Craig Romano is a man in motion. Whether he’s hiking, running, cycling or being interviewed about his writing, Craig is full of enthusiasm for everything outdoors related — and he knows what he’s talking about.
The author of 10 Washington hiking guides, Romano is an expert on hiking in the Evergreen State. His commitment to the outdoors and conservation has inspired many locals and visitors alike to get outside over the years.
Originally from New Hampshire, Craig first visited Washington in 1980 during a cross-country cycling trip. Enamored by our state’s evergreen beauty, he returned five years later to explore trails in Skagit and Whatcom counties.
“One of my favorite hikes in the state,” Craig says, “is Sourdough Mountain in the North Cascades. I first hiked Sourdough in 1985.” He returned a few years later and never left. He has called Washington home for 26 years and considers it to be “among the most beautiful places on the planet”.
Craig discovered his love for the outdoors early in life. Growing up in rural New Hampshire, he started writing as a teenager and eventually combined his interests and experience to form a writing career.
“I crafted a profession that allows me to live my passion,” Craig says. “I love being outdoors. I love being active. I love the freedom that I have to create my own work environment.”
With the outdoors as his office, Craig has logged over 18,000 trail miles in Washington alone. Today he lives in Skagit County, with easy access to the Cascade Mountains and the San Juan Islands. He visits Whatcom County often.
“Bellingham has one of the best trail systems in the state, as far as urban and periphery,” Craig says, referencing the Chuckanut Mountains and Whatcom County parks system. “I kind of look at Bellingham as the Boulder of Washington,” he continues. “It’s that kind of community with the university — very active, away from the main hub — with lots of cultural things going on for a small city.”
Craig is a member of Bellingham-based Conservation Northwest, a non-profit organization that works to protect old-growth forests and wild areas in Washington and British Columbia. He has also worked with the Whatcom Land Trust and has written for Bellingham’s own Adventures NW magazine.
One of Craig’s greatest joys as a writer comes from introducing his readers to new places. He’s found that while natives can be skeptical of an East Coast writer covering their territory, most readers are excited to discover and explore off-the-beaten-path trails in their own backyard. Craig explains, “They’ll listen to one of my talks, and they’ll come up to me and say, ‘I’ve lived here my entire life and I never knew these trails were here.’ For me, that’s a great satisfaction.”
With overcrowded trails becoming a concern for hikers, Craig’s goal as a writer is to go beyond the extremely popular trails — like Artist Point and Oyster Dome — and introduce readers to something new. “I’ll go up to trail run Lily and Lizard Lake and there’s only a handful of people there and 200 people on the Oyster Dome,” he says. “And you go up on North Butte, which has really nice views, and you can be the only one up there.”
Several of Romano’s hiking guides cover trails in Whatcom County. “Day Hiking North Cascades” is the most comprehensive, with 17 trails accessible via Mount Baker Highway and more than 20 Whatcom and Skagit trails off of North Cascades Highway. “Winter Hikes of Western Washington” offers suggestions for mostly snow-free trails accessible year-round, and “Backpacking Washington” contains a variety of longer, overnight routes throughout the state. Two of Craig’s latest books will feature Whatcom County trails.
The first, “100 Classic Hikes in Washington,” is a rewrite of the original published in 1998 by authors Ira Spring and Harvey Manning. Craig updated the book with a fresh perspective for the 21st century. “A lot of people don’t know who Manning and Spring are, and younger people are actually turned off by a lot of their rhetoric,” Craig says. “I kept 50 of their hikes as classics, which are indeed my classics, too.”
Several of the “100 Classic Hikes in Washington” trails are in Whatcom County, including the cover image. The book’s third edition is currently available from Mountaineers Books.
In June 2017, Craig will release a hiking guide dedicated entirely to Bellingham and Whatcom County. With a focus on urban trails, the book will feature low-elevation hikes in the city and foothills, including the Chuckanuts and Larrabee State Park trail systems. The book will be released at a Village Books event on June 23, 2017.
When I asked Craig for some year-round trail recommendations, his suggestions were a refreshing departure from the old standbys. “There are several miles of trails and incredible beach walking in Point Roberts. Lily Point is the best,” Craig says. “Another place that’s really cool that people tend to forget in Whatcom County is Lummi Island.” Lummi’s Baker Preserve trail offers views of the San Juan Islands and the Olympic Mountains.
Like his fast-talking enthusiasm for the outdoors, Craig shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Watch for his upcoming hiking guide releases in June. Until then, Craig says, “You’ll find me trail running in the Chuckanuts.”
