Edmonds, Washington

Olympic National Park is built for someone with a week or more to spare for backpacking deep into the heart of the park's endless miles of wilderness. Between the mountains, the coast, and the rainforest, there is a lot of park to see for someone who is trying to fit their visit into an extended ...

The beauty of many of the north coast trails in the Olympic Peninsula is that your car does a lot of the heavy lifting for you.  This is certainly true of the Grand Valley Trail, which begins more than a vertical mile above the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the end of the Obstruction Point Road.  Six...

If you just loved your day hike to Goat Lake so much that you want to return and spend some more time, you're in luck - the lake offers a camping area that holds at least 15 campsites and even comes with a pit latrine. This is a great overnight option if you aren't looking for a difficult hike in...

This trail is a perfect winter hike for the average outdoorsmen. Be warned that the most difficult part of this hike is getting to the trailhead in winter. The Mountain-loop highway can be a dangerous drive with black ice, snow, and serious potholes along the way. Take proper precautions like cha...

The trail starts by lazily winding through beautiful forest. Fairly quickly, you'll reach a fork for the Upper and Lower Elliot Creek Trails. Both will take you to Goat Lake in about the same distance (~3 miles), but each offers a different take on the area. The lower trail winds along as it foll...

The trail was not crowded although when we got to Snoqualmie Lake there were only a couple camping spots left. The trail up from Dorothy is not too hard at all. The weather was perfect. After passing Dorothy you have to ford a creek where the bridge has been washed out. We went through it on foot...

A short and scenic trail of tranquility that leads to the secluded Lake PJ, hidden on Hurricane Ridge. Nothing but nature stirs here. The trail, while well-traveled, is far quieter than others in the surrounding area of Olympic. You might see one other hiker. It is lined with wildflowers and in t...

We set out from the town of Anacortes, WA from Seafarers Memorial Park with a group of 6 people. Two in single kayaks and four in two tandem kayaks. After setting out into the water, keep to the west of Guemes island and follow the shoreline for a shorter trip or follow the east side for a longer...

Although the drive to the trailhead is mostly over gravel roads, Blanca Lake is a very popular hike. The drive is better for cars with clearance and AWD capabilities.  The trail gets right down to it gaining almost 3,000 feet in the first 3 miles. But don't worry, the hard work is well worth the...

Since Blanca Lake is a very popular place for folks to explore and with the nice and sunny weekend. I drove out Friday night and slept in my Jeep. Got up at 7:30am when folks first started arriving to the trail head.A couple of things to keep in mind before you start this hike. The 7.5 miles ro...