"The folks at Metro make it easy to go on urban treks with their indispensable "Walk There!" guide, which has 50 walks throughout the area, including a number that are so obscure that even residents might not know about them. The guide comes in a handy 4 1/2-by-6-inch size -- perfect for sliding into the side pocket of your cargo shorts -- and is a bargain at $9.95 at area bookstores. Even better, Metro has the maps and detailed walk descriptions available online, making it a cinch to download and print maps to guide you to your newest urban adventure.

I am planning on making the Forest Park poster map available in both horizontal and vertical orientations. Sometimes the space you have for a poster is wider rather than tall and narrow. No guarantees a horizontal map would look like this thumbnail, but that's how the beta version is shaping up. Both orientations would have 20 foot contour lines, trail mileages, Wildwood and Leif mileposts, show surrounding streets, parking lots and TriMet bus stops. It will be nice if this framing with more of the Willamette River makes the cut.

The exact date is not clear yet, but I'm guessing it will be available around the end of summer 2010. It's too early to nail down pricing, but since you will get a real physical product to hang on your wall, it will have to cover the cost of making it. The map has been updated in many ways Many thousands of tiny changes made: the map is currently at version 732; the one last posted on Art of Geography was version 618. Each increment to the version number represents a bundle of edits to the map.

"Metro’s ever-popular Walk There! guide recently won several international awards at the annual Environment Systems Research Institute International User Conference held earlier this month in San Diego. The guide’s maps to great places to walk around the Portland-Vancouver area took home two top prizes, including a best overall win.

Panel #1, the southern-most of the 4 panel mapset has been updated thanks to feedback from users of the map. Thank you S.H., J.R., E.S., and others who wrote in.

http://www.artofgeography.com/maps/fp/

From www.oregonmetro.gov

I'm pleased to announce the availability of a book by James Thayer titled "Portland Forest Hikes: Twenty Close-In Wilderness Walks". Here are twenty wilderness hikes within twenty miles of downtown Portland, Oregon, less than a half hour's ride from the city. Adventurers at all skill levels will be surprised by the remoteness and remarkable beauty of these easy woodland escapes. This pocket-sized companion includes maps, bus access, basic conditions, flora, fauna, and local history.

April 16 is the American Heart Association's National Start! Walking Day. The call to action is simple: Americans should fit 30 minutes of walking into their workday.Studies reveal that American jobs have become more sedentary and that employees are working 164 more hours a year than they did 20 years ago. The Start! movement works with employers and the 142 million Americans in the workplace to create a culture of walking before, during or after work."Incorporating walking into your daily routine is one of the easiest changes you can make.