by Mike Carey, August 31, 2009

This month I’d like to review a new Washington destinations book from Northwest Outdoors writer and radio host John Kruse. This is John’s first book and it looks like he hit a home run with this first effort.

Great Places Washington isn’t your typical “go to” guide book. Rather, it is one man’s exploration of some of this state’s prime outdoor recreational areas. And it’s not a one trick pony book. John delves into many different outdoor pursuits, be it fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, biking, kayaking and much more. This makes the book the perfect gift for someone whose interests are multi-dimensional. There is definitely something in here for just about every outdoor pursuit.

First impressions when I picked up the book are that this is a high quality product. The paper has a nice gloss and the book is of substantial construction. The amount of content is impressive, coming in at almost 500 pages and featuring dozens of gorgeous pictures. This is no cursory highlight guide book, this is a book you can really use to seek out and learn about new places to visit here in Washington.

John has organized the book into several layers of very useful information. First, he divides the state into seven regions. Each region is mapped out at the start of the chapter, and easy to see stars on the map give you an instant idea of where the spots he explores are located. John incorporates a colorful and easy to understand system of symbols which quickly give the reader an idea of the highlights for a particular area. Each explored area has essential contact information with phone numbers and web site addresses for further research.

It’s not the goal of this book to be an exhaustive resource for outdoor activities in Washington, and that’s a good thing. Rather than go for quantity John has decided to go for quality, searching out those places and activities in Washington that he feels are highlights of our state. John’s list of places to visit and things to do is impressive indeed, from paddle trips in the rainforest of the Olympia Peninsula, to fishing the San Juans for salmon and bottom fish, and going on back country wilderness adventures in the Cascade mountains. In short, this book will give even the long time resident some new ideas for places to go and things to do in Washington.
Anyone looking for a nice addition to their Washington outdoors library will be very pleased adding this book to their collection. With the holidays coming up this book would be a perfect gift for Washington’s outdoor lovers.

Great Places Washington is available through Wilderness Adventures Press on the web, by direct mail, in book stores, select sporting goods retailers and Costco Stores in Washington State. You can also visit John’s web site at http://northwesternoutdoors.com for more great outdoor information and links to his outdoor radio shows.

Mike Carey
August, 2009