Customer Reviews

Winter Hikes: In Puget Sound and the Olympic Foothills

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Winter Hikes is a useful guide for all seasons. For the most part, the only thing that makes the hikes in this book "winter hikes" is their elevation. In reality the hikes in this book are enjoyable all year.

The summary information provided with each hike includes the distances, estimates trip time, trail type and other useful information such as the potential avalanche danger on the trail. It also includes the starting elevation and elevation gain of the trail so you can judge the potential for encountering snow.

The rating system takes some getting used to. Since many of the trails are in the lower elevations, don't expect jaw dropping views at every turn. Even highly rated trails will spend a lot of time in the woods.

Although I have said this guide is useful year-round, I think it is best for 3 season hiking. During the summer you should use other guides that provide better coverage of the high elevation trails.

This book mostly covers hikes around the Olympic peninsula, not in or around the Puget Sound/Seattle area, as might be indicated by the book's title. I was trying to find a hike near Seattle this past weekend, and the book fell completely short. The closest hikes to the Seattle area were more than an hour's drive away, which I wouldn't really consider to be in the Puget Sound area. The Olympic hikes look good, though, so all hope is not lost. They do have detailed information on the hikes that are featured in the book, though. I'd definitely recommend this book if you're planning on doing some hikes on the Olympic peninsula, but not if you're looking for hikes around Seattle and the Puget Sound area - there are some great hikes within Seattle (Discovery Park) as well as nearby (Issaquah alps), but unfortunately these are not covered in this book.

What makes a "winter hike?" Well, you can hike almost anywhere in the winter that you can in the summer, with the right equipment and skills. Mooers offers hikes, though, that are easy to get to. Access counts.

I've used this book to find places that keep me from developing cabin fever in the winter. People who do a lot of hiking will know most of these spots, but there were a few I hadn't heard about. Good directions to the parking.