Davis - The Northwest nature guide: where to go and what to see month by month in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia

The NORTHWEST NATURE GUIDE

Where to go and what to see month by month in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia

JAMES LUTHER DAVIS

Frontispiece: Great blue heron at Reifel Refuge BC

Every effort has been made to ensure all information in this book is correct and up to date, but addresses, phone numbers, Web sites, e-mail addresses, hours of operations, and other specific directions may change. The author and publisher can take no responsibility for the misidentification of mushrooms or plants by the users of this book or for any illness that might result from their consumption or from any attempted remedies. If there is any doubt whatsoever about the identity and edibility of a mushroom or plant, do not eat it. Users should exercise caution when driving and hiking in wilderness areas; the maps in this book are limited in detail.

Maps by Erik Goetze, The Art of Geography
All photographs by the author

This revised, expanded work incorporates portions of the book published in 1996 by Fulcrum Publishing as Seasonal Guide to the Natural Year: A Month by Month Guide to Natural Events.

Copyright 2009 by James Luther Davis. All rights reserved.

Published in 2009 by Timber Press, Inc.

Second printing 2009
Printed in China
Designed by Susan Applegate

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Davis, James L. (James Luther), 1949

The Northwest nature guide: where to go and what to see month by month in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia/James Luther Davis.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-0-88192-867-9

1. Natural historyOregonGuidebooks. 2. Natural historyWashington (State)Guidebooks. 3. Natural historyBritish ColumbiaGuidebooks. 4. OregonGuidebooks. 5. Washington (State)Guidebooks. 6. British ColumbiaGuidebooks. I. Title.

QH105.O7D38 2009

508.795dc22

2008009642

Dedicated to Harry Nehls,
who has contributed more to Oregon birding,
and taught me more about Oregons birds,
than anyone else Ive known.

Oregon Best Bets

1. Abert Rim

2. Alvord Desert

3. Aufderheide National Scenic Byway

4. Bandon

5. Big Summit Prairie

6. Bly Mountain Pass

7. Bonneville Dam

8. Bonnie Butte

9. Cannon Beach and Oswald West State Park

10. Cape Blanco State Park

11. Cape Ferrelo

12. Cape Lookout State Park and Netarts Bay

13. Cape Meares and Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge

14. Cape Perpetua and Neptune State Park

15. Cascades Lakes Highway

16. Cold Springs National Wildlife Refuge

17. Coleman and Dead Horse rims

18. Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

19. Crater Lake National Park

20. Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area

21. Eight Dollar Mountain

22. Elkhorn Wildlife Area

23. Fields

24. Florence, Darlingtonia State Natural Site, and Sea Lion Caves

25. Fort Stevens State Park and Clatsop Spit

26. Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge

27. Iron Mountain

28. Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve

29. Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area

30. Klamath Basin

31. Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

32. McNary Dam and McNary Nature Area

33. Metolius River and Camp Sherman

34. Mount Hood

35. Mount Pisgah Arboretum and Skinner Butte

36. North Umpqua River

37. Oatman Flat

38. Odell Lake

39. Opal Creek

40. Oregon Caves National Monument

41. Portland area sites

42. Rough and Ready Botanical Wayside

43. Sauvie Island Wildlife Area

44. Silver Falls State Park

45. Steens Mountain

46. Summer Lake Wildlife Area

47. Table Rocks and Salt Creek Road

48. Tillamook Bay, Barview Jetty, and Nehalem Meadows

49. Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge

50. Wallowa Lake State Park

51. Wenaha Wildlife Area

52. Wildwood Recreation Site

53. William Finley National Wildlife Refuge

54. Winchester Fish Viewing Area

55. Yachats

56. Yaquina Bay and Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area

Washington Best Bets

1. Banks Lake

2. Mercer Slough Nature Park

3. Big Meadow Lake

4. Birch Bay State Park

5. Black River Riparian Forest

6. Bowerman Basin and Grays Harbor

7. Catherine Creek

8. Chelan Ridge

9. Chuckanut Drive

10. Columbia Hills State Park

11. Columbia National Wildlife Refuge

12. Coppei Creek

13. Darrington

14. Deception Pass State Park, Washington Park, and Anacortes

15. Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and Ediz Hook

16. Fields Spring State Park

17. Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park

18. Goat Rocks Wilderness Area

19. Gold Creek Pond

20. Harts Pass

21. Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbia White-Tailed Deer

22. Kayak Point Regional Park

23. Klickitat Wildlife Area

24. Leadbetter Point

25. Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery and Wenatchee River

26. Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge

27. Little Spokane River Natural Area and Riverside State Park

28. Loup Loup Campground

29. McNary National Wildlife Refuge

30. Methow Valley

31. Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve

32. Mount Adams and Bird Creek Meadows

33. Mount Baker

34. Mount Rainier National Park

35. Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

36. North Cascades National Park

37. Oak Creek and Clemen Mountain wildlife areas

38. Ocean Shores peninsula

39. Olympic National Park

40. Padilla Bay

41. Port Townsend

42. Potholes Reservoir

43. Red Top Mountain

44. Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and Vancouver Lake

45. Salt Creek County Park

46. San Juan Islands

47. Seattle sites

48. Sherman Pass

49. Skagit Wildlife Area and Skagit Flats

50. Steamboat Rock State Park

51. Sumas

52. Tacoma Nature Center

53. Timberwolf Mountain and Rimrock Lake

54. Tumwater Falls

55. Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge

56. Walla Walla Valley and Touchet

57. Wenas Creek

58. Westport

59. Willapa Bay

60. Yakima River Canyon

Southwest British Columbia Best Bets

1. Active Pass

2. Botanical Beach Provincial Park

3. Boundary Bay

4. Burnaby Lake Regional Park