• Shorter, nearby trails you can hike, walk, or run • Attractively packaged guidebook that makes a great gift • Written by Washington’s best known guidebook author Urban Trails: Olympia focuses on the trails and parks in and around the South Sound, including the Olympia, Tumwater, and Lacey areas. It covers hikes in Capitol State Forest, Harstine Island, the area around Shelton, and the Nisqually Delta. This book introduces locals and visitors alike to places in the state’s capital to go for a refreshing run, long walk, or peaceful hike right in their own backyards. With an emphasis on fitness and easy access to the outdoors, features of this guide include: • Trailhead directions, including public transit where available • “Know Before You Go” tips for park hours, events, etc. • Trail distance and high point • Estimated average hike time • Trailhead amenities • Info for families and dog owners • Sidebars on area history, nature, or special sights

Seattleites often play in the mountain ranges they can see from their city—but sometimes you just need a hike you can do before lunch. That’s what you get with Urban Trails: Seattle. A thriving city of more than seven hundred thousand residents within a metropolitan area of nearly four million, Seattle has become a big city, with rapid growth and an increasing number of new arrivals every year. Thanks to the foresight of early city planners, however, the city's large park system contains a wide array of trails that traverse manicured lawns, nature preserves, old-growth forest groves, historic districts, and vibrant neighborhoods—as well as trails that travel along lakeshores, cascading creeks, and stretches of Puget Sound shoreline. Within this sprawling metropolis you'll also find some of the best long-distance paved trails in the Northwest. They thread together parks and greenbelts that call out for further exploration and adventures. Whether you like to hike, run, or walk, you’ll find countless options among Seattle's urban trails, giving you many reasons to never leave the city when seeking excellent outdoor adventures. Features of this guide include: Easy to reference maps Trail distance and high point Indicates trail suitability for walkers, hikers, and runners Trailhead amenities Info for families with kids and for dog owners Sidebars on area history, nature, and sights

Urban Trails: Bellingham is aimed at those of us looking for an accessible nature outing--trails we can get to quickly, via public transportation or a short drive, that offer a quality outdoor experience without the need for special gear or major effort. These are trails perfect for families, first-time trail users, or athletes looking for a quick fix after work. Urban Trails: Bellingham focuses on the trails and parks in and around Bellingham, including the Chuckanut Mountains and Skagit Valley. Features in this guidebook include: Trailhead directions, including public transit where available "Know before you go" tips for park hours, events, and more Trail distance and high point Indication of best use for walkers, runners, and/or hikers Trailhead amenities Info for families and dog owners Sidebars on area history, nature, or special sights Reprinted and updated in 2019.

Urban Trails: Kitsap focuses on the trails, parks, and preserves within the urban and suburban areas around Bremerton, Bainbridge Island, and the Key and Kitsap peninsulas. You'll find trails to beaches, old growth forests, lakeshores, wildlife-rich wetlands, rolling hills, scenic vistas, meadows, historic sites, and vibrant communities. All of the routes here are designed to show you where you can go for a nice run, long walk, or quick hike right in your own backyard. Features include: Trailhead directions that include public transit where available Trail distance, high point, amenities, and more Sidebars on area history, nature, tips, or sights Info for families and dog owners

* Includes trail runs in Bellingham, the North and South Cascade Range, the Olympic Peninsula, urban areas, and eastern Washington * Guidebook contains mileage of trails, elevation profiles, maps, and photos * Offers helpful trail running tips for getting started, trail etiquette, and more Trail running is a ever-more popular sport that provides a unique way to exercise while enjoying spectacular scenery. While there are many hiking guidebooks for Washington, this is the first state-wide, comprehensive trail running guidebook. 50 Trails Runs in Washington offers everything from where to go, what to bring, how to get there, and what to expect on the trail. Includes trail running descriptions of varied lengths -- from four miles to 34 miles, accompanied by maps, photos, and elevation profiles. Washington's trail runners will never be left wondering where to run again.

Above St. Anthony Falls, in the middle of the Mississippi River, hidden in the heart of Minneapolis, lies Wita Waste, the beautiful island. Named Wita Waste by Dakota Indians, it is known now as Nicollet Island, the only inhabited island in the Mississippi. Over the centuries, it has been a sacred birthing place, at the center of the lumber and flour-milling industries that built Minneapolis, and involved in the collapse of the Eastman tunnel, which almost doomed those industries. One of Minneapolis's largest fires, the great conflagration of 1893, started there. It has been the home of pioneers, veterans, elite barons of the Gilded Age, Roman Catholic monks, hippies, artists, vagrants, and donkeys. Many of their houses still remain, preserving Minneapolis's architectural heritage. Nicollet Island has been at the center of numerous controversies ranging from its original land claim to proposals to locate the state capitol there, to, more recently, the threatened demolition of its historic houses. Nicollet Island is the history of Minnesota in miniature, and its tale is one of beauty, romance, disaster, and conflict.

America has more than 130,000 lakes of significant size. Ninety percent of all Americans live within fifty miles of a lake, and our 1.8 billion trips to watery places make them our top vacation choice. Yet despite this striking popularity, more than 45 percent of surveyed lakes and 80 percent of urban lakes do not meet water quality standards. For Love of Lakes weaves a delightful tapestry of history, science, emotion, and poetry for all who love lakes or enjoy nature writing. For Love of Lakes is an affectionate account documenting our species’ long relationship with lakes—their glacial origins, Thoreau and his environmental message, and the major perceptual shifts and advances in our understanding of lake ecology. This is a necessary and thoughtful book that addresses the stewardship void while providing improved understanding of our most treasured natural feature.