Nature

I love to hike and spend time outdoors. Washington is a beautiful place to live alpine lakes, ridges with big views, and trails for almost every season. Some favorites include Goat Lake (glacier-carved basin and turquoise water) and Iron Peak (open ridge walking with Teanaway peaks all around), but the list keeps growing.

The Olympic Peninsula is its own world: rainforest river valleys, rocky coast, and quiet roads. I never get tired of the Hoh River and the Hoh Rain Forest, moss everywhere, huge old trees, and that soft green light under the canopy.

I like getting down to the coast near Westport ,long beach walks, the marina and harbor, lighthouses and state-park stretches, and that open-ocean feeling you don’t get in the Cascades. Nearby Grayland and Tokeland have some great home rentals near the beach when I want to turn a quick trip into a longer stay. It love walking on the beach and staring out at the vastness of the ocean, it really put things in perspective.

Washington Trails Association is an excellent source for hike ideas, maps, trip reports, and trail news, an easy place to browse what’s out there before I lace up my boots.