STEVENSON -- You need to look near and far to fully appreciate spring hiking in the Columbia River Gorge.
What grabs your eye immediately are the expansive textures of a precipitous chasm created millions of years ago by basaltic lava flows and burnished into its current form by epic glacial floods 9,000 to 12,000 years ago.
However, if you focus your vision near at hand, you'll also notice a variety of colors, say the rose-purple fairy-slipper blossoms of calypso orchids, or the showy yellow blooms of balsamroot.
By Greg Johnston | May 11, 2006
Location: Mount Vernon.
Length: Over a mile of trails.
Level of difficulty: Level-to-moderately steep, dirt/gravel/bark trails (muddy after rains, although many trails have an absorbent top layer of bark).
By Cathy McDonald | April 14, 2005
The walk:
Every walk should begin this way with a 35-minute boat ride across Puget Sound on a brilliant late-summer Saturday morning. Chalk it up to life in the Pacific Northwest and a visit to the farmers market in Winslow on Bainbridge Island.
The market is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday, April through October, and besides giving islanders a chance to do a little shopping, the market provides mainlanders with the opportunity to experience a bit of the idyllic life on this big Puget Sound rock.
Here's what you do.
By Terry Tazioli | September 9, 2004
In the Northwest, Mount Rainier is nearly an equal partner with the sun and the moon. Sometimes the foothills seem to disappear and the mountain truly appears to float in the sky.
Yet despite its celestial appearance, the rock-and-ice reality of the mountain is relatively close by.
The Carbon River region, in the park's northwest corner, is only a two-hour drive from Seattle, making exploring the flanks of the volcano relatively easy.
By Andrew Engelson | July 15, 2004
The walk: Soak up big-sky views of South Puget Sound, lumbering freighters and Maury Island while you hobnob with friendly local fisherfolk during this amble along the waterfront in Des Moines, a community named by settlers who migrated in the late 1800s from Iowa's capital city.
By Brian J. Cantwell | July 8, 2004
Location: Mount Vernon.
Length: Several miles.
By Cathy McDonald | February 19, 2004
The walk: Wrap-around views of Elliott Bay, the Seattle city skyline and the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges await visitors to Admiral Heights, a quiet residential neighborhood on a ridge above Alki Beach in West Seattle.
I started this walk at the intersection of Southwest Admiral Way and California Avenue Southwest, north of the "Junction," the business district that grew out of the convergence of two streetcar lines in the early 1900s.
By Carol Pucci | December 25, 2003
The walk: A two-hour amble here will take you through the land where the worlds of Chief Sealth and his Suquamish Tribe met the group that has become known as the Denny Party, after the white settlers landed at what would become Alki (a Chinook word for "by and by").
By Terry Tazioli | December 25, 2003
The walk: Head up Queen Anne Hill for a walk with big views, little traffic, pocket parks and streets of lovingly tended Victorian-style homes. Along the way, refuel at excellent bakeries and cafes and browse in eclectic shops.
By Kristin Jackson | October 23, 2003
The walk: Sound, city or mountain view? No need to choose. You can have it all on a breezy stroll along Magnolia Bluff.
Start your walk at Magnolia Park on Magnolia Boulevard West, four-tenths of a mile from the top of the Magnolia Bridge. (The street changes names from West Garfield to West Galer to Magnolia Boulevard.) Park the car and walk down the hill toward the picnic area for a dead-on view of Mount Rainier and a glimpse of the container ships, cruise liners, sailboats and ferries crossing Elliott Bay.
By Carol Pucci | October 23, 2003
