Lonely Planet Pacific Northwest Trips

In 1989 when Sara and I were just kids, we bought our first new car, a Dodge Raider, which is really a rebranded Mitsubishi Montero. We drove that car from Los Angeles to Miami, where we put it in a storage locker and took a flight to London, where we spent a great month. Back in Miami we drove to New York, up into Canada to Nova Scotia, than across that Great Country to Vancouver, then back on down to L.A. I loved that car, loved that trip. We did that trip with nothing more than a Rand McNally Road Atlas. We saw a lot, but we missed a lot, too. I know that because we just got back from a road trip in that same car and this time we used a similar atlas, but we also armed ourselves with two of the Lonely Planet trip books, PACIFIC NORTHWEST & ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO & THE GRAND CANYON. These books pointed out site after site and though we didn't visit them all, we took in a bunch. After reading through the books we decided to do 101 down the Pacific Coast from Olympia, WA to Coos Bay, OR. There's a lot to see on that route even without a travel guide, but with one, if you have the time (and we took it) you'll see and experience so much more. As Sara pointed out in her review, in Arizona we took the train from Williams to the Grand Canyon and though we'd been there a couple times before, it's always breathtaking, always grand. Sara enjoyed the train more then me, hard seats. Not only are the Lonely Planet books chucky jammed full of sites to see and places to go, but they give you a well written history of the places they talk about and with that you seem to get a sense of belonging to a place, even if it's only for a short while. We've traveled a lot, Sara and me and so I know what I'm talking about when I say these Lonely Planet books really do add value to your traveling experience. These are the best travel books out there, bar none.

One of the only places in the US that I have not traveled yet is the Pacific Northwest. This is the third Lonely Planet travel guide that I've owned and all of them that I've gotten share similar traits. They are all written in a very conversational, light-hearted style that makes the reading experience just plain fun and informative. That is why I chose this book to compliment my other travel guides. They have already proven themselves to me and I enjoyed the process of reading through the various trips in this guide. Lonely Planet has arranged all the trips into a number of classifications that makes choosing a specific trip fun. If you want to take an "Iconic" trip of the region, then there are subset of specific trips included in that group. If you wanted instead to take a trip that highlights "Food & Drink", then the appropriate trips of that type would be included there. There are other trip classifications such as "History & Culture", "Offbeat", "Outdoors" and "Day Trips" just to name a few. The book includes several pages of photos in the front of the book but none of the actual itineraries include photos; just small maps. The maps are not really good enough to travel with however... you'd definitely want a better set of maps once you've begun your trip. I like this series of travel guides by Lonely Planet because of their unique approach and entertaining writing style. The books are nicely sized making them easy to carry along or shove in your glove box. 5 stars.

This book covers 52 themed itineraries and 1009 local places to see in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska's Inside Passage. Take a trip to Mt Rainier. At 14,411 ft. it is the highest peak in the Cascade Range. Hike along the Volcano Trail. Or perhaps you would like the Coast Starlight Train Journey aboard Amtrak best. Some of the Iconic Trips include the Native American Traditions Tour in British Columbia; the Eccentric Pacific Northwest tour where you can see the adorable sea lions in Sea Lion Caves in Florence, Oregon; or The Simpsons to The Shining which includes the Timberline Lodge and Mt. Hood, Oregon. Or take the trail that Lewis and Clark took. If you are into food you can take the Cheesemonger's Cheese Trip at Juniper Grove Farm in Redmond, Oregon or visit the Beervana in Troutdale, Oregon; or even take a Willamette Valley Wine Tour in British Columbia. If you are into History and Culture there are trips planned for those too. If you are more of a city person there is 48 hour trips planned for Vancouver, Portland and Seattle. The book is laid out nice and easy to read. It gives how long the trips last, how many miles you cover, the best time of year to go, starting and ending points and tips for best places to eat and motels that are a little on the offbeaten track. A really interesting series....

Pacific Northwest Trips by Lonely Planet is a fantastic book if you plan to visit the area. I live on the west coast but never explored much above CA except Seattle. Since I plan to be visiting WA, I was thrilled to find this detailed guide includes 52 road trips and extra day trips. It has sections on: OR, WA, British Columbia and even Alaska! The road trips are pretty intense and include 1 day to 3 week tours. I probably won't be doing the 3 weeks tours but the shorter 2-5 day tours are perfect. There are some really interesting trips including the graveyard, which includes lighthouses, maritime museums and shipwreck along the coast. There is also a ghost and legends tour which includes haunted places in WA. Then there is a waterfall tour, brewery tour and a seafood tour (yum!). And then there is the trail of Lewis and Clark and the Oregon cheesemonger's cheese trip. I really enjoyed flipping through this book and it inspired me to start traveling again. This book made me realize I really have no excuse since I live so close! Plus most of the trips are very affordable. This book is a bargain and it is suprisingly very small so it is very portable. I know I won't be able to see all of the sights I want there are really too many but planning it is part of the fun and this book makes it easy.

I have to say that I'm very impressed with the trips presented in this book. I have another book of 'things to do in washington state', and it's presentation is basically, "in xyz town, go to the farm museum". Boring! But just take a look at the table of contents, who wouldn't want to check out the 'Fire & Ice Volcano Tour'?? This book offers a trip idea for everyone, regardless of interests. It's broken down by location: Oregon, Washington, British Columbia. And then also, "Iconic trips" from either region. If you're a nature lover, there's plenty of trips focused around that. Also, plenty of food and wine ideas, like the "Cheesemonger Cheese Trip". Anything you could want from pubs, to islands, animals, and even ghosts! I'm moving from Washington D.C. to Washington state and I have to say that I'm very excited to try out these trips. The descriptions make them almost irresistible. Especially if you're a newbie like me and don't know the area very well. My husband and I love to go on weekend road trips and I have a feeling that this is going to be one worn out book. I highly recommend!