triadakick.blogg.se - Pacific northwest national parks

Once in Idaho, the trail drops down to cross the Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry before entering the Okanogan Highlands. In the Northwest Peaks Scenic Area, the trail follows mountain ridgelines around the Northwest Peaks and then crosses the Montana-Idaho state line near Canuck Pass. From Eureka, the trail parallels Lake Koocanusa for several miles before climbing into the Purcell Mountains and passing near the town of Yaak. The trail enters the Flathead National Forest and travels up Hay Creek to the Whitefish Divide and then into the Kootenai National Forest and through the Ten Lakes Scenic Area before dropping down into the town of Eureka.

The trail travels west through the park, crossing the Continental Divide Trail and passing Goat Haunt and Bowman Lake before leaving the park in the small community of Polebridge, Montana. The trail’s eastern terminus is located at Chief Mountain Customs in Glacier National Park. The Pacific Northwest Trail begins its westward journey high in the Rocky Mountains within sight of the Canadian border. The trail crosses through five primary geographic areas: the Rocky Mountains, Okanogan Highlands, North Cascades, Puget Sound, and Olympic Peninsula. The Pacific Northwest Trail travels through some of the region's most spectacular and diverse terrain along its 1,200-mile journey from the Continental Divide to the Pacific Ocean.

Go to management for trail route, history, and current planning efforts.

You'll always have more than enough to appreciate in this highly creative part of the world. Galleries and museums display pieces by Native American artists, ceramicists and painters, as well as glassmakers inspired by Tacoma's Dale Chihuly. Seattle, Portland and Vancouver all support symphonies, operas, dance troupes and theater companies. Offbeat film houses (often refurbished vintage gems) and art galleries are tucked into even the smallest towns. There's no shortage of urban entertainment and culture, with a scene encompassing indie garage bands, world-class symphonies, jazz bars and an abundance of public art. Grapevines cover many hills and produce a harvest of intriguing reds and whites. Today, craft brewers pump out fragrant India Pale Ales (IPAs) and ever more inventive specialty beers. Microbrewing also became famous in this region, located within a stone's throw of the nation's highest concentration of hop farms. In some coffee shops, pouring a latte is practically an art form. The nation's gourmet-coffee scene may have started in Seattle, but dozens of artisan micro roasters across the Northwest now produce some of the best espresso in the world. Locavores abound, getting their fix in the many specialty groceries, farmers markets and community gardens. There's an abundance of locally produced food, from berries, hazelnuts and wild mushrooms to seafood, cheese and grass-fed beef. Vancouver offers some of the best Chinese food outside, well, China.

Seattle boasts a long-established history of Northwest cuisine, while Portland's affordability and creativity have made it a magnet for hot chefs.

Seattle, Portland and Vancouver are all rich in exceptional restaurants from budget to fine dining, and have a wide range of ethnic food options. Those clouds have a silver lining too, as all that rain translates into a perfect storm of water sports raft white water, kayak lake and sea, and kiteboard through ripping winds. The region offers endless outdoor opportunities, including camping, hiking, cycling, skiing and mountaineering. And that's before you get to the raging rivers, rolling deserts, dense old-growth forests and glorious public beaches that are never far from any urban landscape. Even the big cities are punctuated by looming, snowy peaks: Seattle's iconic Mt Rainier, Portland's ever-in-view Mt Hood and Vancouver BC's long line of North Shore Mountains. Lush forests, a pristine coastline, outrageously good food, crisp microbrews, and music and art galore – Pacific Northwesterners have it good and they don't mind sharing.