Ruby River Hotel proposes public dock to improve Spokane River access

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Ruby River Hotel wants to install a 75-foot public dock along the Spokane River to give kayakers and paddleboarders a safer place to get in and out of the water.

The hotel is nestled along the Spokane River, and its owners want to change its shoreline. The dock would go next to the Division Street Bridge, making it easier for the many kayaks and paddle boards that float down the river in summertime to get out of the water.

“They’re just in a really unique position to be able to fund a project like this,” said Hilary Hahn, an ecologist and environmental planner and the permit applicant.

Hahn says the project helps further the city’s parks department’s goal of providing more public access to the river. “One of the main initiatives of parks here in the city of Spokane is to get more river access points. So, the dock is really partnering with parks to also take up on that initiative,” Hahn said.

Right now, people use a rocky beach on the other side of the river to get in and out of the water. Spokane resident Abe Stambaugh likes the dock idea.

“I mean, as a kid, I would climb down dangerous hills to look at the river and sit down. So a place where you can just walk down some steps sounds lovely,” he said.

But the project has safety concerns because the dock would be close to a dam. Avista, which runs the dam, shared concerns about the location.

“This area of the Spokane River can experience rapidly changing conditions, particularly during periods of high flows, which raises safety concerns for river users as well as for Avista’s facilities,” the company said.

The hotel has suggested adding safety measures like extra boater lines and signs warning about the dam.

“The hotel has offered some possible opportunities for maybe putting in an extra boater line, and signage to ensure that everyone knows that there is a dam there. But really, the dock’s main purpose is to absorb a lot of the recreational use that’s already happening on the Spokane River,” Hahn said.

The project needs approval from the hearing examiner and the Department of Ecology. If that happens and everything goes according to plan, the dock could be up and running by this summer.