AdventuresNW
Eagle Creek
For waterfall lovers, it doesn’t get much better than the Eagle Creek Trail, one of the premier hikes in the Columbia Gorge. This supremely well-engineered trail follows its namesake creek up through a verdant gorge that’s as green as St. Patrick’s Day. In places, Italian engineers blasted the route out of the basalt cliffs, and chain “handrails” are provided. Keep the kids close at hand. Waterfalls abound, ranging in scale from epic to intimate, including Punchbowl Falls (2 miles), Loowit Falls (3 miles), and Tunnel Falls (7 miles).
Trailhead: Exit 41 on I-84 (The Columbia Gorge Highway), approximately 25.5 miles east of Troutdale, OR. Parking is extremely limited. Northwest Forest Pass required.
Toleak Point
For a taste of the wild Olympic Coast, the 12-mile round-trip hike to Toleak Point is hard to beat. The route transports you across beautiful beaches, through lush green coastal forest, and up and over prodigious headlands with the help of fixed ropes and cable ladders. Along the way, you’ll pass the epic Giant’s Graveyard–a collection of fang-like sea stacks, lovely Scott’s Creek, and the alluring Strawberry Point, finally reaching the sublime Toleak Point, a wonderful place to pitch a tent. The route begins at Third Beach, accessible via a 1.5-mile walk through mossy forest from the road. In winter, you might just find yourself all alone out here except for a multitude of bald eagles.
Trailhead: 11.5 miles from US-101 on the La Push Road (bear left at the ‘Y’ at 7.7 miles), Olympic National Park. Wilderness Camping Permits are required for overnight camping on the coast. Obtain permits at the Wilderness Information Center (WIC) in Port Angeles.
Matia Island Loop Trail
Matia Island, located next to uber-popular Sucia Island in the northern San Juans, can be surprisingly quiet, and in winter, you might have the island to yourself. The moorage here is extremely limited, dissuading the yachting set. It’s ideal for kayakers. From Rolfe Cove, where there’s a dock and campground, the 1.2-mile loop trail winds through old-growth forest where silence prevails. At several places, side trails provide access to idyllic pocket coves, wonderful places to lean against a driftwood log and enjoy the melancholy winter sun. Aside from the dock, campground, and trail, the rest of the island is managed as wilderness and is closed to the public. The island was once home to “The Hermit of Matia Island”, a civil-war veteran, Elvin H. Smith, who lived here from 1892 until 1921, when his rowboat disappeared in a storm coming back from a supply run to Orcas Island.
Trailhead: Rolfe Cove (accessible only by private boat or water taxi). No pass required.
