Kennewick, WA Road Trips

The discovery of Kennewick Man along the banks of the Columbia River provides evidence of Native Americans' settlement of the area for at least 9,000 years. American settlers began moving into the region in the late 19th century as transportation infrastructure was built to connect Kennewick to other settlements along the Columbia River. Kennewick and the greater Tri-Cities region were developed as one of the secret sites of the Manhattan Project in the early 1940s. In nearby Richland, the Hanford Nuclear Site is the home to the world's first full-scale nuclear reactor. The atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan in 1945 contained plutonium produced in Hanford. Today, the nuclear site has changed its mission from plutonium enrichment to environmental clean up and restoration. A major employer of many residents in Kennewick is Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which is one of the U.S. Department of Energy's major national laboratories. In modern times, agriculture has been a major factor in the area's economy. Wheat is the most widely grown crop in the region, as well as fruit such as apples, cherries, and grapes (the region is home to more than 160 wineries). This is due mainly to the high quality of the region's soil and the ease of irrigation made possible by three nearby rivers (Columbia, Snake and Yakima Rivers). Visit Tri-cities website

1 Benton County Fairgrounds and Sundowns Horse Race Track. 2 East Benton County Historical Museum, 205 Keewaydin Dr, ☏ +1 509 582-7704, [email protected]. Tu-Sa noon-4PM. Not to be confused with Benton County Historical Museum in Prosser. Has a cast of the skull of the famous Kennewick Man. $4/adult, $3/senior, $1/child. 3 Highlands Grange Demonstration Garden, 1620 S Union St.

1 Branding Iron Nightclub, 213 W Kennewick Ave, ☏ +1 509-586-9292. A night club featuring dance and music. 2 Heber Hatchets, 117 W Kennewick Ave, ☏ +1 509-820-2940. Axe-throwing deal. 3 Tri-Cities Toyota Center, 7000 W. Grandridge Blvd, ☏ +1 509 737-3700. A multi-purpose arena which has an approximate seating capacity of 7,715 event goers. It hosts nationally renowned shows such as Riverdance, Cats, and The Producers, as well as performances from acclaimed musicians ranging from B.B. King to Slipknot. Sports tickets to watch hockey teams, such as the Tri-City Americans, or football teams, such as the Tri-City Fever, are sometimes available. Pizza and drinks are available from vendors such as Papa John's Pizza. There are many single-user bathrooms for families with children and handicap accommodations. Tickets for events are available through Ticketmaster. There are 34 maintained public parks and facilities spread throughout the city with 855 total acres of which about 400 is green space. 4 Columbia Park, Highway 240 & Columbia River (along the Columbia River), ☏ +1 509-585-4293, [email protected]. A 400-acre recreational area with nearly 5 mi (8.0 km) of Columbia River shoreline. (updated Sep 2025) Audubon Nature Trail. (updated Sep 2025) Sacagawea Heritage Trail. A recreational and educational trail along 23 miles of beautiful Columbia River shoreline in Tri-Cities. It is a bi-modal trail and all trail amenities enable all outdoor enthusiasts to experience an environmentally sound and unique shrub-steppe habitat.

1 CG Public House (The Country Gentleman), 9221 W Clearwater Ave #A, ☏ +1 509 783-0128. (updated Sep 2025) 2 El Fat Cat Grill, 539 N Edison St, ☏ +1 509 546-1413. M-F 9AM-5PM. Down-home Mexican food & all-day lunch specials served from a family-owned food truck. An often-overlooked culinary gem. (updated Aug 2019) 3 Sterling's Restaurant, 3200 W Clearwater Ave. This is the local branch of a 3-restaurant chain that started in Richland. There is an all-you-can-eat or single trip salad bar, several soups prepared daily, and a wide and impressive menu featuring appetizers, fresh omelets (breakfast and dinner), steak, seafood, chicken, pasta, salads, burgers, and a kid's menu with shrimp, chicken fingers, french fries and fruit. Beer, wine, and spirits are on the drink menu. (updated Mar 2016)

1 Dutch Brothers Coffee, 3918 W Clearwater Ave, ☏ +1 541-955-4700. Wonderful double chocolate mochas 2 Ice Harbor Brewing Co, 206 N Benton St, ☏ +1 509 582-5340. M-Th 11AM-10PM, F Sa 11AM-11PM, Su 11AM-8PM. The only brewery in Kennewick, they have a second location at the marina.

1 Best Western Plus Kennewick, 4001 W 27th Ave, ☏ +1 509 586-1332, fax: +1 509 586-0263. 2 Comfort Inn Kennewick, 7801 W. Quinault Ave, ☏ +1 509 783-8396, fax: +1 509 736-6844. 3 Fairfield Inn Kennewick, 7809 West Quinault Ave, ☏ +1 509 783-2164, fax: +1 509 783-9040. 4 Red Lion Inn Suites Kennewick Tri-Cities, 5616 W Clearwater Ave (across the street in the building with the green roof (within a minute's walking distance) is Green Papaya, an authentic Thai restaurant with a lunch buffet and a menu), ☏ +1 509 735-2242. 5 Red Lion Hotel Columbia Center, N. 1101 Columbia Center Blvd, ☏ +1 509 783-0611, fax: +1 509 735-3087.

Tri-Cities Airport, 2 mi (3.2 km) northwest of Pasco, is the third largest commercial airport in Washington. It operates flights daily to and from Seattle, Tacoma, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver and Minneapolis-Saint Paul. 1 Amtrak, 535 N 1st Ave, Pasco (N 1st Ave & Sylvester on the east side of Pasco by the railroad yard.), toll-free: +1-800-872-7245. The following are the Amtrak route serving Pasco: Amtrak Empire Builder makes a once daily trip in each direction between Portland and Spokane via Vancouver, WA; Bingen, Wishram and Pasco. The train joins (or splits going westbound) with the other branch coming from (or going to) Seattle in Spokane. Eastbound trains continue to Chicago from Spokane. The Amtrak intermodal station, which is shared with Greyhound and Grape Line buses, is a facility in Pasco, close to major hotels and attractions 2 Greyhound, (bus depot) Intermodal Station @ 535 N 1st Ave, Pasco, ☏ +1 509 547-3151, toll-free: +1-800-231-2222. Travels on Interstate 90/82 (Seattle, Ellensburg, Sunnyside, Pasco and Stanford OR at I-84) and I-84/US 395/I-90 (Portland, Hood River, The Dalles, Pasco and Spokane). Greyhound no longer goes to Walla Walla but they do sell ownward tickets on the Grapeline bus to Walla Walla. 3 Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation (CTUIR), (bus stops) 22nd Ave Transit Center (Pasco), Three Rivers Transit Center (Kennewick), Huntington Transfer (Kennewick) and 27th St P&R (Kennewick).

4 Ben Franklin Transit (Three Rivers Transit Center), W Okanogan Dr (across the street from the Benton County District Court, jail and health dept and next to the Toyota Arena), ☏ +1 509 735-5100. M-F 6AM-6PM; Sa 8AM-6PM. Operates fixed route buses within the Tri Cities area and to Benton City, West Richland and Prosser. $1.50 cash fare. (updated Sep 2025) Streets are wide and logically laid out. Kennewick is more spread out than other cities its size, so there is almost no traffic. Main east/west thoroughfares are 10th Ave on the south end, Clearwater in the center which connects with Kennwick Ave to serve the Downtown, and Canal Dr at the north. You can also utilize Highway 240 Eastbound to quickly get from one side of Kennewick to the other. Main north/south thoroughfares are also conveniently laid out. Steptoe runs from Clearwater to Highway 240 on the west end, Columbia Center Blvd traverses the width of the city from Col. Park Trail to the southern limit, intersecting Highway 240 along the way. Kellogg runs straight through the center of town, intersecting Canal Dr and 10th Ave. Finally, US-395 serves the east end and is known as Ely Street on some maps and signs. There are only 3 places where you can cross the river into Pasco: I-182, 395/240, and 397/Chemical Drive Car rentals are available through Avis, Enterprise and Hertz at the Tri-Cities air terminal.

During the summer, the temperature in the Tri-Cities often exceeds 100 °F. If you plan on being outside for long periods of time, drink plenty of water and limit your intake of alcohol and caffeine to prevent dehydration and heat stroke. The city enjoys a crime rate that is well below the national average; violent crime is almost non-existent. The most widely reported crime in the city is theft. As with any travel destination, if you take the proper precautions to keep your possessions safe, you should have no problems at all during your stay.