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Sunny weather and blue skies are beckoning us out of doors. While we need to take extra precautions this summer, that's no reason not to give yourself a well-deserved break from work, childcare, and worry by exploring the gorgeous forests, beaches, and neighborhood parks of the PNW. Whether you seek mountain adventure or patio bird-watching, the seven books below will help you get outside.

From the casual hiker to the serious explorer, the user-friendly Moon Pacific Northwest Hiking guide offers a great selection of trails in Oregon and Washington, organized by length, difficulty, location, and features like waterfalls or wildflowers. There are even some city hikes for Portlanders leery of straying too far from home this summer, but who still want to experience the city from a slight remove. The tips for places to snack and grab a beer after your hike aren’t as useful right now, but isn’t wonderful to fantasize about the future time when a long hike will once again be capped with a cold drink and a burger?

If you’re a parent of young children (or reluctant hikers), 50 Hikes With Kids is a must-have guide to nature trails in Oregon and Washington. Each short hike is no longer than four miles and comes with a nature guide/scavenger hunt to keep everyone focused on something other than complaining. This fun guide is a fantastic way to turn young children into avid observers and stewards of the natural world.

Dog parents have outdoor needs too, and Bishop’s updated classic guide to hiking with your pup is an awesome resource for folks who want to make sure their dogs will be safe and welcome on the trail. Bishop selects trails that maximize off-leash time, shade, and water access, and minimize problematic encounters with wary hikers or those with small children. One note: Bishop last updated this guide in 2011, so it’s best practice to ensure that the trails and parks listed are open to the public and that leash rules haven’t changed.

Cook your freshly dug clams over a driftwood fire; kayak a gentle inlet; learn to ID coastal birds; or simply travel to the beach in your mind via Blakey’s lovely illustrations and photos. This is a wonderful resource for adults and families seeking fresh sea air and fun, socially distant activities in Oregon, Washington, and BC.

This beautiful children’s picture book isn’t set in the Pacific Northwest, but its focus on the seasons, backyard exploration, bugs, birds, and plants translates easily to any climate and location. Quite long, Outside Your Window doesn’t need to be read sequentially. Simply flip to a season or a page that enchants you and your child, and then go outside into your yard or the local park to see how what you’ve read translates to the world around you.

Does your kid like bugs? Under One Rock encourages children everywhere to peek under a nearby rock and explore the pill bugs, earthworms, slugs, and other crawlies who call it home. This might be the world’s easiest at-home science activity, and it does double duty by dissuading children (and their grown-ups) from being afraid of or hurting bugs. Fredericks provides ample additional information on the many types of bugs featured in Under One Rock, and Dirubbio’s illustrations are realistic and enticing.

The lovely thing about bird-watching is that it can spur foreign travel, a weekend camping trip, a walk to the park, or nothing more than sitting by your window with a cup of tea and maybe a pair of binoculars. My children and I take a lot of pleasure in spying on the many birds who visit our urban garden (a very aggressive hummingbird, woodpeckers, crows, blue jays, chickadees…) and the full-color photos and meticulous descriptions in Birds of the Pacific Northwest are really helpful in identifying and understanding the animals we see. If you’ve always wished for a better knowledge of the birds in your yard or favorite trail, or just want something nature-y to do that doesn’t involve leaving the house, I highly recommend picking up a bird guide.