A dog paddle down the Spokane River

How great could a river be that runs right through the heart of the second largest city in the state? But it turns out the Spokane River is a terrific paddle.

All four of us settled right into the poetry of the river: Molly and Pete, our intrepid Labradors; my husband, Zack, and me.

As we eased downriver, ospreys racketed and whirled over their nests of sticks high in the ponderosa pines on the banks. A heron gulped fish in the shallows.

The water was clear, with the sun beaming a rippling pattern on the river rocks in the bottle-green depths below. Fat fish, a foot long easily, shot past our bow.

It was quiet enough to hear the song of the water on the bow. And the view ahead was nothing but this pretty river, surely one of the best-kept recreational secrets in the state: Here it was Saturday of Labor Day weekend, and we had the whole place to ourselves.

The right time of year

The dogs settled right into the bottom of the boat, with Molly resting her chin on the gunwale, watching the water stream by: river TV. Pete, ever the on-task male, stood sentry in the bow like George Washington crossing the Delaware.

This was what I had hoped for: the gentle rocking of the boat in the water, the quiet, and first autumn leaves kiting down to the water from the banks.

The Spokane River can serve up death-defying falls and rapids in the spring. But in the summer and fall, the river below the lower dam downtown serves up just enough riffles to be interesting.

You do need to know how to read the river well enough to spot the deepest water through the riffle. Otherwise you'll grind on the rocks.

Dam operators plump up the flow in the fall, as they draw down reservoirs to make room for winter rains, making the paddling even easier.

For a Western Washington resident accustomed to saltwater and kayaking, a freshwater paddle was a refreshing change. The smells are all different, of algae and wet mud. The sounds are different, with soft ripples instead of waves. The colors are all greens and browns instead of blues and silvers.

The sun-bleached grass and basalt rock on the banks and cinnamon-brown bark of the ponderosa pine were also classic dry-side views.

The river of choice

The Spokane River is not the purist's choice. For that, paddle the Little Spokane River, a designated natural area, where no dogs, motorized craft, alcohol, or even inner tubes are allowed.

Access is strictly controlled to several gated put-in and take-out areas. The payoff is a pristine paddle, with abundant wildlife, including otters, and even the song of coyotes. Moose sightings have been reported.

But for us, traveling with dogs, the Spokane River was the choice. Molly and Pete quite agreed, hopping in for swims along the boat when they got hot, their paws cutting lazy arcs through the glass-green water.

Dogs and canoeing are a great combination: You get to have fun, and they do, too. We could have joined them in the water — it's not nearly as cold as Puget Sound. It was nice to have the option, even though we didn't go for it.

We put in at aptly named Peaceful Valley, and floated on down to People's Park, a well-known nude beach where a few folks — fully clothed — dallied on the warm sand.

Our three-mile paddle was not pristine. Houses and bridges dot the view. Airplanes on their approach to the Spokane International Airport break the quiet.

But for such a convenient paddle, so easy to fit into an urban itinerary, the rewards were rich.

There is something about the silken slip of a boat through the water that soothes the soul. And it was so easy, and close to downtown, that we had plenty of time afterward for a great lunch in town at an outdoor cafe, our wet dogs happily snoozing in the shade beneath our table.

Roughing it? Hardly. And that was just the idea.

IF YOU GO

To rent a canoe on the Spokane River: Mountain Gear in Spokane (2002 N. Division; 509-325-9000) made the logistics easy, with one of their employees renting us a boat, hauling it to the river and shuttling us back to our car.

Wondering how else this trip would have been possible, I phoned Rich Landers, outdoor writer for the local paper, the Spokesman-Review. Easy enough, Landers says: Cruise downtown and offer someone $10 for a ride from the takeout spot. Spokane is the kind of friendly town where that would probably work.

Boat rentals are $45 for a day and $70 for an entire weekend. Ours was a huge tandem canoe with plenty of room for us and two dogs, a good choice because it was very stable.

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