Craig Romano - Urban Trails: Olympia: Capitol State Forest, Shelton, Harstine Island

Nonnative bullfrog at McLane Creek ()

This guide has two missions. One is to promote fitness and get you outside more often! A trip to Mount Rainier, North Cascades, or Olympic national parks can be a major undertaking for many of us. But a quick outdoor getaway to a local park or trail can be done almost anytimebefore work, during a lunch break, after work, or when we dont feel like fighting traffic and driving for miles. And nearly all of these trails are available year-round; so you can walk, run, or hike every day by utilizing the trails within your own neighborhood. If you feel you are not getting outside enough or getting enough exercise, this book can help you achieve a healthier lifestyle.

Mission number two of this guide is to promote the local parks, preserves, and trails that exist within and near our urban areas. More than 4.7 million people (65 percent of Washington States population) call the greater Puget Sound home. While conservationists continue to promote protection of our states large, roadless wild cornersand that is still importantits equally important that we promote the preservation of urban natural areas and develop more trails and greenbelts right where people live. Why? For one thing, the Puget Sound area contains unique and threatened ecosystems that deserve to be protected as much as those in wilder, more remote places. And we need to have usable and accessible trails where people live, work, and spend the majority of their time. Urban trails and parks allow folks to bond with nature and be outside on a regular basis. They help us cut our carbon footprint by giving us access to recreation without the need to burn excessive gallons of fuel to reach a destination. They make it easier for us to commit to regular exercise programs, giving us safe and agreeable places to walk, run, and hike. And urban trails and parks also allow disadvantaged populationsfolks who may not have cars or the means to travel to one of our national parks or forestsa chance to experience nature and a healthy lifestyle too. As the greater Puget Sound area continues to grow in population and becomes increasingly more developed, it is all the more important that we support the expansion of our urban parks and trails.