Washington Outdoors - Washington Outdoor Recreation
Washington is one of the most physically diverse states, offering great trails and multiple opportunities to experience the outdoors. The Pacific coastline provides a huge playground for sea kayakers, who explore the Puget Sound Region, the Olympic Peninsula (home to Olympic National Park), and the spectacular San Juan Islands near Bellingham. The Cascade Mountain Range forms the spine of Washington State, where towering volcanoes like Mount Saint Helens, Mount Rainier, Glacier Peak, Mount Adams, and Mount Baker rise into the clouds. Residents of Spokane and Yakima have plenty of outdoor activities available as well, in the beautiful desert canyons and gorges carved through Eastern Washington by the Columbia River and the Yakima River to the heights of Mount Spokane, suitable for hiking and skiing. Without a doubt, the association between Washington and trails is strong.
Given this diversity, it is not surprising that virtually any outdoor activity is within an easy day trip of the state’s population centers in Seattle and Tacoma, some practically in the cities themselves, like at Cougar Mountain Regional Park. A short trip from Seattle’s Pike Place Market to Snoqualmie Pass, Stevens Pass, or along the Mountain Loop Highway provides easy access to the huge network of hiking, backpacking, and mountain biking trails which lace the Cascade Range, including the Alpine Lakes Loop, Pacific Crest Trail, and the famous Wonderland Trail at Mount Rainier National Park. Along the Canadian border, the often-overlooked peaks, glaciers, and forests of North Cascades National Park beckon not just to climbers and hikers, but also canoers and other paddlers who take in the mountain scenery from Ross Lake and Lake Chelan.
With so much to see it’s hard to know where to begin; a starting point could be a trip on the John Wayne Pioneer Trail (also known as the Iron Horse Trail), a converted rail-trail which stretches through all regions of the state.
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