Every season offers new reasons to get outside and explore –- if you know when and where to go. Washington Nature Weekends provides all the information you need to plan fifty-two great weekend getaways – from excursions for the serious naturalist to casual outings for the whole family.

This guide will take you to familiar destinations -- Mount Rainier, San Juan Islands, and the Hoh Rainforest – as well as places off the beaten track – the Pend Oreille River, Harts Pass, or Oak Creek Wildlife Area. 

Plan terrific outdoor getaways to see:

• majestic eagles soaring in the winter sky near Rockport
• gray whales off the coast of Westport during spring migration
• late-blooming summer wildflowers at Bird Creek Meadows
• Brilliant fall foliage and a wealth of bird life at Walla Walla

Let Washington Nature Weekends help you explore the outdoors any time of the year!
 

The reality is that there are wonderful natural events occurring all over Washington State in every season of the year. And you don't always need a week's vacation to enjoy them. In many cases, a weekend is plenty of time to immerse yourself in a remarkable seasonal event somewhere in the state, as long as you are willing to get out of the house and find your way to the event - and as long as you have some idea of when and where you should go for the experience, whether it is a bird migration, major wildflower display, or the Perseid meteor shower.

Well, you came to the right place, so to speak, when you purchased Washington Nature Weekends.  This is a rich, and in many ways unique, publication. It is not a wildlife field guide, and it is certainly not a travel guide - although it does capture some of the elements of both, in a format that is informal, entertaining, readable, and often very personal. It combines the talents and substantial experiences of two remarkable co-authors, both long-time friends and colleagues of mine, into a seasonal compendium of Washington's best natural events. This is a book that you will want to keep, as well as give to friends as gifts.

Washington Nature Weekends should not be read and stored on a bookshelf with your other reference books, travel guides, and novels. Nor should it be stuffed into a daypack with your field maps and bird identification books. Instead, it should be kept in a conspicuous place so that you may consult it, year around, whenever you have a free weekend and the inclination to get outside, even in wet or cold weather, and experience Washington's very best natural events.

Joe La Tourrette 
Author and Wildlife Biologist and Consultant
Olympia, Washington