MOUNT VERNON — It’s been four years since the last Walking & Trail Guide became available in Skagit County.

Now a new version is available at area chambers of commerce, parks and recreation departments and hospitals.

“It’s just been flying off the shelves,” said Liz McNett Crowl of the Skagit County Physical Activities Coalition. “We can’t keep them stocked in Anacortes.”

The Skagit Council of Governments Active Community Task Force, North Sound Connecting Communities Project and the Skagit County Physical Activities Coalition teamed up with other partners to produce the new map.

Maps of three of the trails are online at beactiveskagit.org. The complete map will be available at scog.net.

Somehow, between producing the past two Walking & Trail Guide maps, the Skagit County Physical Activities Coalition managed to put out another edition of the Skagit County Bike Map.

It’s been a hectic time for folks such as McNett Crowl.

“We were going to upgrade the Walking & Trail Guide two years ago,” explained McNett Crowl. “But the bike map was so out of date we felt it needed immediate attention. So we not only upgraded it, we also updated it.

“Just like we did the Walking & Trail Guide. Both were a lot of work. But as it turned out, they were both worth the effort.”

The 2008 Walking & Trail Guide is in much the same format as its predecessor. It contains the county map, then insets of specific areas.

Each trail is presented in detail. For example, the entry for the Padilla Bay Shore Trail has icons showing it has restrooms, picnic facilities, parking, and that it is ADA accessible. It then goes into more detail:

Degree of difficulty: Easy

Length: 4.2 miles

Location: Accessed off the Bay View-Edison Road

Description: An easy out and back trip along the Padilla Bay shoreline with views of the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges and a biologically significant Puget Sound estuary. Padilla Bay hosts one of the largest wintering populations of peregrine falcons. Limited parking is available at the southern trailhead and the parking lot off of Second Street just north of the trailhead.

The hikes are close to home.

“The focus for us was on urban areas of the county,” McNett Crowl said. “There are not trails for the North Cascades National Park. There aren’t any trails of real destinations.”

There are several new trails included in the guide as well as new sections added to existing trails.

Additions include the Pioneer Park Trail in La Conner, the expansion of the Tommy Thompson Trail in Anacortes, the Port of Skagit and the new Eaglemont Trail.

“We added four trails to the new map,” said McNett Crowl. “And we deleted one. It’s always good to be able to add new or expanding trails.”

The trail deleted was the Burlington Dike Trail.

There’s also additional trail information for Deception Pass State Park at Rosario Head and Bowman Bay, the Pacific Northwest Trail and the Wiley Slough-Skagit Wildlife Area. While these places are not included on the map, a brief synopsis of what they have to offer and contact information are included.

There was a change in paper and color.

McNett Crowl said the first version was too white and tended to tear easily after being folded and unfolded. The new stock has a heartier feel to it.

The guide was obviously built for the rigors of being out on the trail.

“We really like the feel of it,” said McNett Crowl. “It’s the same paper we used for the bike map. We also simplified the legend. It’s easier to understand and we have a little write-up on every trail.”

Another improvement is the contact information for those responsible for the well-being of the specific trails. Hikers and walkers can call to find out the conditions of the trails.

The biggest improvement, however, just might be availability.

“This time, we were able to print 15,000,” said McNett Crowl. “As opposed to only 10,000 previously. That 5,000 is a big difference. Right now, we are down to a single box of bike maps and that was a run of 10,000. The reason we were able to do that (increase from 10,000 to 15,000) was because of the generosity of our community partners. We also had some help in the way of grants as well.

“And I can’t thank the Skagit County GIS (Geographic Information Services) enough. They are the reason for such a high quality of map. They did a simply fantastic job.”

The map’s popularity is not limited to the Skagit Valley. McNett Crowl said there is plenty of interest from those planning trips to the area. Many choose to download trail maps from the Web site.

The latest version of the Walking & Trail Guide is a far cry from the first edition printed in 1990.

“That was an 11x17 tri-fold,” McNett Crowl said. “We’ve come a long ways since then. In the second version, we use the GIS and the third version, well, it just continues to evolve and improve. We are already looking forward to the next version.

“The overall process of making additions is much easier now because we have a base. Now we know what the process is. Overall, we are just very excited about the ability to allow people to get out and recreate.”

Plans are in the works for updating the Skagit County Bike Map. To submit pictures for possible use, send them to .

Vince Richardson can be reached at 360-416-2181 or by e-mail at