Moon Outdoors Pacific Northwest Hiking

This was a gift for a hiker I know. When I got the book I looked through it and all the information you need to know if the your going on a hike to fit your personal needs is there. It includes distance of hike, legth of time it takes an average hiker to complete the hike and even scenery types and sights to look for. Very informative and helpful guide!!!!

I grabbed a copy at my local outdoors store, best $$ I've spent in the past year. This guide is not meant as 'the book to be taken on the trail and guide you out and back'. It is much more useful in helping you decide which trail to attempt next - be it a day trip, a few day getaway, in the midst of out-of-state hiking tourists, or way off in the wilderness. There are plenty of trails of all types in the book. The trails are organized by region, shown on small locator maps to help you pick which place to visit. There are also a few lists in the beginning - 'best waterfall hikes', 'best hikes with kids', etc. This setup has been very helpful for my planning of day trips. Each trail has a description of the sights you will see, specific map numbers for detailed topographic maps from other sources (no trail maps are within this book), typical months for hiking access, parking costs to expect (a bit outdated now that WA state parks do NOT charge a fee!), and fairly accurate directions to the trailhead. I wish the book included more information regarding road conditions - I drive a Honda Civic and some of the trailheads are accessible only by way of an off-road vehicle because the roads are so bad. I have bought a number of topographic maps from other sources and this book lists maybe half of the trails on the maps.

After reading the other reviews on this page, I had to write my own. My family and me have used this book many times (mostly in Oregon) and have found it to be accurate and helpful. I have not had any difficulty locating a trail; and the trail descriptions are spot-on. I also own the previous addition (written by Judd & Nelson) of the book. In that edition, they listed several trails that did not even exist - for example, spend a day trying to find Bobsled trail near Pendelton. You can't and you won't. Too me, it is obvious that McMorris and Scott are actual hikers, and have probably been to the trails they describe.