Conference Lodging

Marcus Whitman Hotel

6 West Rose Street

Walla Walla, Washington 99362

phone: (866) 994-8594 and request VAF Conference pricing

VAF 2026 Annual Meeting 

May 27-30, 2026
Walla Walla, Washington and the Columbia River Plateau

VAF has secured a block of rooms for Tuesday, May 26 - Sunday, May 31. To make reservations please contact the hotel directly via phone, (866) 994-8594. Use code word VAF to access our block of rooms. 

Hotel room rates quoted below are per room, per night, and subject to prevailing city, county, and state taxes, fees and assessments. Rates are guaranteed until TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2026.  

Standard and Double rooms are $185 for waterside view and $165 for street view. There are a limited number of the $165 double rooms, so reserve early. 

METHOD OF RESERVATION  

Attendees may contact the hotel at (866) 994-8594 between the hours of 9AM - 6PM and ask to speak with the reservations department. Please make sure to reference the group name (VAF) when making your reservations.

Check-in is at 4 pm and checkout is at 11 am.

Travel & Transportation

By Plane

Houghton County Memorial Airport (CMX) has two flights a day on United from Chicago O’Hare (ORD).  There is an Enterprise/Hertz rental office at the airport, but you will need to reserve early. 

CMX is an easy ten-minute drive by taxi from the conference hotel, but we will run van shuttles between the airport and downtown Houghton.  Drivers will have signs with VAF Keweenaw at Arrivals. Do not rely on taxi or Lyft service to and from CMX.  Conference organizers will provide transportation to and from the airport and hotel.

Below are the Arrival and Departure times but check the United Website for the most up to date times.

Chicago to Houghton:

UA5082Departs ORD 3:55pm CDT -> Arrives CMX 6:30pm EDT 

UA5140Departs ORD 6:52pm CDT -> Arrives CMX 9:27pm EDT

Houghton to Chicago:

UA5016Departs CMX 9:13am EDT -> Arrives ORD 9:48am CDT

UA5017Departs CMX 7:11pm EDT -> Arrives ORD 7:46pm CDT

NOTE: Walla Walla is in the Pacific Time Zone

Other airports 

Marquette, MI (MQT) — 110 miles away — American and Delta

Iron Mountain, MI — 120 miles — Delta

Rhinelander/Oneida County, WI (RHI) — 130 miles — Delta

Green Bay, WI — 220 miles — American, Delta, Sun Country, Frontier, United  

Duluth, MN — 230 miles — United, Delta, Sun Country

Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN — 375 miles — many airlines…

Milwaukee, WI — 335 miles — many airlines…

By Car

By Bus

Contact Julia Griffith, VAF Conference Coordinator with questions about the conference conference@vafweb.org.