How to Spend a Weekend in Richland, WA in Summer

Over the weekend Josh and I escaped the Seattle area to go on a little weekend getaway to the Tri-Cities. We came to Richland two years ago after my college graduation and absolutely loved the area we stayed in and knew we had to come back. We decided this past weekend was the perfect weekend to make our way back so we could celebrate my birthday last week and also celebrate our anniversary this week. Celebrating birthdays and anniversaries during the week can definitely be hard since we both work full-time so we decided to take the weekend to celebrate both. Today I wanted to round up some of the things we did in Richland for our weekend getaway if you’re ever looking to go!

Where to Stay:

I highly recommend staying anywhere near Columbia Point because it is such a beautiful area! We stayed at The Lodge at Columbia Point both times we’ve visited Richland and it is our absolute favorite.

The Lodge at Columbia Point sits right on the Columbia River and the views are some of the best to wake up to (try to get a riverfront view room if possible! It does cost a bit more, but it definitely enhances the overall experience). We spent both mornings we were there out on our patio overlooking the river and river trail the second we woke up and it was just so peaceful and relaxing. The summer sun shining, birds chirping, seeing people go out on their boats, it just felt like a true vacation.

There is also a Courtyard Marriott right next door and other lodging options as well that sit right on the river in that convenient little area with fun things to do on the water, and restaurants close by. You really don’t even need to leave the general Columbia Point area with how much there is to do. We pretty much stayed in Columbia Point for the entire duration of the trip.

What to Do:

Our favorite thing to do when we visit The Lodge hotel is rent their bikes. We currently do not have any bikes of our own since we don’t have any storage in our small apartment and the bikes the hotel provides for free rental are so cute with their little baskets and are so fun to take out on the riverfront trail! I think in total we biked about 10 miles the few times we rented the bikes while we were there and you can really see so much along the river and even more into town as well. It’s so peaceful and always makes me feel like I’m in a movie or something you’d see scrolling through Pinterest taking a cute and fun summer bike ride.

Another fun thing to do when visiting Richland in the summer is to rent kayaks or stand-up paddleboards on the Columbia River or through the marina. There are a couple of businesses right in the Columbia Point area where you can rent kayaks or paddleboards from and take out on the river and it is a ton of fun! I personally prefer kayaking over paddleboarding and it was so peaceful and such a nice day for it, not to mention an arm workout too!

If you are really into wine, the Tri-Cities area has a ton of wineries and cellars around for wine tasting as well. Josh and I are not much of wine drinkers but felt like I should add this in here if you like to drink wine and looking for a place where you can go wine tasting! It’s funny how many parts of eastern Washington can look so much like Napa, California lol.

Some other things you can do in Richland are boating, fishing (Josh did a lot of this on our trip lol), golfing with a golf course conveniently right in the Columbia Point area, going to the spa or pool at The Lodge hotel, or even going on a hike at Badger Mountain.

Where to Eat:

Recommending dining is a bit tricky since a lot of restaurants are just not the same post-pandemic but I did want to note some of the places we ate at during our stay. Inside The Lodge hotel, they have their own restaurant, Drumheller’s, which Josh and I sort of had mixed opinions about. Personally, we did not care for the breakfast as there was not a whole lot to choose from and the food itself was not very good. However, we did order room service from them one night for dessert and in both of our opinions, it was the absolute best ice cream we’ve had!

A short two-minute walk away from The Lodge hotel is Lu Lu Kitchen + Bar where we went for dinner. When we went, the host/hostess station was not the friendliest and kind of turned us off from the place, however, the food was absolutely delicious and our waiter was nice and helpful so it made the overall experience better.

The Columbia Point area also has quite a few seafood restaurants like Anthony’s and Budd’s Broiler (owned by Anthony’s) and many other options more downtown Richland as well like Mexican restaurants, BBQ/Steakhouses, etc.