Local Travel and Exploration | Mid-Columbia Libraries

Touring hot springs, Washington and Oregon : a guide to the states' best hot springs

Birkby, Jeff.

From the Publisher

"Describes 40 of the region's best soaks, including firsthand descriptions of each soaking location, along with detailed maps and directions, best seasons to visit, and intriguing histories and legends"-- Provided by publisher.

My Thoughts

Find a good soak in Washington or Oregon.

Roadside geology of Washington

Miller, Marli Bryant, 1960- author, photographer.

From the Publisher

Since the first edition of Roadside Geology of Washington appeared on the book shelves in 1984, several generations of geologists have studied the wild assortment of rocks in the Evergreen State, from 45-million-year-old sandstone exposed in sea cliffs at Cape Flattery to 1.4-billion-year-old sandstone near Spokane.

My Thoughts

Completely updated edition of a classic - now full color.

100 classic hikes : Washington

Romano, Craig, author.

From the Publisher

Featuring full-color photographs and maps, this guide covers the best, most challenging, and most beloved hikes across the entire state, with a full range of trail options from easy to strenuous, day hikes to backpacking trips. Each hike showcases outstanding scenery, dynamic geologic features, or not-to-be-missed adventures.

100 hikes

Sullivan, William L., 1953- author.

From the Publisher

To help you explore both the civilized and the wild parts of Oregon's spectacular shore, this book blends two kinds of guides -- a detailed Travel Guide for touring by car and a complete Trail Guide for planning adventures on foot. The updated 4th edition of this popular guide starts with a full-color 32-page overview of the Oregon Coast's highlights, including lighthouses, parks, towns, and museums, with color guides to wildflowers, birds, campgrounds, cabins, and bed & breakfast inns.

Best desert hikes, Washington

Bauer, Alan.

From the Publisher

If you're used to tight, tree-lined trails through (often-dripping) evergreens, it's time to enter an entirely different world: the high desert of central and eastern Washington. It's desert, yes--but not the Lawrence of Arabia kind. This landscape of sagebrush and rimrock canyons is starkly beautiful and rich in plant and animal life. It offers mild temperatures in fall, prime wildlife viewing in winter, and an explosion of wildflowers in spring. Best Desert Hikes: Washington is a great way to...

My Thoughts

Check out Hike 45, White Bluffs, North Slope. Offers great views of the only free-flowing segment of the Columbia River and Hanford. Just a short one hour drive away.

The best of Olympic National Park

Leftridge, Alan, author.

From the Publisher

Make the most of your trip to Olympic National Park! From the coast to the rain forest to the snowcapped mountains, this handy guide covers all the best hikes, best picnic spots, best places to see wildlife, best wildflowers, best waterfalls, best activities for kids, and more. Compiled by a former park ranger, with beautiful color photographs, locator maps, and clear, concise directions.

My Thoughts

This book offers a high-level guide to Olympic National Park helping to shape your trip's focus. If you're going to Lake Quinault, I recommend driving around it. The hanging moss exceeds what you see on the Hall of Mosses trail.

Day hiking Eastern Washington : Kettles-Selkirks, Columbia Plateau, Blue Mountains

Landers, Rich, 1953-

From the Publisher

Day Hiking: Eastern Washington features 125 day hikes throughout the eastern Washington region, roughly covering the area of the state east of Highway 97. This expansive region includes the Spokane area, Colville National Forest and northeastern Washington (Colville, Metaline Falls, Kettle Falls, Republic, Tonasket), Moses Lake, Soap Lake, Coulee Dam, Lake Roosevelt, and other parts of the mid- and upper-Columbia River basin, southeast Washington (Pullman, the Blue Mountains, Walla Walla,...

My Thoughts

Hike the highest point in Washington's Blues using hike 120. Offers isolation and scenic vistas.

Geology underfoot in western Washington

Tucker, David S. (David Samuel), author.

From the Publisher

In Geology Underfoot in Western Washington, the most recent addition to the Geology Underfoot series, author and geoscientist Dave Tucker narrates western Washington's geologic tales, covering sites from it's low-lying shorelines to its rugged mountaintops. The book's 22 chapters, or vignettes, lead you to easily accessible stops along Washington's highways and some trails, too. A healthy dose of full-color illustrations and photos compliments the author's illuminating prose, further...

On the trail of the Ice Age floods : a geological field guide to the mid-Columbia basin

Bjornstad, Bruce N.

From the Publisher

Geologist Bruce Bjornstad has written the most comprehensive guide book yet to the incredible landforms scoured out by the Ice Age floods in the Mid-Columbia Basin. His new book, On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods: A geological field guide to the Mid-Columbia Basin, explores the origins, timing and frequency of the Ice Age floods and describes each of 19 geologic features they left behind. It is also an exciting field guide to features, trails and tours in the Mid-Columbia Basin where we may...

My Thoughts

Interested in learning about the Missoula Floods that scoured this area thousands of years ago? There's no better way to learn about how these floods shaped the landscape than on foot using this book as a guide.

Washington's Channeled Scablands guide : explore and recreate along the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail

Soennichsen, John

From the Publisher

Take the family to scenic camping and fishing in Coffeepot Lake, and read out loud the legend of Old West outlaw Harry Tracey as you cruise along on a "Back Roads Auto Tour." Lace up your boots for a cross-country hike in the Juniper Dunes Wilderness Area or up Badger Mountain Trail. Explore the unearthly crater-like formations in the Telford-Crab Creek Tract, or set up with your camera for a stunning sunrise over Palouse Falls. Whether you're a boater looking for new waterways to explore, a...

Washington's Pacific Coast : a guide to hiking, camping, fishing, and other adventures

Johnston, Greg, author.

From the Publisher

The first comprehensive guidebook to the entire Washington coast - from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the mouth of the Columbia River. Includes the best hiking trails, campsites, fishing spots, paddle routes, beachcombing, and more. Trip and activity options include related natural history information. Includes Olympic National Park's spectacular 70-mile-long wilderness beach strip, a wild ocean snuggled up to a wild land in the furthest corner of the Lower 48 states. The Washington coast is a...

My Thoughts

Though it is a long drive; Washington's Pacific coast is very much worth a visit. Use this guide to make the most of your trip.

Waterfall lover's guide Pacific Northwest : where to find hundreds of spectacular waterfalls in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho

Plumb, Gregory Alan, 1956-

From the Publisher

Let mapmaker and waterfall junkie Greg Plumb be your guide to a perfectly formed punchbowl falls, a cataract viewed from a swinging bridge, or a horsetail waterfall visible right from the road. This exhaustive guide helps you visit the best of the Pacific Northwest’s waterfalls, with each waterfall keyed for accessibility by car, on foot, or by canoe or raft and rated for magnitude and aesthetic value.

Moon Pacific Northwest Road Trip: Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria, the Olympic Peninsula, Portland, the Oregon Coast & Mount Rainier

Williams, Allison

From the Publisher

Discover vibrant cities like Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland and the lush emerald wilderness in between. Moon Pacific Northwest Road Trip can do everything but change the radio station.

My Thoughts

Find a roadtrip in the PNW with this recently updated guidebook.

Wild roads Washington : 80 scenic drives to camping, hiking trails, and adventures

Blair, Seabury.

From the Publisher

This choose-your-own-adventure guidebook is the first of its kind to take take the easy hike offroading--and up forest roads into the lush landscape of Washington State. Most forest roads in Washington climb almost as high as some of the trails, providing vistas almost as good as those reached by foot. Featuring 75 roads throughout the state, the author outlines hikes off of each route, whether you want to start by foot at the bottom or closer to the peak. Some of these roads are paved and...