If Pullman, Washington, was a place in a video game, there would be many places that the player would gladly explore. The following is a Top Ten list of some of the Hidden Gems of Pullman, Washington, and worth it to satisfy your sense of adventure.
1. Charles R. Conner Museum at Abelson Hall WSU
The Charles R. Conner Museum is the largest public collection of birds of mammals in the Pacific Northwest with 700 mounts, which include taxidermized birds and mammals. There are three separate wings devoted to these exhibits formerly on display at the Chicago World’s Fair.
2. Arboretum Perimeter Trail
The Arboretum Perimeter Trail, located across from the WSU Bear Center, is where you are going to find a gravel trail that works a circle around, and yet has many side paths that will lead you to some picturesque places.
3. Klemgard County Park
What you will see at Klemgard County Park is something that will really surprise you, as Klemgard Park, located between Colfax and Pullman, has a trail through the woods to give a great view on top. This trail is about a mile long, being halfway uphill, downhill the other way, and it is full of great places to see.
4. Magpie Forest Trail
If you head to the “Apartment Land” section of Pullman, where there are many apartments with Washington State University student renters, you will find a small trail to take you through the woods with views of the wide open spaces of the Inland Northwest. This is the Magpie Forest Trail, and it is a good place to see the wide open spaces on the edge of the city of Pullman.
5. Conservation Park
Conservation Park was founded with a formal agreement with the City of Pullman and the Phoenix Conservancy. It has a lot of trails for walking with some excellent views as well.
6. Itani Park
Itani Park is short, but it is paved, and is really made for walking dogs.
7. Lawson Gardens
If you go to Lawson Gardens when all the flowers are in bloom, you are going to be taken away at its floral beauty. There are small trails around and through the park to see the flowers on display, and there is also a great gazebo with a reflecting pool.
8. Rose Creek Nature Preserve
Rose Creek Nature Preserve is located a few miles outside of Pullman, very close to the city of Albion. You will need to take a long gravel road to get to it, but when you do, there are a lot of great trails with terrific views.
9. Webster Science Hall Museums
If you are on Washington State University Campus, then you have no doubt noticed the very tall gray building that is easily the tallest building on campus, and in Pullman. This is Webster Hall, the location of many science-related activities on WSU, and it has three museums on its first floor main entrance.
Culver Study Memorial Museum at Webster Hall WSU
At the Culver Study Memorial Museum, you are going to see some hands-on science on display. You will also see more than one hundred specimens of rocks and minerals, not to mention some cool fossilized bones.
Jacklin Collection of Silicified Wood and Minerals at Webster Hall WSU
The Jacklin Collection is another museum on the first floor of Webster Hall, and this one is full of petrified log sections, bookends, thunder eggs, and dinosaur bones from all over the world.
S. Elroy McCaw Fluorescent Mineral Display Museum at Webster Hall WSU
This is another museum on the first floor of Webster Hall, and the S. Elroy McCaw Museum is full of 150 mineral specimens that are mounted on a carousel under ultraviolet light so you can see the beauty of its luminescence.
10. Worthman-Johnson Veterinary Anatomy Teaching Museum at McCoy Hall WSU
Nestled in McCoy Hall at Washington State University, the Robert P. Worthman Veterinary Anatomy Teaching Museum is an “outstanding collection of anatomical specimens preserved by a variety of unique methods”. What you are going to see at this museum is not for the faint of heart, with a lot of skeletons and animal anatomy on display. If you’re into this kind of thing, this will be a highlight of your trip.