Spokane River – Plant’s Ferry Park
Actually, this dive site is
just west of the park. It’s on Upriver drive between Aragonne and Sullivan, and
we’ll park at the Centennial Trail parking lot (you’ll know you’re there if
you see the bathrooms and the trail bridge crossing the river). It’s a bit of a hump
down a dirt path to the dive site, but can be well worth it.
At this spot in the river,
the aquifer enters, so the water is often clear and cold and as blue as Hawaii. There are
suckers, crawfish, and lots of beautiful, wild rainbow trout. Last year there was a HUGH
brown trout, but some kid finally caught it. If the water’s up, the current can be
strong, but by mid July we shouldn’t have any problems. The water is very shallow,
with some deep holes around the exposed boulders. The deepest spot is just 25’
This is a picture of the
spot from the opposite side during spring run off. The rocks on the other side is where we
enter. But don’t worry. By August it’s slow and easy.
One evening, I swam
upstream toward the shallow drop-off until I had to pull myself along the bottom to make
headway against the current. When I reached the white water at 5’ depth, I was
holding onto a boulder with the current flipping me back like a flag in the wind. I stayed
there watching a dozen large trout feeding on nymphs, darting up into the white water for
about 10 minutes, then let go, turned around and let the flow wash me back into the pools.
Very fun! . In my opinion, this is the most beautiful place to dive in the area.