Oregon and Washington's Roadside Ecology

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful book! It highlights some of the unique flora, fauna, and ecology of the Pacific Northwest. The book highlights specific areas in the rainforest, mountains, and high desert. I would have liked to read more information about the Native peoples whose land these areas are on throughout the book. It is helpful if you're looking to hike the book notes how long trails are and offers tips for visiting.

An interesting find!

This was a very interesting read. Living in Washington State, I look forward to exploring the walks that it discussed. Being physically challenged with a bum leg, I especially appreciate that the hikes are short and not too difficult. Will definitely be using this book repeatedly!

Living in Washington state, this book is a perfect fit! 33 areas are highlighted with information and beautiful photos. They're split by starte and each section includes a map showing the locations. It would have been helpful if each park, trail, etc also included a tiny map since going back and forth in a digital book can be difficult. My list of places to visit definitely grew though I wish more had made the list in eastern Washington.

Thanks to Timber Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! I've been living in Northern California for three years and I didn't know about some of these hikes. The book had lots of information and some gorgeous pictures to go along. I'll be exploring the one's close to Medford for distance reasons but would love to explore farther north on vacay days.

What a wonderful reference book. Next time I travel through Washington and Oregon I hope to have this in my car. While many are not large sites, that is the point. I expect the sites are not overly crowded either, which would be nice. Wonderful pictures, and tips on what to see and watch for in these numerous short hikes. Only thing that would have been nice is a mini map of location by each site name, and a checklist of birds and/or plants to watch for. Otherwise, I would highly recommend this one. Would be great for those not in a rush to get to where they are going, but take time to stop and see the places most would drive by. Love this concept!

Nonfiction | Adult
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Road trips with me are a test of patience, as I view such journeys as opportunities to stop and explore, and stop and stop! This handbook highlights just a delightful few of the fascinating places to explore and discover if you take the time to stop. Mr. Scheer, we are kindred spirits indeed, and I was delighted to discover this loving tribute to the places that make me put on the brakes. The book is nicely organized, divided into two sections, Oregon (15 entries) and Washington (18 entries). Within each section are walks through accessible roadside natural attractions that explore each state in a roughly counterclockwise direction, starting in the northwest coastal corner of each state and finishing in the northeast. In the digital version I examined, the sections are colour-coded making it easy to distinguish the sections via the page edges. Nice touch, Timber Press! The walks tackle a myriad of natural wonders, from beach dunes, waterfalls and caves to bogs and mountain ridges. While there are a few spots found off the major interstate Highway 5, most of the trails are off the more interesting and smaller routes along the coast or inland, including my own favourites Highway 97 and 395. Though I’ve spent a lot of time in this area, Scheer has revealed some new places that I’m excited to discover on a future trip. To examine the content, I turned to two places I know well, Smith Rock in Oregon and Hurricane Ridge in Washington. Each entry is 8-10 pages long, so while the book features only 33 destinations, you get a lot of information on each of the trails. It begins with factual info like difficulty and length, and then, after information on finding the trailhead, moves into a narrative-style step-by-step description of the trail, including fascinating natural information to inform the explorer of the area’s prehistory, formation, and modern flora and fauna. There are colour photos throughout, including full-page ones, making this a book to read before you plan your route as well as one to keep tucked in the door pocket of your vehicle so it’s there at every stop. Following about 300 pages of the trail descriptions is a list of plant and animal species by common name, followed by the Latin name. Even that is fascinating reading – under Animals, I found something called a California sister (it’s a butterfly). The list is not easy to navigate unless you know the specific common name; loons are listed as Common Loon or Pacific Loon, for instance; rattlesnakes are found under Northern Pacific Rattlesnake. There’s also a reference list, acknowledgements and photo credits, and, I was delighted to see, an extensive index spanning nearly 20 pages, providing references and cross-references to all the species you learn about in the aforementioned list, as well as trail names, locations, and natural landforms. I will be buying a print copy of this great resource to keep in my car, for sure! My thanks to Timber Press for the digital copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
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