Washington Trails Association (WTA) - offers a Hike Finder tool to scout for hikes based on location, with each hike featuring a detailed description, including driving directions, mileage, elevation stats, and required parking pass. Hike descriptions also include public trip reports posted by recent hikers, sharing up-to-date conditions so you can head out prepared.
Hike Oregon - A guide for the best hikes in Oregon, featuring trail descriptions, mileage, detailed maps, and lots of pictures.
Oregon Hikers - An online community for everyone who loves exploring Oregon and southwest Washington, featuring a growing Field Guide with hundreds of trail descriptions, maps, and photos to help plan your next adventure. The guide is built as a collaborative effort by its user community, so while every effort is made to fact-check, information should be considered anecdotal.
AllTrails - A trail-finding platform and app covering over 500,000 trails worldwide, including many across Oregon and Washington, with written trail descriptions, photos, and community reviews for each hike, often mentioning mud, closures, bugs, blowdowns, or crowds. Note: AllTrails is a for-profit, ad-supported company. The free version covers the basics, but expect occasional upgrade prompts for its paid tier.
Northwest Forest Pass - A day pass or annual pass honored at Forest Service day-use and fee sites across Washington and Oregon. Day passes run $5, and the annual pass is $30. This is the one most Cascades and Columbia Gorge trailheads require.
Discover Pass (Washington) - Required to park at Washington State Parks, Department of Natural Resources lands, and Department of Fish and Wildlife trailheads, including many popular Cascades and Olympics hikes. Day passes are $10, and the annual pass is $45. Note: this is separate from the Northwest Forest Pass. It is not valid on national forest land, so check which agency manages your destination before you go.
Washington Sno-Park Permits
Oregon Sno-Park Permits - (Winter) Required to park at designated winter recreation areas in both states, but Washington and Oregon Sno-Park permits are no longer honored across state lines, so you'll need the right one for whichever state you're heading into. In Washington, day permits are $25 and seasonal permits are $50. In Oregon, day permits are $4, 3-day permits are $9 and annual permits are $25. Permits are typically required November through March or April, depending on the state.
Wilderness & Backcountry Permits - Some popular or ecologically sensitive destinations (like the Enchantments in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest or the Mount Margaret backcountry at Mount St. Helens) require their own separate permit for overnight camping, often through a lottery or reservation system on recreation.gov. These are destination-specific, so always check the trip's exact location well in advance, especially for backpacking.
America the Beautiful Pass - An $80 annual pass providing entrance to all Forest Service, national park, and other federal fee sites for one year. It covers Northwest Forest Pass sites too, so you don't need to buy both. This is worth it if your troop visits national parks (like Mount Rainier or Crater Lake) in addition to national forest trailheads.
Oregon Pacific Coast Passport - A multi-agency day-use passport covering entry and day-use fees at dozens of federal sites (Forest Service, National Park Service, and BLM) along Highway 101 and the Siuslaw National Forest. Good to know about if you're planning a coastal trip.
Washington Trails Association (WTA) - WTA takes volunteers out to maintain trails and promote hiking as a healthy way to explore the outdoors, with over 4,500 volunteers contributing more than 160,000 hours of trail maintenance across the state each year. No experience is necessary. Just bring boots, gloves, and lunch. The WTA hosts family work parties welcoming kids 10 and up alongside their parents.
Trailkeepers of Oregon (TKO) - TKO's trail parties are open to everyone, with no experience required. Browse their events calendar to find and sign up for stewardship events. Work ranges from clearing vegetation to more technical projects like removing logs with crosscut saws and building trail structures. TKO also offers an ambassador program, Leave No Trace training, and Saw School certification courses.
Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) - PCTA volunteer projects have no registration fee, and most do not require prior trail maintenance experience. Experienced crew leaders are on-site to teach the necessary skills. Volunteers work through 12 community-based groups spread along the trail across California, Oregon, and Washington, with options ranging from single-day projects to multi-day backcountry trips.
Green Trails Maps - Known for detailed, easy-to-read topographic maps designed specifically for hikers, with a strong focus on the Washington and Oregon Cascades. Green Trails is probably the best map resource for Western Washington, sold as waterproof, lightweight paper maps at ranger stations, outdoor retailers, and online.
USGS Topographic Maps - USGS is known as the leader in topographic maps, maintaining the most accurate and up-to-date geological maps in the country. These are the foundational "quad" maps most other hiking maps are built from. They are more technical than Green Trails, but the authoritative base layer for reading elevation, contour lines, and terrain.
CalTopo - A free (with paid tiers) online tool for collaborative trip planning, detailed elevation profiles, and terrain analysis, offering free printable USGS topo maps and the ability to export routes to GPS devices or phones. Multiple people can edit the same map at once in real time, which makes it useful for planning group trips as a team.
onX Backcountry - Shows detailed public and private land ownership information so you can understand boundaries and access regulations before you go, plus offline topographic maps, trail stats, and weather layers. Particularly useful for confirming whether a route crosses private land before a troop sets out.
Garmin (Handheld GPS) - Dedicated GPS devices built for backcountry navigation without relying on a phone or cell signal. Useful for multi-day trips, off-trail routes, or long field navigation where phone GPS and battery life aren't reliable enough, with models ranging from simple button-operated units to devices with two-way satellite messaging for emergencies.
Columbia River Orienteering Club (CROC) - Offers free beginner clinics at all of their events, and a series of instructional navigation videos covering map reading and compass use for wilderness navigation. Scout and youth groups are welcome at any CROC event. A great hands-on way for troops to build real map-and-compass skills, not just app-based navigation.