Karen Brown's Pacific Northwest is a lovely and useful travel guide for anyone traveling to Western Washington State, Oregon or the southern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. In fact, it's such an enjoyable read you'll love it even if you aren't planning to go on a vacation.

This helpful travel guide includes color and black and white maps, lovely drawings featuring many of the included destinations, recommended lodgings in a variety of price ranges and ideas for entertainment, dining, outdoor activities, scenic drives, wineries, art and more.

You'll find detailed itineraries for enjoying the scenic wonders of the Pacific Northwest. Choose from one itinerary or combine them all for many weeks of travel fun. Individual chapters cover each region. From Craters to Caves - The Diversity of Southern Oregon; Edge of the World - The Oregon Coast; From Vines to Volcanoes - Discovering the Portland Area; The Emerald City and the North Cascades; To Canada and Back Again - Port Townsend, The Olympic Peninsula and Victoria; and The Island Life - Whidbey, Fidalgo and the San Juans. Each of these chapters includes scenic stops, outdoor adventures, dining suggestions and lodgings.

For more detail on the recommended inns read through Places to Stay. This section breaks down all the recommended lodgings into three regions with a chapter for each - Vancouver Island, Oregon and Washington. This information is detailed and easy to read. You'll learn about the unique and charming features of each inn, hotel or bed and breakfast, where each is located and plenty of other useful information.

The itineraries and routes for scenic drives include detailed directions as well as lovely descriptions of what you'll find and what you'll see at each stop along the way. The author recommends how long you should take at each point of the trip, but includes suggestions for both shorter and longer visits. Where appropriate, Karen Brown's Pacific Northwest includes websites you can visit to obtain more information or to make reservations, etc. There's also a helpful index that lists each destination, attraction, town and inn alphabetically.

While some of the activities listed in the book are appropriate for all ages, Karen Brown's Pacific Northwest isn't really targeted towards families with younger children. Many of the lodgings included in the book are inns and bed and breakfasts, which can't legally refuse service to children, but don't cater to them in any way and may therefore be less suitable for families.

The Pacific Northwest has a lot to offer, from beaches and rocky coastlines to lush forests and wild river valleys, to breathtaking mountains and volcanoes. You'll find culture, history and adventure in the Pacific Northwest and Karen Brown's Pacific Northwest will walk you through it step by step.

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