Spokane Golf Courses: The Best Municipal Golf City in America

Spokane golf courses offer the best example anywhere in the nation of how a city can have great golf and at the same time make workers pay to play it. Seven good public courses exist within the metro area; four owned by the City of Spokane, and three by Spokane County. Leading the pack is Indian Canyon, built by a two-time U.S. Amateur winner, hosted three times by USGA championships, and perennially recognized as one of the top 25 public golf courses in America. Fees for an 18-hole round here total $57.

This is no budget golf trade-off. This is a city that has developed very good golf during the 1910s, 1930s, and 1950s, preserved it, and never sold off the land.

The quick version

What you want to know	The answer
How many public courses	Seven inside the metro, plus a strong ring of courses within an hour
Who runs them	Four belong to the City of Spokane, three to Spokane County
The one to play	Indian Canyon, a 1935 H. Chandler Egan design on a canyon rim
City green fee	$57 for 18 holes in 2026, dropping to $47 with the $80 Players Pass
County green fee	Generally in the $42 to $48 range depending on day and booking
Season	Courses open in early March and run into the fall, weather permitting
Best nearby splurge	Circling Raven in Worley, Idaho, about 45 minutes away
Tournament history	A PGA Championship, the first U.S. Women’s Open, and a Byron Nelson win

Why Spokane punches so far above its size:

A city of several hundred thousand residents has no need to have this amount of excellent golf. Spokane does simply due to timing. Downriver went in during 1916. Indian Canyon was developed during the Great Depression and opened in 1935. The last one was Esmeralda, which appeared in 1956. This land was municipal from the very beginning, which means that when golf course development became costly in 1980s and 1990s, Spokane had already paid for its courses.

What happened next is also extremely important: it did not sell them. Many American cities covertly turned their municipal courses into residential developments during the last forty years. Spokane retained all four courses and constructed another one in 1992, while its county was constructing three of its own.

This way, a visitor can play at seven different public golf courses in a week without even repeating one type, spending less money on all seven courses than on one game at a destination resort. GolfPass publicly asks if Spokane is the greatest municipal golf city in America, and the question is a fair one.

The four City of Spokane courses:

Course	Opened	Par	Yardage	Character
Indian Canyon	1935	71	6,255	Canyon-rim classic with a 240-foot vertical drop and tall pines
Downriver	1916	71	6,130	The oldest, rolling through pines beside the Spokane River
The Creek at Qualchan	1992	72	6,559	Modern target golf with a creek, five ponds, and wooded hills
Esmeralda	1956	70	6,331	Flat, open, heavily treed, and the most played of the four

Indian Canyon

This is why golfers go to Spokane. Designed by H. Chandler Egan in 1930 and opened in 1935, it came from an architect of rare credentials; not only did he win the U.S. Amateur Championship twice, but Egan is the architect responsible for the transformation of Pebble Beach before the 1929 U.S. Amateur Championship. Such an architect designed a course on public land in Spokane.

It is built down and across a canyon wall with vertical drops of 240 feet. It creates those elevated tees and blindish approaches that modern earth-moving techniques can mimic, but never quite replicate. Short, at 6,255 yards from the blues, it does not have to be. Accuracy off the tee and shot-making to the undulating greens are the whole examination.

The tournament history is not a joke. Indian Canyon has been the venue for the U.S. Amateur Public Links tournaments in 1941 and 1984, and the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links in 1989. At the 1945 Esmeralda Open held on the golf course during his winning spree, Byron Nelson posted a score of 266 (22 under) to triumph by seven shots. The Esmeralda Open was won by Herman Keiser two years later in 1947 by one stroke over Ben Hogan.

The city has invested approximately $300,000 in bunker reconstruction during autumn 2024. Bunker reconstruction included bunker shaping, drainage installation, liner replacement, and bunker sanding. Bunker construction was the most demanded renovation from the course master plan.

Downriver

Founded in 1916, it is the oldest golf course in Spokane and in the entire Pacific Northwest region. This 6,130-yard par 71 winds through tall pines on the banks of the Spokane River near Riverside State Park on flat land with real views of the water.

With a slope rating of 116, it is the easiest test of the four courses around the city, which makes it attractive. This is the course you can play if you wish to walk a beautiful and historic place without being penalized. Also, it was the site of the first Esmeralda Open tournament in 1943 before it relocated to Indian Canyon.

The Creek at Qualchan

Bill Robinson design in 1992 and the most recent addition to the city’s courses. This course is the most different from the other city courses in style, which is modern target golf with a creek running through it, five ponds, hilly areas, and well-defended greens, not just big ones.

This is by far the most challenging city course at par 72 and 6,559 yards, 127 slopes from the blues. It’s also a functional wildlife corridor, so keep an eye out for wildlife on the course.

Esmeralda

Built in 1956 and the most frequently used municipal course in the city, you can get a clue about what it does best. It has flat fairways, wide open spaces, and over 2,000 trees. Seniors and novices are drawn to it, and the upkeep has a very high local reputation.

A par 70 measuring 6,331 yards and 111 slope off the blues, making it the most welcoming of the four. If you are trying to introduce someone to the game, or you don’t want to be out there for five hours, this is the one.

The three Spokane County courses:

Course	Opened	Par	Designer	Character
Latah Creek	Long established	72	Not published	Scenic valley golf along the creek, four par 3s and four par 5s
Liberty Lake	Reopened 2010	70	Not published	Traditional layout rebuilt in a roughly $6 million renovation
MeadowWood	1988	72	Robert Muir Graves	Open links-style ground with water, bunkering, and large greens

The county courses tend to be a few dollars cheaper than the city courses, with very experienced head professionals and this reflects in their maintenance.

MeadowWood is definitely the course with the most prestigious heritage. Designed by Robert Muir Graves in 1988, this course was rated as one of the top ten public courses in Washington by Golf Digest in 1996. This course is played wide-open and links style, with big greens and real bunkering, making it the best choice among county courses when there is wind, due to the possibility of playing the ball.

Liberty Lake underwent a restoration costing almost $6 million and reopened in 2010. As a result, it got white sand bunkering, big greens and water in play. Par 70 and 6,607 yards in length make it a traditional-style course with contemporary conditions.

Latah Creek course is located in the valley, named after this creek, having four par 3 and four par 5 holes, which is quite an untypical combination, making this course change between short and long holes constantly. This course is generally considered to be the most beautiful among the three.

A note on the name Latah Creek

If you search online for the name of Latah Creek Golf Course you might see another name – Hangman Valley. And there is a good explanation for that.

On December 15, 2020, the Spokane County Commissioners passed a unanimous vote that would rename the golf course from Hangman Valley to Latah Creek. The origin of the name Hangman was connected to what happened in 1858 when Colonel George Wright’s force hung the Yakama leader Qualchan without trial together with the other warriors who arrived at his camp to negotiate. It was estimated that the total number of people hanged was seventeen. According to the historical records by the Spokane Tribe, around twenty-seven warriors were killed in the entire campaign. In addition, Wright’s men burned up their food supplies and killed about three hundred horses.

It was far from being an easy decision. Tribal representatives of the Spokane Tribe complained that they were not consulted, and Carol Evans, a chairman of the tribe, emphasized the importance of talking about that part of history, adding that the school curriculum does not teach this part of history. She also mentioned that Latah was not a Salish name but a Nez Perce word. However,

There is a connection most golf write-ups miss entirely. The City of Spokane’s newest course, The Creek at Qualchan, is named for the same man who was hanged on that creek in 1858. Two courses on this list, one city and one county, are named around the same event from opposite directions.

What it costs, and the passes that change the math

Rate type	City of Spokane	Spokane County	Worth knowing
18 holes, standard	$57	Around $42 to $48	City rates include tax and the facility improvement fee
9 holes	$41	Varies	No city nine-hole rate before 1pm Friday through Sunday
Junior	$20	Around $12	One of the cheapest places in America to put a kid on grass
Sunset rate	$35	Varies	The value play in June and July when the light runs late
Players Pass, $80	$47 per round	Not applicable	Pays for itself in eight rounds, sooner with the senior rate
Loyalty Pass, $400	$38 per round	Not applicable	The serious local option, worth it from about 21 rounds

A couple of practical observations. The city has an $80 prebooked fee for an 18-hole round any day of the week, and that’s how they control their demand for booked tee times; hence if you are flexible enough, you will have your game at the standard rate on the same day.

There are military discounts for both active and retired military personnel, and they must present a valid ID. The price varies each year, and the county and the city release separately; nevertheless, this will always be true, not taking into account a couple of dollars or so: They will cost $75 to $100 in this market.

The private clubs, and the history they hold

Two of the private clubs in Spokane are more rich in championship tradition than many golf resorts.

The Manito Golf & Country Club, the city’s only fully private club, was the host of the 1944 PGA Championship. The Kalispel Golf & Country Club, previously known as Spokane Country Club, was the site of the first ever US Women’s Open back in 1946. Kalispel allows non-member golfers to play on the course for a green fee of about $140, which is the only premium round available in the city to regular visitors through a stay-and-play package at Northern Quest Resort.

For a medium-sized city to host a men’s major championship and the first staging of a women’s major championship and still possess a top-25 public course is an extraordinary feat.

Worth the drive from Spokane

Course	Drive time	Rough green fee	Why you would go
Circling Raven, Worley ID	About 45 minutes	$129 to $149 in summer	Golfweek has it as the top public course in Idaho, on 620 acres
Coeur d’Alene Resort	About 45 minutes	$150 to $265 by month	The floating 14th green, with cart, range balls, and forecaddie included
Palouse Ridge, Pullman	About 90 minutes	$119 non-resident	The best university course in the Northwest, big and windswept
Wandermere, Spokane	In town	Around $34 weekday	A privately run public course and the cheapest full round in the area
The Fairways, Cheney	About 25 minutes	Around $33	Quiet, inexpensive, and easy to get on at short notice

Circling Raven is the course you will need for a trip you are planning. It is a true destination course costing around half of what other similar courses cost, and the resort ensures that the visit and play process is easy. Coeur d’Alene Resort is the renowned one, due to its movable floating green, but whether that experience justifies $265 is your choice.

When to go

The city courses have traditionally opened up in early March, with Esmeralda and The Creek at Qualchan among the first, followed by Downriver and usually finishing with Indian Canyon due to the shading provided by the canyon. Play well into October and possibly November.

The Spokane area boasts of dry and sunny summers; that is the whole point of going there: July and August are the months when the weather in Spokane is predictable unlike that of western Washington. June offers long evenings with the sunset rate being the best deal of the year. September might be the best month for golfing there, with no heat, all the courses in perfect condition and the tee sheets not so crowded anymore.

Spring is an affordable and playable season, though the ground is soft and the greens have not yet grown. If it is golf rather than affordability that is the main reason for coming there, choose June to September.

If you only have one, two, or three rounds

One round: Indian Canyon, no question. It’s the course with the architecture, the history, and the vistas, and $57 for that is hands down the best bargain to be had in American public golf.

Two rounds: then tack on The Creek at Qualchan. It doesn’t play anything like Indian Canyon, so you’re walking away with an experience of both the old Spokane and the new.

Three rounds: then go with either MeadowWood or Downriver. Each is completely different from the other two. With MeadowWood, you get the wide links ground, while Downriver offers you 1916 and a stroll along the river. Both are equally valid choices.

Four or more: this is how Spokane sets itself apart because even the fourth and fifth rounds will still be cheaper than one at a resort. Add Liberty Lake, Latah Creek, Esmeralda, and make Circling Raven your mid-week treat.

Final take

The honest truth about golf courses in Spokane is that none of them will unseat Pebble Beach on any top-ten list anywhere, nor do any of them claim otherwise. What they have instead is history, depth, and green fees that haven’t lost their sense of reality.

Seven quality municipal courses, including an actual architecturally designed masterpiece from a big-name architect, a major tournament and the first U.S. Women’s Open in its past, and green fees that won’t break the budget of a typical Spokane family. This rare combination is mostly a thing of the past for American golfers. Spokane has it all because a century ago a city acquired some property and then, unlike everyone else, refused to sell it.

Frequently asked questions

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