New guidebooks to Pacific Northwest boating, hiking, skiing and paddling

"Washington and Oregon Nature Guide" by Erin McCloskey (Lone Pine, $19.95). Birds and butterflies, otters and octopi, seaweed and salal — a full range of Northwest plants and animals is included in this all-in-one guidebook. Each entry is accompanied by a color illustration.

"Day Hiking Mount Rainier: National Park Trails" by Dan A. Nelson, photography by Alan L. Bauer (Mountaineers, $16.95). Where to hike around our biggest local volcano, with contour maps and black-and-white photographs giving the lay of the land. Nelson is NWWeekend's gear reviewer.

"Paddling Washington: Flatwater and Whitewater Routes in Washington State and the Inland Northwest" by Rich Landers, Dan Hansen, Verne Huser and Doug North (Mountaineers, $24.95). Intended for paddlers of varying skill levels, this guide identifies 90 routes to take along rivers, lakes and bays of Washington state (including a dozen white-water runs), plus 22 in British Columbia, northern Idaho, western Montana and Oregon.

"Waggoner Cruising Guide's Cruising the Secret Coast: Unexplored Anchorages on British Columbia's Inside Passage" by Jennifer and James Hamilton (Weatherly Press, $44.95). Where to anchor on the B.C. coast — from Esquimalt, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, to the Bardswell Group, up by Bella Bella. The Hamiltons live in Bellevue.

"Top of the Pass: Whistler and the Sea-to-Sky Country" by Stephen Vogler, photographs by Toshi Kawano and Bonny Makarewicz (Harbour, $34.95). A photo essay on the terrain around the Whistler, B.C., ski resort, with an accent on summer activities as well as winter activities.

— Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times book critic