From the dense, misty rainforests of Oregon and Washington to the last desolate, treeless island in the Aleutian chain, North America’s northwest coast is a land of awesome natural beauty. Along much of the coast, sharp young peaks soar skyward from the water’s edge, spilling pieces of glacier into the ocean waters at their bases. Human settlements of varying sizes and degrees of polish mark the spots where rivers meet the coast, pointing the way to the country’s interior, a land both at odds with and continuous with the coast. There, the peaks give way to sometimes-arable land, desert, tundra, and more mountains, but the vastness of the land there, even strewn as it is with cities and towns, is just as daunting.

For thousands of years, human settlement in the region has depended on the land and on the rich animal life with which they shared it. In the last two hundred years, human activities have begun to make a significant impact on the land—enthusiastic logging and fishing proved the region’s natural resources weren’t inexhaustible. Thankfully, the environmental spirit of the late 20th century is alive and well in the region. That spirit, the explosive growth of the tourism industry, and the realization among resource-based industries that sustainable practices were an economic necessity has helped modern governments see old-growth forests as something more than so many board-feet of raw lumber.

While you are assured of seeing a good many visitors in whatever part of the region you choose to visit, you are just as sure to be able to escape the crowds with a minimum of effort. The amount of that land that is protected, preserved, and absolutely spectacular is so vast, and the destinations on the average package tour so predictable, that the independent traveler of limited means has virtually unlimited access to all that is wonderful about the country. For example, Banff National Park, in the Canadian Rockies, welcomes some 5 million visitors a year, but the right dayhike there, or a visit to one of the park’s lesser-known neighbors, is all it takes to escape the crowds. For those who might be overwhelmed by this boundlessness, the backcountry is anchored by welcoming hostels, quirky communities, laid-back cities, and other places to catch your breath before it’s taken away again.

Winter visits to the northcountry promise hundreds of miles of cross-country skiing and downhill skiing and snowboarding and snowshoeing and dog sledding out of snow-bound cities where locals struggle to entertain themselves year-round and don’t mind you joining in. Farther south along the coast, winter consists of very much rain and a similar litany of snow sports at the higher elevations. The look of the northwest under that much gray is sober but saturated; your travels may well bring you through a landscape deserted by tourists, but will only intensify the feel of all that forest, all those stretches of ash-colored beach in the afternoon, all those craggy, ice-laced peaks.

TUMBLING IN THE TUNDRA

Let's Go: Alaska & the Pacific Northwest 2000's pages are stuffed with hikes, bikes, rivers, lakes, and ski areas. In every town we look for hikes that are accessible even to those without their own transportation, yet aren’t overrun with either locals or other travelers. We also always list ranger stations, gear rental shops, outfitters, useful publications, and places to go to get the inside scoop for yourself. In the north, muskeg and mossy tundra make for difficult going, but everywhere in the west great effort is made to maintain established trails. Walking on the soft floor of a temperate rainforest, as long as its not currently pouring, is among the most blissful of a traveler’s pleasures. In the Rockies and elsewhere, the exposed slopes above treeline leave hikers at the mercy of both the elements and unobstructed views of neighboring peaks. National parks provide some of the best and most varied hiking anywhere, and are uniformly well staffed, well maintained, and well worth it.

When your feet get tired, you might want to let the water take the strain. Many rivers in the region are eminently accessible to kayaks and rafts, especially in the south. There, half- and full- day trips make for great diversions and can be reasonably priced. The skiing and riding in the northern Rockies and the Cascade and Coast mountain ranges is some of North America’s best, and ranges from destination mega-resorts to community-owned hills with a couple T-bars. Most remarkable about the skiing here, though, is the fact that many areas are only minutes from (and sometimes even overlook) urban centers. Even more surprising? You can do it cheaply: hostels in Washington, Oregon, Alberta and BC all offer ski and stay packages.

The Northwest is aslo home to some of the finest examples of Native American and First Nation (the preferred terms for the indigenous people of the U.S. and Canada, respectively) culture on the continent, and is the birthplace of some its most popularly known traditions, such as potlatch, cedar carving, and salmon scaffolds. Some of the most fabulous places on earth lie on the wallet-lightening side of a pricey airplane ride — but if you've got the money, you could find worse ways of spending it. The Katmai Wilderness will have you reconsidering what beautiful is about in the landscape left by one of the 20th century’s most cataclysmic events, the eruption of Novarupta. The Aleutian Islands stretch into nothing but dark water and storms. The islands support fewer than twenty trees, and the velvety green ridgelines of these volcanic creatures billowing out of the North Pacific are truly one of the most remarkable features of the Alaskan landscape.

WHEN TO VISIT

In general, tourist season in the U.S. and Canada runs from late May to early September. In Canada, the beginning is marked by the Victoria Day long weekend, in the U.S. the Memorial Day long weekend. Summer ends, and the kids go back to school after the Labor/Labour day long weekend at the beginning of September. In the off season, accommodations might be cheaper and slightly less crowded, but those sights you traveled so far to see might also be closed, and it will be less pleasant to camp. On national holidays, many sights, and all banks and government offices will be closed, and transportation may run on restricted schedules.