Though it might be the jet boat trip that lures you to Lewiston, the leafy city of 32,000 is also worth exploring. Situated in the Lewis-Clark Valley, where the Clearwater River joins the Snake, Lewiston is hemmed in by hills and high plateaus that rise abruptly from the valley floor. The city is protected from floods by levees, the tops of which form part of a 19-mile-long system of riverside trails connecting parks and informative sights, such as the Lewis and Clark interpretive panels at a vista point overlooking the confluence of the Snake and the Clearwater. For a bird's-eye view of the city, drive up the old 1917 Spiral Highway, eight miles of hairpin curves that climb more than 1,800 feet to the top of Lewiston Hill.

Lewiston began in 1861 as a steamboat landing but soon became a commercial hub for those seeking their fortunes in the nearby gold mines. Though gold fever was short-lived, shipping remains important, thanks to the locks and dams on the Columbia that have made Lewiston an inland seaport, 465 river miles from the crashing Pacific surf.

In Lewiston's historic downtown, centered along several blocks of tree-lined Main Street, 19th- and early 20th-century buildings now house low-key shops and restaurants, including a few gems. The Lewis-Clark State College Center for Arts and History hosts art shows in a street-level gallery, while a permanent exhibit upstairs about the city's early Chinese community displays the elaborately decorated altar from a temple built around 1890. Just down the street, Bojack's Broiler Pit, a local institution, offers its take on "bite-size steak," a surprisingly good local specialty consisting of beef coated in seasonings and breading and then deep-fried.

DON'T MISS The Nez Perce National Historical Park visitor center houses an impressive collection of Nez Perce artifacts, including tomahawks and porcupine quillwork. In Spalding, 11 miles east of Lewiston. 843-2261, www.nps.gov/nepe.