Facts at a Glance
State: Washington
Statehood: 11 November, 1889
Population: 5,250,000
Area: 71,303 sq miles
Size: 18th largest in the USA
State Capital: Olympia
State Nickname: Evergreen State
State: Oregon
Statehood: 14 February, 1859
Area: 98,386 sq miles
Size: 9th largest in USA
Population: 3,038,000
State Capital: Salem
State Nickname: Beaver State
State: Idaho
Statehood: 30 July, 1890
Area: 83,574 sq miles
Size: 14th largest in the USA
State Capital: Boise
State Nickname: Gem State
There are two time zones: Pacific Standard (GMT/UTC -8) for all of Washington, most of Oregon and northern Idaho. Southern Idaho and a sliver of eastern Oregon are in the Mountain time zone (GMT/UTC -7).
The Pacific Northwest is tucked away in the upper, you guessed it, north-western corner of the USA. The region is made up of three major geographical features: the mountains and valleys between the Pacific coastline and the Cascade Range; the plateaus east of the Cascades to the Rocky Mountain foothills; and, in Idaho, the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains to the Continental Divide. Linking all these regions is the mighty Columbia River, which drains a 260,000-sq-mile area, taking in nearly all of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, as well as parts of British Colombia, Montana, Utah and Nevada. Much of the northern Pacific coast is rugged, and lined with cliffs and rocky promontories. The Cascade Mountains run like a spine along the western third of Washington and Oregon, and include the eye-catching peak of Mt Rainer and also Mt St Helens, which erupted in 1980 and devastated a huge area.
The Pacific Northwest's dense and fast-growing forests west of the Cascades are dominated by the Douglas fir, a statuesque conifer that can grow to nearly 300 feet in height. Secondary roles are played by Sitka spruce, Western hemlock, maples, oaks and red cedar. Edible wild mushrooms found on the forest floor have become a goldmine to local economies. The dry uplands east of the Cascades receive much less rainfall and have shallow soils which don't allow for deep-rooted growth. Ponderosa and lodgepole tress predominate in the forests, and scrubby juniper and silver sage on the regions extensive savannas.
The open landscapes of central and eastern Oregon and Washington are popular with birdwatchers. Listen for the `whoosh' of diving nighthawks, and keep your eyes peeled for raptors, falcon, osprey and bald eagles. Large herds of elk are found in Oregon's Blue Mountains; mule deer and pronghorn antelope are also abundant. Black bears inhabit the woods of the Cascades and Coast ranges; a few grizzly bears inhabit western Idaho close to the Montana and Wyoming borders. On the Pacific coast, stealth and a pair of binoculars should enable you to see puffins, cormorants and pelicans. Seals and sea lions are not uncommon, especially along quiet, rocky promontories. From these same outcroppings, visitors can watch for whales migrating north along the coast in spring.
Generally speaking, there are two distinct weather patterns in the Pacific Northwest. West of the Cascade Mountains the weather is dominated by the marine air of the Pacific Ocean, providing moderate winter temperatures, warm summers, seasonally abundant rainfall and lots of fog. East of the Cascade Mountains, there's plenty of sunshine year-round, high summer temperatures and much less rainfall. Winter snowfalls are heavy in the Coast Range and Cascade Mountains.
The first inhabitants of what is now the Pacific Northwest were nomadic hunter-gatherers who lived in small bands. On the Pacific coast and the major coastal river valleys, they evolved societies based on fishing, whaling and scavenging from the sea. They included the Quinault, Quileute, Chinook and Tillamooks. Summer and fall were dedicated to harvesting and storing the bounty of the sea, but the long winter months were given over to activities other than subsistence, enabling the Northwest Coastal Indians to reach a degree of sophistication unmatched by most other native American cultures. Inland, on the arid plateaus between the Cascades and the Rocky Mountains, a culture developed based on seasonal migration between rivers and temperate uplands. These tribes, which included the Nez Perce, Cayuse and Spokane, shared cultural traits with both the coastal Indians and plains Indians from east of the Rockies. They lived by catching freshwater fish, gathering fruit and hunting deer and elk.
The Pacific Northwest was one of the last areas to be explored by Europeans. Although the Spaniard Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed to the mouth of Oregon's Rogue River in 1543, incisive exploration of the area didn't take place until the 18th century. Rumours of a Northwest passage sent England, Spain, Russia, and a fledgling United States scrambling to find it first. Lewis and Clark travelled overland across the region during their 1804-1806 expedition, but none of these early explorations led directly to the establishment of a settlement.
The Northwest Passage proved elusive, but these explorers did discover the abundance of the Northwest's fur-bearing wildlife, and the profits to be made in the peltry trade. The last two decades of the 18th century were a boom time for maritime merchants whose ships entered the waters of the Northwest and traded cloth and trinkets with natives in return for pelts of sea otters. They then set sail for China, where the skins were traded for tea and luxury goods. The war of 1812 with Great Britain (a sideline of the wider Napoleonic Wars in Europe) made maritime commerce dangerous so fur trading forts gradually spread west from the Great Lakes and Hudson Bay.
By 1827, Russia and Spain had both backed off from their claims to the region (by now known as the Oregon Territory). The English and Americans jointly exploited the area's resources but were forbidden to establish an official government by a codicil to the Treaty of Ghent which ended the War of 1812. The de facto government was the British Hudson Bay Company, which managed the fur trade. A vote held in 1843 by the 700 rag-tag residents of the Oregon Territory in the Willamette Valley - a mixture of Protestant missionaries, retired trappers, mountain men and their native American wives - gave full administration of the area to the United States.
Off the record: Die Imperialist Pigs!
By this time, the 2,000-mile-long Oregon Trail had begun to bring settlers from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City in the Willamette Valley. Between 1843 and 1860 the 53,000 settlers set out on the six-month journey along the trail and by the late 1860's, much of the Pacific Northwest was settled. Latter-day Oregonians have always made much of the assumedly stellar qualities of these early settlers, and it is true that the trail was an arduous undertaking. But those who chose to travel it had to be able to afford not just a wagon or two, but also livestock and sufficient foodstuffs for six months. In other words, the Northwest was eventually settled, not by penniless wanderers but economically solid, enterprising people from established backgrounds who knew a good thing when they saw one.
All this speedy development took its toll, however. The long domination of the Northwest by the fur companies decimated the region's wildlife, especially its populations of otter and beaver. Native American cultures were corrupted by alcohol, tribes were decimated by disease and Methodist missionaries separated Native American children from their families. The coastal Indians were rounded up and marched or shipped to reservations in 1855, where increased illness, starvation and dislocation led to the extinction of many tribes. The Native Americans east of the Cascades resisted settlers in a series of fierce battles between 1855 and 1877, but also ended up on reservations, deracinated, alienated from their traditional culture and dependent on government subsidies.
By 1883, the Pacific Northwest coast was connected to the eastern states by railroad. Portland became a conduit for agricultural produce from inland and quickly became one of the world's largest wheat-shipment ports. The region received massive government grants for infrastructure projects in the 20th century, including a series of dams on the Columbia River which provided cheap electricity and fuelled industrial growth in Puget Sound. The dams also provided vital irrigation enabling marginal land east of the Cascades to be planted by farmers. The downside was the severe depletion of salmon stocks in many rivers because the hydroelectric dams hindered the salmon's migration.
Despite growing industrialisation around the Puget Sound, most of the Pacific Northwest had a fairly pastoral existence during the first half of the 20th century. Home of the USA's logging industry, the area maintained a woodsy, rugged and sleepy way of life until the rise of the Seattle aeroplane manufacturer Boeing. The manufacturer of the first 747s injected huge amounts of cash into the region and was responsible for attracting supporting industry to the area. Seattle is still very much Boeing's fiefdom, though Microsoft has also made the city its home. Logging is still a major industry, especially in Oregon which leads the nation in lumber production. Burgeoning environmental concerns have pressured federal and state governments to restrict logging on public land, crippling much of the established forest-products industry but protecting vast swathes of woodland.
The current population of the Pacific Northwest is about 9.2 million, which amounts to about 4% of the total US population. By far the greatest concentration of people is in Washington's Puget Sound area and Oregon's Willamette Valley. Catholicism and Protestantism are the major religions in the region. The Mormon church is prevalent in a number of areas of Idaho and there are Mennonite communes in the Willamette Valley and parts of north-eastern Washington. The region has attracted a number of dubious sects, including one devoted to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, which built a private empire in north-eastern Oregon. The White supremacist Aryan Nation has several churches in northern Idaho.
Idaho grows 1/3 of the USA's potatoes, & is damn proud of it! (21K)
The Northwest is a lively and sophisticated arts center, particularly in Portland and Seattle, the Oregon coast and the San Juan Islands. Nationally recognised writers like Ken Kesey, Tom Robbins, Ursula LeGuin, Jean Auel, Anne McCaffrey, Gary Snyder and JA Jance live in the region. The standard joke is that it rains so much in the Pacific Northwest that there's little to do but read. In reality the weather isn't that bad and Seattle is becoming a favourite location with filmmakers because of low production costs. The city skyline is becoming increasingly familiar thanks to internationally successful films such as The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Sleepless in Seattle and Singles.
The Northwest is known for its modern music scene thanks to the success of Seattle's Grunge Mafia (Nirvana, Soundgarden, the Melvins, and Pearl Jam for example). The plaid flannel shirt and work boots of America's working class have become de rigueur for the pretty young things of the Northwest.
The ski season begins with the rowdy Winter Carnival at Sandpoint (ID) in January. For those with rhythm in the saddle and rhyme on the tongue, there's a Cowboy Poetry Jubilee in Omak (WA) on the third weekend in March. For the growing host of international haggis aficionados, the Scottish Highland Games are held in Ferndale (WA) during the first weekend in June. For those who like a tipple, the Northwest Microbrewery Festival is in Fall City (WA) on the third weekend in June. The Boise River Carnival is more of a family affair, and is held in Boise (ID) in late June.
The Portland Gay Pride Celebration takes place in Portland (OR), in late June, while the World Championship Timber Carnival attracts a different kind of fella to Albany (OR) in early July. A Mosquito Festival sets Paisley (OR) abuzz, also in late July. The International Accordian Festival in Leavenworth (WA) in mid-August proves there's life beyond grunge. The Lewiston Roundup in Lewiston (ID) is a whopping rodeo held during the second week in September. The Bumbershoot Music Festival takes place over the Labor Day Weekend (the last weekend in September) in Seattle (WA).
Most travellers choose to visit the region in the summer or autumn when the weather is pleasant and rainfall infrequent. If you plan to go hiking or camping, then it's best to plan to be west of the Cascades after May. Spring comes to eastern Oregon, Washington and Idaho in May and a trip to the high desert and the eastern mountain ranges in May and June will reward the traveller with beautiful weather and heaps of wildflowers. Winter has its definite plus points, especially if you're a ski enthusiast or love watching storms buffet the coast.
Seattle
More than any other city in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle epitomises the area's trend from hick to hip. It wasn't long ago that many people hadn't the foggiest idea where this place was, nor where Washington State was, for that matter. Now it seems everyone knows someone who is living the good life in Seattle, who is up on the music scene or who was there when the coffee craze first started.
Seattle is really quite small, but its surrounding neighbourhoods bolster its size and create an impression of living in a city where trees and azaleas outnumber houses. Highlights include Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square, the International District, the Space Needle, and the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks. An excursion to nearby Whidby Island, in Puget Sound is an excellent way to spend a day.
A separate Destination Seattle is currently being prepared.
The San Juan archipelago comprises 457 islands off the coast of north-western Washington. The islands used to be considered an inaccessible backwater of farmers and fishers and only in the last 20 years have they been appreciated for their bucolic charm. In many ways the islands don't even feel like they belong to North America. The sense of remoteness from mainland life is palpable, the pace slower, and those rocky fields filled with sheep look like they belong in southern Ireland.
Cattle Point on peaceful, time-out, San Juan Island (19K)
The island's are in a rain shadow created by Vancouver Island, and have sunny weather 250 days a year - substantially better than nearby mainland coastal towns. Ferries run from Anacortes to the four largest islands - San Juan, Orcas, Shaw and Lopez. Note that lodgings can be hard to find in July and August, and you should definitely make reservations. You'll be hard-pressed to find a room in summer for under US$100, so if you're on a budget you'll need to camp.
This remote and rugged area of wild coastlines, old-growth forests and craggy mountains sits like a massive thumb sticking into the Pacific Ocean. Its isolated location, west of Puget Sound in north-western Washington, has given the area a distinct ecological environment and a unique human history.
The peninsula contains the showcase Olympic National Park, which harbours the continent's only temperate rainforests. The 8000-foot Olympic Mountains dominate the park, which is popular with climbers, hikers, cross-country skiers, sea kayakers and white-water rafters. Its coastal strip contains some of the most rugged and picturesque coastline in the country but is only accessible by road in a few places.
Heavily glaciered Olympic Mountains (20K)
In a region dedicated to the marvels of nature, the one `urban' must-see is Port Townsend, on the peninsula's north-eastern tip. This tiny town is one of the best preserved Victorian-era seaports in the country. Travellers should note that the peninsula has very extreme weather and visitors should anticipate rain at any time of the year.
Mt Rainier, at 14,411 feet, is the highest peak in the Cascades and is imbued with more myth than any other mountain in the Northwest. Seattlites simply call it `the Mountain' and judge the weather by its visibility. Mt Rainier is still a fairly potent volcano and gas from mountaintop steam vents creates toasty fern caves.
The weather on the mountain is very changeable and frequently bad, so be prepared. The good news is that around mid-August, the high meadows explode with wildflowers and the huckleberry is ready for picking. While most people never see the black bears and cougars that live in the backcountry, day hikers have a good chance of spotting hoary marmots, pine martens and mountain goats. Hiking trails range from 1.5 mile jaunts to ten-day 93-mile treks. There is cross-country skiing in winter at Paradise, and downhill skiing at Crystal Mountain Resort just outside the park's north-eastern boundary.
Where were you when Mt St Helens blew? For most people in the Pacific Northwest, the events of 18 May, 1980, are as welded into memory as the dates of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the assassination of JFK. On that day Mt St Helens erupted with the force of 21,000 atomic bombs, levelling hundreds of sq miles of forest and spreading volcanic ash across the Northwest. After the smoke cleared, the once comely and symmetrical 9677-foot mountain covered in glaciers, had blown 1300 feet off its peak, and a mile-wide crater yawned on its north side.
Trails have reopened to hikers and skiers and nature is already beginning to restore life to the mountain, but the devastation wrought by the eruption is an incredible sight, and one that will haunt your thoughts for days.
This awe-inspiring chasm is one of the Pacific Northwest's most dramatic and scenic destinations. The mile-wide Columbia River, which divides Washington and Oregon, winds through a 3000-foot-deep gorge flanked by volcanic peaks and austere bands of basalt. Waterfalls tumble from the mountains, falling hundreds of feet to the river, and deep green forests cling to the cliff walls.
The gorge is the only sea-level passage through the Cascade and Sierra mountains between California and the Canadian border, so it has been an important transportation corridor for centuries. A freeway now zips through the gorge, but it takes only a little effort to get out of the fast lane and start enjoying the recreational opportunities available, including hikes to waterfalls and wildflower habitats, backcountry camping, as well as swimming, sailing, windsurfing and fishing. Hood River, one of the most cosmopolitan and youth-oriented towns in the Northwest, is the major service centre for the gorge.
Oregon's largest city is encircled by vast forests, dominated by ancient volcanoes and situated at the confluence of two great rivers - the Columbia and the Willamette. It's a cosmopolitan settlement with an easy-going, can-do spirit and a small-town ambience, despite a population of 1.5 million. Perennially near the top of the USA's `most liveable cities' list, Portland is known nationally for its progressive politics, relaxed pace and its love of the outdoors and the environment.
Downtown Portland is an urban success story - vital, bustling, tree-filled and gregarious. A cap on building height has kept even the most modern areas human-sized and comfortably proportioned and plenty of the architecture is extremely innovative. Northwest is the trendiest district, with plenty of boutiques, galleries, great coffeehouses, and those famous brewpubs; the funkiest neighbourhoods are in the inner Southeast where `alternative' has become almost mainstream.
Portland's highlights include the Old Town, an ungentrified area of 1890s architectural gems that has become popular in recent years as a movie set for period dramas; Portland's Chinatown which has been thriving since the 1880s; the carnival atmosphere at the huge weekend Saturday market near the lovely Skidmore Fountain; the Oregon Maritime Center and Museum which charts Portland's long history as a seaport and shipbuilding centre; the Portland Art Museum's exhibit of Northwest Native Indian carvings; and the country's only showcase devoted to the art of promotion - the American Advertising Museum.
Forest, mountain, beach, ocean and river all meet through a prism of mist and green translucence along the 300-mile Oregon coast. This was once a timeless area where families returned again and again to the same sleepy coastal town for long holidays. Although the last decade has brought increasing services and facilities, the southern and central regions are virtually untrammelled by development.
Oregon's most famous beach resorts - Seaside, Cannon Beach and Lincoln City - are all in the north and have become heavily touristed. If you want to get away from it all in this region, check out the Three Capes Scenic Route, and the rugged, wind-whipped tiny community of Yachats and its surrounds. The southern coast is a near-continuous succession of dramatic seascapes and is serviced by few roads. Highlights include the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, the largest expanse of coastal dunes in the country; the little town of Bandon, one of the jewels of the Oregon coast; the small protected bay and dramatic cliffs of Sunset Bay State Park; and jet boat trips up the Rogue River.
This high-spirited and thoroughly enjoyable city (pop 130,000) manages to meld the vestiges of the cowboy Old West with the sophistication of the urban Pacific Northwest. Boise is the state capital of Idaho, the state's largest city and the home of a major university. Add to this the aura of a recreational resort, and you begin to understand its special youthful élan.
The city sits on the banks of the Boise River, at the edge of the vast Snake River Plain, abutting the foothills of the Sawtooth Range. The growth of the city was closely tied to a gold rush, and much of its late 19th-century architectural core remains. Highlights include Old Boise, a district of renovated old buildings recalling the city's turn-of-the-century opulence; the lovely Julia Davis Park, which contains the Idaho Historical Museum, Boise Art Museum and Zoo Boise; the interior of the Idaho State Capitol Building and the Basque Museum & Cultural Center, which relates the story of Idaho's Pyrenean settlers who now form one of the largest Basque settlements outside Europe.
The young people who have flocked to the city have, however, been attracted to Boise more by the excellent and accessible outdoor recreation: mountain biking and white-water rafting are so well loved as to be near-mandatory pursuits, and in winter skiers head off to nearby ski resorts - the closest of which is only 16 miles away. At night, there's plenty of street life: cafes and restaurants remain open late and on hot summer evenings crowds from nightspots spill onto the sidewalk.
The incredibly rugged and aptly-named Sawtooth Range is home to Idaho's most famous ski resort area. The trendy, affluent resort towns of Sun Valley and Ketchum (once home to Big Ernest Hemingway) are squeezed into a narrow valley beneath steep lightly forested mountains. This geological quirk is wedded to a piece of meteorological serendipity that ensures tons of very dry powdery snow dumps on the surrounding mountains resulting in world-class skiing in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Fishing and rafting on the Salmon River and horseriding are also popular activities.
When you get sick of looking at wealthy people wearing buffalo-skin coats, check out the old ranching community of Stanley at the headwaters of the Salmon River. This small settlement sits in one of the most drop-dead beautiful sites in the USA, surrounded by lush spring-fed meadows and backed by the pink granite of the Sawtooth Mountains. Celebrity ranchers are more common than sheepherders but the resort mentality is nowhere near as entrenched as in Sun Valley. Hikers can explore the Sawtooth Recreation Area which includes many beautiful high-altitude lakes.
North Cascades National Park
This park in north-western Washington is a paradise for backcountry hikers and adventurers used to minimal facilities. Although there are plenty of short accessible hikes and scenic pull-offs along the sole access road (the North Cascades Hwy), a whole new world of craggy, rugged mountains awaits those who venture a few miles off the road and climb to the first pass. If you head off into the great beyond, you'll have little but wolves, grizzly and black bears, mountain lions, marmots and mountain goats as company. When you get blasé about the wonderful hiking, try a rafting trip down the Skagit River. The utilitarian town of Newhalem is the jumping off point for most people heading into the park.
A steep valley in the Northern Cascades, the `American Alps' (20K)
Interesting geology and spectacular scenery don't always occur together, but in the John Day fossil country in north-eastern Oregon the two form an amazing double act. At Picture Gorge, the John Day River rips through an immense lava flow and begins digging its trench to the Columbia River. The landscape becomes drier, with sagebrush replacing pine forests, and along the canyon walls, bluffs of startling colour appear, eroded into bizarre spires and crenellations. The National Monument covers 22 sq miles and is spread over three separate sites. Each site has hiking trails and intrepretive displays.
Hells Canyon
The 8000-foot-deep Hells Canyon, cut by the mighty Snake River, straddles the border of Oregon and Idaho. It's the deepest river gorge in the world and most of the terrain is made of precipitous rock wall and steep, slot-like side valleys. This forlorn and severe landscape, which was once home to the Nez Perce and Shoshone, is now occupied mainly by bighorn sheep, mountain goats, elk and mule deer. The campground community of Copperfield is the hub of recreational activity on the Snake River. The real action, however, is 28 miles downriver, where the canyon's towering rock walls channel the river's surging current. Between here and Lewiston, Idaho, the Snake River drops 1300 feet in elevation and has adrenalin-pumping rapids which attract sang-froid jet boat tourists and wild-eyed rafting enthusiasts. Long-distance hikers will not be disappointed by the scenery from the safety of dry land.
Salmon River
Cutting through the heart of Idaho's national wilderness areas is the Salmon River - 75 miles of which, from Shoup almost to Riggins, is accessible only on foot or by raft. As it turns west across the centre of the state, the Salmon's wild, boiling white water and barren precipitous canyon have earned it the sobriquet the River of No Return. Riggins is the centre for white-water rafting excursions.
The thin sliver of Idaho wedged between Washington, Montana and the Canadian border is known for its dense forests, deep, glacier-dug lakes and mighty rivers. This largely unpopulated area is a favoured spot for fishing or boating vacations. Its remoteness has also made it attractive to right-wing survivalist and White supremacist groups, though the average traveller is more likely to confront a moose or a bear than a member of the Aryan Nation. The area contains some of the richest silver and lead veins in the world and has a rich mining heritage. The main service centre for the area is the lakeside town of Coeur D'Alene. The small town of Wallace, on the upper reaches of the South Fork Couer D'Alene River, possesses one of the best preserved turn-of-the-century town centres in the Northwest. If it's isolation and wilderness you're looking for, head to Priest Lake.
The pristine landscapes of the Pacific Northwest aren't just to look at, in this part of the world you're expected to get outdoors and enjoy yourself. Thankfully, the number of mountain ranges, forests, and wilderness and coastal areas means the desire to mix it up with Nature is almost overwhelming.
Washington, it is said, is where hikers go when they die. There are gorgeous hiking trails in virtually every corner of the state, but the Olympic National Park, the 93-mile Wonderland Trail in Mt Rainer National Park, and North Cascades National Park are the cream of the crop. For the hardy, the Pacific Crest Trail follows the Cascades from southern Oregon all the way into Canada. The craggy peaks of the northern Cascades offer extremely challenging ascents for experienced climbers. The less energetic can tackle 12,000-foot Mt Adams in the southern Cascades.
Some of the best downhill skiing in the country can be found at Sun Valley in Idaho and Mt Bachelor and Mt Hood in Oregon. Washington's Mt St Helens, Mt Rainer, and the Lake Chelan area offer spectacular cross-country skiing. In Washington's Methow Valley, a series of strategically spaced ski huts along the trails facilitate multi-day excursions.
The mighty rivers of the Pacific Northwest make it one of the top white-water rafting and kayaking areas in the country. Wild rivers include the Skagit, Yakima and Wenatchee in Washington; the Deschutes and the Rouge in Oregon; and the legendary Snake and Salmon rivers in Idaho. Hood River in Oregon is reckoned to be one of the world's hottest windsurfing spots and sea kayaking is popular in Puget Sound (and is said to be an exciting way to see killer whales!). The high capes and headlands of the Oregon coast are safer vantage points for whale watching. Grey whales migrate in spring and fall and can be seen from Cape Sebastian, Cape Blanco and Cape Arago.
Seattle is the major international entry point for the Pacific Northwest. There are frequent services to Seattle from all points on the Pacific Rim and several cities in Europe. There are also flights from Vancouver in Canada to Portland. There's a US$6 airport departure tax charged to all passengers bound for a foreign destination. Various ferry services operate daily between Vancouver and Victoria in British Columbia to Seattle. Drivers of cars and riders of motorbikes entering the USA from Canada will need the vehicle's registration papers, liability insurance and an international drivers permit in addition to their domestic license. Canadian drivers licences are accepted.
Seattle, Portland and Boise are the major domestic airports in the region. Airport departure taxes on domestic flights are normally included in the cost of tickets bought in the USA, although they may not be included in tickets purchased abroad.
Amtrak's Pacific Starlight runs between Seattle and San Diego in California, stopping along the Pacific coast. One option for the adventurous traveller is Green Tortoise, an off-beat bus company based in San Francisco, which plies up and down the Pacific coast from Mexico to Canada, stopping at hot springs and beaches along the way. It's a great way to meet people, but is not for the meek.
The cheapest way to get around the Pacific Northwest is by Greyhound bus. There are terminals in most cities and stops in most decent-sized towns. The Northwest has a fairly decent (by US standards - this ain't Europe, folks) rail network and the route from Seattle or Portland to towns on the other side of the Columbia Gorge is one of the most spectacular in the country. Commuter flights between cities is a possible, although expensive, option.
The US highway system is extensive and since distances are great and buses can be infrequent, auto transport is worth considering. Major car-rental agencies have offices sprinkled throughout the region, but you must be at least 25 years old and either have a credit card or leave a whopping cash deposit. During winter months, especially at higher elevations, chains are required on snowy or icy roads. Highway 1 hits all the coastal cities and offers fantastic views.
- The Great Northwest, by OO Winther, is the best general history of the region, but you'll have to scout around second-hand bookstores for a copy because it's long out of print. David Lavender's The Way to the Western Sea is a fascinating narrative recounting the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
- A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest, by Robert Ruby and John Brown, is a superlative tribe-by-tribe encyclopedia of the original inhabitants of the region. The Good Rain, by Timothy Egan, is an insightful account of the new inhabitants by the local New York Times correspondent.
- The Sierra Club Guide to the Natural Areas of Oregon & Washington, by John & Jane Greverus Perry, contains species lists and natural history.
- Former Merry Prankster Ken Kesey's Sometimes a Great Notion captures the brio of rural life in a small logging community. David Guterson's 1994 novel Snow Falling on Cedars is a courtroom whodunit which beautifully evokes the history and atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest.
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