A Local’s Guide to Royal City: Our Favorite Stops Around the Slope
A note from Lisa & Josh Lawrence, owners of Gård Public House Restaurant & Inn in Royal City:
If you’ve visited Royal City, you already know: the Royal Slope is quiet, scenic, and full of small, family-run businesses. As owners of Gård Public House Restaurant & Inn, we’ve spent our lives connected to this place. Our family has been farming on the Royal Slope for more than 60 years, and over that time we’ve had the privilege of watching this community grow while still holding onto the values that make it special. Whether you’re here for wine, food, a show at the Gorge Amphitheater, or just a scenic drive, these are a few of our favorite stops.
Gård Public House Restaurant & Inn
Right in the heart of Royal City, Gård Public House is where our estate wines meet seasonal, farm‑inspired cooking. The menu changes throughout the year, but guests consistently rave about dishes like our “best I’ve ever had” fish and chips, artisan pizzas, juicy burgers, and fresh salads, along with beer and cocktails.
If you’re staying overnight, the Inn upstairs offers a quiet, comfortable place to land after a day of exploring the Slope — close to everything in this guide and just minutes from the scenic drives, farm stands, and summer adventures that bring people through Royal City.
Tonnemaker Hill Farm
If you want the freshest fruits and veggies on the Slope, this is the place. Tonnemaker’s is a family‑operated, certified‑organic farm on the north slope of the Frenchman Hills, growing more than 600 varieties of fruits and vegetables. We buy a lot of our produce for the restaurant here, as well as for our home. We love the quality and the friendly staff (and the on‑site mammoth fossil display). Don’t miss the tomatoes, melons, and peppers when they are in season.
Seed Cupboard Nursery
Part nursery, part gift shop, Seed Cupboard is a great place to wander through and find something charming — indoor and outdoor plants, home décor, local goods, and seasonal surprises. It’s a great stop if you’re exploring the area or looking for a little Royal City treasure to bring home. They also put on fun seasonal events, so it’s a spot that’s worth planning a trip around.
Mack’s Mocha
Mack’s Mocha is a family favorite — quick, welcoming, and exactly what you want before a day exploring. We love the tasty lattes and white mochas, and our kids are loyal to the bagels and Lotus drinks.
Sweet Sipz
If you know, you know. In addition to coffee and sweet drinks, Sweet Sipz makes homemade breakfast burritos (served all day) that keep us coming back. You can’t go wrong with the chicken verde!
Buddy’s Taco Truck
A Royal City staple. Buddy’s serves tacos, burritos, seafood, breakfast plates, and quick bites that hit the spot every time. Super fast and delicious. Don’t miss it.
La Perla Tapatia
If you haven’t had quesabirria before, you must! It’s a crispy, melted cheese‑filled taco dipped in rich, slow‑cooked birria consommé — savory, melty, and deeply satisfying. La Perla Tapatia makes one of the best versions around. They’re also known for their wide variety of great Mexican dishes, plus they are the only place locally that serves teriyaki! Recently, La Perla added breakfast to the menu – just another reason to give them a try!
Taqueria Gaitán
Taqueria Gaitán has been a local favorite for years. We love having a place in town where you can get great tacos, burritos, and birria without any fuss. It’s simple, authentic, and always hits the spot.
Seasonal Stops We Love
Verhey’s Peaches
When peach season rolls around (usually late July through early September), there’s a good chance you’ll find us bringing home a box of peaches from Verhey’s. Peach season just wouldn’t feel complete without a visit. The Verhey family has been a valued part of this community for generations, and we’re always happy to support fellow family farmers.
Loos Melon Farm Roadside Stand
A must‑stop for watermelon and cantaloupe during melon season, typically late summer. Their “Desert Treat” watermelons will have you coming back for more! They’re intensely sweet, flavorful, and almost like watermelon candy. Bring cash, bring a cooler, and thank us later.
Sandhill Crane Festival
In March, nearby Othello hosts the annual Sandhill Crane Festival as it welcomes 35,000 birds to the Columbia Basin. Bird enthusiasts from far and wide gather to witness these amazing cranes, participate in expert-led viewing tours and specialty geology hikes, and enjoy the beauty of the area.
Off the Beaten Track
Gorge Amphitheatre
Widely considered one of the most scenic concert locations in the world due to its panoramic backdrop of the Columbia River Gorge, this 27,500-seat outdoor venue features spectacular views from the open-air lawn overlooking a dramatic Columbia River canyon and basalt cliffs.
Columbia National Wildlife Refuge
This 30,000-acre refuge features hiking trails through a rugged landscape mixed with cliffs, canyons, lakes, and sagebrush grasslands carved by the ancient Missoula Ice Age floods. Its northern half features the Drumheller Channels, a National Natural Landmark recognized as one of the most spectacularly eroded volcanic basalt scablands in the world.
Potholes Reservoir
Just over Frenchman Hills from Royal City is the man-made Potholes Reservoir, created by the O’Sullivan Dam and Crab Creek as it flows out of Moses Lake. The reservoir provides a unique terrain of flooded sand dunes, islands, and pockmarked “pothole” lakes. It is celebrated for its world-class fishing, water fowl viewing and hunting, and as a premier outdoor recreation destination in the Pacific Northwest. Spend a few days at Mardon Resort on the lake, camp at Potholes State Park, or simply spend a day cooling off on the water.
Crab Creek
Named for its abundant native crayfish, Crab Creek gently winds its way through the Columbia Basin down to its mouth at the Columbia River near Beverly, just south of Royal City. Beautiful and calm, it flows through the rugged, ancient channeled scablands carved out by the prehistoric Missoula Floods, and is a popular destination for fishing, birdwatching, and hunting.
Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail (formerly John Wayne Pioneer Trail)
This 250-mile trail, also known as PTCT, gives hikers, cyclists, and equestrians an unconventional way to explore a variety of environments, flora, and wildlife. The trail spans from Cedar Falls (near North Bend, Washington) to the Idaho border and follows the historic Milwaukee Road railway traversing the Cascade Mountains, through the Snoqualmie tunnel, across the Columbia Basin, to the wheat fields of the Palouse. Royal City is in the central section of the trail, and we oftentimes see bicyclists, joggers, and hikers coming to stay at the Inn at Gård Public House as they make their way across the trail (and sometimes using the trail as they travel across the country!)
