Richland

Richland is a city of 51,000 people (2020) in the Columbia River Plateau. Together with Pasco and Kennewick they form the Tri-Cities area of Washington.

Understand
The city is home to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a large national research lab. Immediately beyond the lab is the beginning of the Hanford nuclear site, where the ongoing remediation is the single largest construction project in the country.

Get in
By car, Richland's central business district is immediately off of Interstate 182 at Exit 5, George Washington Way. The Tri-Cities are close to each other but a long way from anyone else: expect at least a 75-minute drive from Yakima, 3.5 hours from Seattle.

Tri-Cities Airport is located in Pasco, roughly 10 miles east of Richland. There are daily flights from Seattle/Tacoma, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Minneapolis/St.Paul.

Get around
Ben Franklin Transit provides bus transportation within Richland and the Tri-Cities area.

See

 * Bateman Island Wildlife Area
 * Chamna Nature Preserve
 * Tri-Cities Raceway

Sleep
Richland doesn't have a large supply of hotels, and many of its travelers are on business at the Lab. As a result, hotels can unexpectedly book out at any time of the year. Kennewick's hotels are generally quite convenient to Richland as well, Pasco somewhat less so.