Laura O. Foster

Laura O. Foster writes about Portland, Oregon and the towns around it. In her books, readers take long walks into urban neighborhoods: through streetcar districts and parks, up and down stairways, beyond dead-ends, along river beaches, atop volcanic peaks and anywhere that a curious person would want to explore. She crafts routes designed to get urban walkers to places others often miss exploring, and her walks weave geology, architecture, history, ethnobotany and horticulture into a story about each place. Every walk also passes through a local commercial district where coffee, beer, books, and other joys of urban exploring will be found. She designs her routes so that each one makes for a small urban holiday, good for locals and visitors too, who want to get beyond the tourist highlights of one of the nation's most walkable cities.

You may also be interested in the author's own Web site, www.PortlandHillWalks.com.