low-key before festival hours, Spokane Valley has the trails to match. The 5.8-mile Appleway Trail cuts right through the heart of the Valley along a converted rail corridor, paved, flat, family-accessible, and lined with water stations and benches. It connects to the Centennial Trail, a 40-mile river trail spanning Washington and Idaho, used by nearly 2 million people annually. Rent bikes, lace up your sneakers, or just stroll. It’s free, it’s beautiful, and it’s an easy morning activity that sets the right tone for a big day.

MIRABEAU POINT PARK

For a relaxed morning stop, Mirabeau Point Park is a Spokane Valley gem. The Discovery Playground is a fully accessible, multi-sensory play space with a summer splash pad, plus climbing structures, a fossil maze, sand play, and wide-open green space. There’s no admission fee, making it one of the easiest and most budget-friendly additions to any family itinerary.

SPOKANE, WA

If you’re making a morning run into downtown Spokane before the festival, or staging a recovery excursion the next day, Riverfront Park is the anchor of the city’s outdoor experience. At 100 acres along the Spokane River, the park delivers serious family variety across a compact, walkable footprint. Here are five highlights to check out:

• Numerica SkyRide: A 15-minute enclosed gondola ride that drops 200 feet over the Spokane River and past the Spokane Falls, home to the largest urban waterfall in the country, delivering camera-ready, up-close views you simply can’t get from the riverbank.
• Clock Tower: Standing at the heart of the park, the Great Northern Clock Tower is a piece of living history, built in 1902 as part of what was considered the finest railroad depot west of Chicago, then saved from demolition to become Riverfront Park’s most iconic landmark. With four clock faces each measuring nine feet across, it’s also the largest clock tower in the West. It makes for a natural meeting point, a great photo stop, and a conversation starter for curious kids.
• Pavilion: Originally built as the U.S. Federal Pavilion for Expo ’74 and gifted to the Spokane region by the federal government, the Gesa Pavilion is now a beloved community gathering space and outdoor concert venue right in the heart of the park. In the summer months, it hosts a rotating lineup of events, from food truck series to live music, making it worth a quick check of the calendar before you visit.
• Looff Carrousel: Built in 1909 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this hand-carved wooden carousel is one of America’s most beautiful and well-preserved. It’s charming for younger kids and genuinely historic for everyone else, and on select summer days, you can catch Storytime at the Carrousel for a uniquely local experience.
• Pedestrian Bridges: The park’s pedestrian bridges over the Spokane River weave all of these attractions together through easy, scenic walks with the rushing water below you. They also connect the park directly to the Centennial Trail, so if the group still has energy, it’s a natural on-ramp to more of the river corridor

COEUR D’ALENE, ID

Coeur d’Alene is only 30 minutes east of Spokane Valley on I-90, and for a family weekend, it more than earns the drive. The open PNW landscape along the way is a reminder of exactly why people love this corner of the country.

LAKE COEUR D’ALENE CRUISE

Departing from downtown Coeur d’Alene’s Independence Point, Lake Coeur d’Alene Cruises runs daily scenic cruises on one of the most beautiful lakes in the American Northwest. The climate-controlled, two-deck boats make this an easy, comfortable experience for the whole family, no gear required. Whether you book a morning cruise or an afternoon excursion, it’s a relaxed and genuinely memorable way to experience the lake.

TUBBS HILL

Right in the heart of downtown Coeur d’Alene, Tubbs Hill is a 165-acre natural park peninsula bordered on three sides by Lake Coeur d’Alene. The Main Loop Trail is a 2-mile round-trip hike through ponderosa pine and Douglas fir, opening to panoramic lake views. Pair the hike with a stop at adjacent McEuen Park for playground time and a splash pad.

SILVERWOOD THEME PARK

About an hour north of Spokane Valley, and 30 minutes north of Coeur d’Alene, Silverwood Theme Park is the largest theme and water park in the Pacific Northwest. With more than 70 rides, shows, and attractions across 413 acres, including seven roller coasters, live entertainment, and the 25-acre Boulder Beach Water Park with the longest dueling water coaster in the United States, Silverwood is legitimately worth a full day. For families with early teens, this is the marquee experience that can anchor Friday or make Sunday impossible to leave early. Book tickets online in advance to save on gate pricing.

BOOK YOUR STAY IN SPOKANE VALLEY

Spokane Valley puts everything within reach and keeps the weekend feeling easy. Park your car for free at your hotel, hop on I-90, and ride-share directly to ONE Spokane Stadium without fighting for downtown parking. Then take the time to relax and explore after the encore. The Valley’s central location between Spokane and Coeur d’Alene means every day of your trip writes itself, with open skies, PNW scenery, and hotel options that stretch your summer budget further.

Your Blessing in Disguise starts with where you stay. Book your Spokane Valley hotel today.