For many, romantic walks alone with their amour is a sure-fire formula for romance.

Turbulent Tides and Alpine Trails
Deception Pass State Park straddles Whidbey and Fidalgo islands along SR 20 with a wealth of waterside trails. Try especially Rosario Head and Lighthouse Point trails. Or walk across Deception Pass Bridge to watch as tidal currents stream from Skagit Bay toward the San Juans and the setting sun, www.guidetosanjuans.com.

The long west coast of Whidbey Island is dotted with parks, beaches, and headlands. Try South Whidbey, Fort Casey, and Fort Ebey state parks. Ebey’s Landing (near Coupeville) is a magical place to walk at dusk. A four-mile roundtrip starts at the beach, climbs a headland with glorious views and picnic spots, then descends to loop back along the beach, www.islandweb.org.

Gaze upon glassy glaciers at Mount Rainier National Park from Glacier Vista Trail (from Paradise Visitor Center), and from Emmons Vista Trail (Sunrise Visitor Center), www.nps.gov/mora/index.htm.

East of Bellingham, Mt. Baker’s short Picture Lake Loop makes a grand early October stroll as trail- side vegetation bursts into seasonal color then. Other nearby trails offer longer alpine rambles, www.bellingham.org.

Waterside Strolls
In Seattle, wander footpaths on both sides of Hiram Chittenden Locks in Ballard and watch pleasure boats pour through the locks. Burke-Gilman Trail begins in Gasworks Park on Lake Union and affords grand looks at the Seattle skyline.

Leavenworth’s Riverfront Trail along the Wenatchee River is a quiet counterpoint to the bustling “Bavarian Village.” Nearby Wenatchee is opening miles of new riverfront paths and parks along the Columbia, dreamy on a summer evening, www.wentacheevalley.org.

In the Skagit River Estuary (broadest in the state) Padilla Shore Trail follows a levee through a marsh alive with hawks, herons, and sandpipers.

To the north, Olympic National Park gives you walks next to pounding surf -Rialto, Ruby, First, Second, and Third Beaches near La Push, www.forkswa.com.

Walk barefoot on the beach at Ocean Shores as the sun sets over the Pacific. Trimmed by golden shoregrass, this southern Olympic Peninsula retreat has miles of soft, sandy beach for lovers to endlessly amble, www.oceanshores.org.

LOCALS SUGGEST:

• Sturdy footwear, windbreaker, along with sunglasses and hat.
• Public gardens-Wilburton Hills (Bellevue), Bloedel (Bainbridge Island), Meerkerk (Whidbey Island), Ohme (Wenatchee).
• Interurban trail, south of Bellingham, through forest next to rocky coast.
• Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge between Tacoma and Olympia.