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The Outdoor Society is pleased to announce the release of our brand new book, 52 Olympic Peninsula Hikes. Created out of love for the region, which we call our home, Douglas and Mathias have poured their heart and soul into creating an instant classic for hikers and adventurers hoping to get to know the Olympic Peninsula even better. Finally filling the void of stunningly beautiful and informational guidebooks, 52 Olympic Peninsula Hikes is the inspirational, locally written guide for which you have been searching. 

Packed with full-color images, no other hiking guidebook on the market compares to the perfect mix of imagery, design and descriptions you will find in 52 Olympic Peninsula Hikes. This isn’t some book published by people who have visited a region once or twice. This is a guide from Pacific Northwest resident hikers and trail runners who are found, more often than not, out on the trails of the Olympic Peninsula. This is a labor of love from two adventurers who consider their backyard to be the trails, mountains and beaches of Olympic.

With 52 of the Olympic Peninsula’s favorite hikes featured, you’ll have a trek each week of the year, letting you explore deeper into the wilderness of Olympic while seeing the very best destinations in the region. Broken up into five sections, with an overview of each section, the layout makes finding a hike in each area of the Peninsula a breeze. With the help of a unique and gorgeously simply map, combined with high-quality color pictures, the book is visually appealing, while the trail descriptions are inspiring and informative.

About the Creative Team

For the past year, Mathias and Doug of Olympia, Washington have been working on this book, ensuring that it was presented in a manner which would leave hikers of all ages and abilities stoked to head outdoors and explore the Olympic Peninsula. Bouncing ideas off each other while running trails, discussing layout over beers, or talking about the needs of the book through endless Slack conversations, 52 Olympic Peninsula Hikes was molded with care and thought.

Douglas Scott is often called the foremost guide to the Olympics, and for good reason. For the past decade, he has hiked the trails, photographed the region, studied the history and found life changing adventures along the many terrains of the Olympic Peninsula. He has written about the Olympics for numerous publications throughout the country, with his Olympic work heavily featured on the REI App. To say that Douglas knows the Olympics well is an understatement. This book is the culmination of his passion, which has been burning bright for a decade and is demonstrated through his prose and his images on every page. Each trail has been hiked by Douglas and each destination has been seen with his eyes in nearly every season, helping to provide inspiring insight and excitement for every fantastic adventure in Olympic he describes.

Finally filling the void of stunningly beautiful and informational guidebooks, 52 Olympic Peninsula Hikes is the inspirational, locally written guide for which you have been searching.

Mathias, who is quite possibly one of the most underrated designers in the PNW, truly outdid himself on this book. The design of this book is a game-changer for guidebooks of the West. Bringing in stylish designs from Europe while tapping the spirit of the Pacific Northwest isn’t easy, but Mathias’ work in this guidebook is unrivaled. Each section has a color theme, supported and highlighted through a unique mapping system which Mathias created. The images are crisp and beautiful, standing out sharp against the text and the perfectly placed white spaces. Mathias’ work will have your eyes relaxed, letting you take in the information and pictures without the pages feeling crowded and overwhelming. If you love our website, you will be enamored with the work Mathias has done for 52 Olympic Peninsula Hikes.

Table of Contents sample for 52 Olympic Peninsula Hikes
Hiking Section Intro of 52 Olympic Peninsula Hikes
Hiking Trail Section of 52 Olympic Peninsula Hikes

About the Book

Packed with 52 favorite hiking trails in Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest, the book is 296 pages in length and is 5x8in in size, letting you tuck it in your day pack and bring it with you on your hikes. 52 Olympic Peninsula Hikes is sold both as a collector’s edition paperback and a PDF file, letting you can carry around the best guidebook, no matter where you go.

There are five sections of trails highlighted in the book. They are Hood Canal, Lake Crescent (covering the north coast, Elwha, Sol Duc and Crescent Area), North Ridges, Rainforests and the Olympic Coast. Each section has its own color scheme, matching with the subway style map Mathias designed, letting you easily flip through to find the region for which you are searching. The hikes are also organized in the table of contents in the front and are listed alphabetically in the back, giving three ways to locate a trail. There is also a section on how to stay safe while hiking.

Each hike in the book has a ton of information you’ll be happy you have.

Highlights include:

  • Driving directions, including the type of road and parking area you’ll find
  • Roundtrip mileage and elevation gain
  • Permits needed for your adventure
  • Views and animals you may see
  • Each trail also has a personal statement from Douglas saying why he loves the trail.

Order your copy and be inspired to connect with the wilderness beauty of Olympic!

PDF versions and Softcover Paperback now available!