Oregon's Best Wildflower Hikes: Northwest Region [Paperback]

George Wuerthner (Author, Photographer)

Book Description

Series: Oregon's Best Wildflower Hikes | Publication Date: March 2002

Through full-color photographs, easy-to-use maps, and detailed trail descriptions, Oregon's Best Wildflower Hikes: Northwest Region takes the guesswork out of identifying the wildflowers that fill this beautiful section of the state. The book includes 49 day-hikes chosen for their optimal blooming potential, and all destination are accessible from Portland, Eugene, or any major Willamette Valley community in three hours' driving time or less. Northwest Oregon's coastal Sitka spruce forests, oak savanna woodlands, ponderosa pine forests, old growth Douglas fir forests, and alpine meadows teem with flowering plants to discover, and this guide shows you how to find and identify the best of the bunch.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

George Wuerthner is an accomplished ecologist, writer and photographer who has published 23 books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Westcliffe Publishers (March 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565793919
• ISBN-13: 978-1565793910
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,694,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

George Wuerthner is a professional photographer, writer and ecologist. He has written more than two dozen books on natural history and other environmental topics. He is currently the ecological projects director for the Foundation for Deep Ecology. Wuerthner has visited hundreds of mountain ranges around the West, more than 380 wilderness areas, more than 180 national park units, and every national forest west of the Mississippi.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great guide!, April 3, 2004

By 

M. Wolf (Pacific NW) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Oregon's Best Wildflower Hikes: Northwest Region (Paperback)

This guide has good maps, accurate trail ratings (at least for the several places I've visited and know of), beautiful pictures, and a good guide for blooming season. It covers hikes that will take most of the day to ones that are little more than a rest stop with scenic walking paths.

For some of the sights listed in the gorge I've been there both when things are in bloom and when it is the height of summer and things are dry and arid. Both times have their beauty.

This guide is well-written and easy to use.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars With 52 "user friendly" maps and 52 plant life profiles, May 6, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oregon's Best Wildflower Hikes: Northwest Region (Paperback)

Filled cover to cover with 115 beautiful color photography of flowers, trails, and natural splendor, Oregon's Best Wildflower Hikes: Northwest Region is an amazing and informative guide showcasing 51 day hikes for prime wildflower viewing of such stunning visual beauty that it is a wonder for both avid hikers and armchair travelers alike. Specific hiking paths through Columbia Gorge, Cascade Ranger, Willamette Valley and more are presented with 52 "user friendly" maps and 52 plant life profiles in this superbly presented guidebook which is especially recommended for flower and nature lovers who yearn to enjoy all that Oregon's Northwest Region has to offer. If you are planning a field trip or outdoor vacation in the northwest region of Oregon, begin with browsing the pages of George Wuerthner's Oregon's Best Wildflower Hikes!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book., July 11, 2005

By 

C. Roberts (Kalama, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Oregon's Best Wildflower Hikes: Northwest Region (Paperback)

I bought this book and its companion Washington guide at the same time and have not been disappointed by either. The layout of the two books is similar and have all the info necessary to get to the trailhead, follow the trail, and enjoy the hikes. The maps are good and easy to follow, although elevation contours are not shown.

The photography in the Oregon guide is very good, but not nearly on the level of the Washington guide. Being confined to Northwest Oregon, all the hikes can be reached easily from any location in the Willamette Valley as wel as elsewhere. State-wide guides (such as the Washingtom companion) have hikes you may never visit because of the distance to the trailheads from where you live, but this regional Oregon guide has 52 hikes that you will want to visit.

Wildflowers (common and scientific names) you should expect to see are described in the discussion of each hike, although spring and summer bloomers are mixed with no mention made of which is likely to be blooming when.

A small quibble is that five of the hikes are not even in Oregon, but rather on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge. Still, these hikes are as easy to reach for much of Willamette Valley's population as some of those in central Oregon.