The highest peak on British Columbia's Salt Spring Island (sans roads and towers), Erskine contains old-growth forest, impressive cliffs, jaw-dropping views, and opportunities to view endangered sharp-tailed snakes and even some elusive forest elves...
Named for a Native American activist who fought for tribal fishing rights, the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually Wildlife Refuge allows you to explore an undisturbed river delta on Puget Sound. Birdwatching here is spectacular, with opportunities to spot eagles, dunlins, sandpipers, falcons, merlins, purple martins, and geese.
The challenging snowshoe route to the summit of Sun Top Lookout in Washington's Mount Baker Snoqualmie National forest offers a great workout, a historic forest lookout, and fantastic views of Mount Rainier and surrounding peaks.
The trails in Rooster Rock State Park on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge offers an easy stroll in all seasons, rambles through groves of maple and oak--not to mention of of the only officially sanctioned clothing-optional beaches in the state.
The snowshoe route at Artist Point in Washington's North Cascades offers a stunning panorama, including magnificent views of the the glaciated peaks of Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan. Find out more in Craig Romano's latest Get Outside! column.
Hike to the top of Washington's Index Town Wall, a moderately difficult trail that takes you to the summit of an imposing granite cliff, with views of the town of Index and peaks of the Wild Sky Wilderness as your reward.
The Balch Creek Gulch trail is one of the most fascinating routes in Portland's 5,000-acre Forest Park. In this wilderness within the city limits, you'll encounter old-growth Douglas-fir, a wooded ravine, and a historic stone house built by the WPA.
The Boundary Bay Dyke Trail in BC's Fraser River Delta offers some of the best birdwatching in British Columbia. More than a million migrating birds can be found on this coastal walk, including shoerbirds, waterfowl, raptors, and owls. It's also a great place to spot harbor seals and orcas.
Easily accessible, the Lower South Fork Skokomish River Trail makes for an ideal Olympic Peninsula outing any time of the year. The well-built trail meanders through old growth Douglas-fir forests, and offers fantastic views of of the river, as well as opportunities to spot Roosevelt elk.
Oregon's Twin Lakes/Palmateer Point trail offers fantastic views of Mount Hood, placid lakes, and a hike through forests of mountain hemlocks, noble firs, and silver firs. Though it's busy in summer, hikers in autumn are more likely to find solitude at this spot in the Mount Hood Wilderness.
