Since joining Seattle Met in 2011, Allison Williams has overseen the magazine’s travel and outdoor coverage, including deep dives into Olympic National Park, the Columbia River, and a Burger King drive-thru in Canada. She edits the travel-focused blog Tripster and contributes service, news, interview, and narrative pieces to the magazine, including long-form features about mountain mysteries and puppies in prison. She’s earned awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and been nominated for a City and Regional Magazine award.

Allison was raised here in Olympia and studied writing at Duke University, Oxford University, Columbia Journalism School, and University of Alaska. She began her career in New York City in the newsrooms of Metro newspaper and Time Out New York, then hightailed it back to her native habitat so she could write guidebooks and climb mountains.

Camping 101

The Pros and Cons of Outdoor Tech

Do gizmos and performance fabrics improve or ruin the wilderness?

04/27/2016 By Allison Williams

Camping 101

Should You Build a Campfire?

It's either the most important part of camping or a dangerous menace.

04/27/2016 By Allison Williams

Camping 101

How Feathered Friends Quietly Became the Best Down Masters in the World

From sleeping bags to expedition suits, the outfitters at this Seattle-based company know what it takes to confidently go cold-weather camping.

04/27/2016 By Allison Williams

Camping 101

Packing For Your Trip: 15 Essential Camping Items

Even if you don't have a single one of them, there's an outfitter in town who will come to your rescue.

04/27/2016 By Allison Williams

Camping 101

8 Perfect Northwest Camping Destinations

Step 1 in your camping journey: pick a spot. From Denny Creek to Pacific beaches, here are 8 ideas to get you started.

04/27/2016 By Allison Williams

Camping 101

No One to Camp With? No Problem.

There’s nothing wrong with solo camping, where no one can laugh when you mistake a tree stump for a bear or drop a sticky marshmallow in your lap. But even if you don’t already have outdoorsy friends, you needn’t camp alone.

04/27/2016 By Allison Williams

Camping 101

The Ultimate Guide to Pacific Northwest Camping

We broke down the camping trip into six easy steps, so nothing—not the fancy gear, the scary wildlife, or the fear of boredom—will keep you from the great outdoors.

04/22/2016 By Allison Williams

Feature

The Secret Lives of Bigfoot Hunters

A scientist turned reality TV star and a true believer turned analyst are both on a quest for one of the Northwest’s most elusive mysteries.

03/28/2016 By Allison Williams

10 Years That Changed a City

2011: The Dams Come Down

It remains the largest dam removal in history. But when the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams on the Elwha River near Port Angeles were disassembled, they left little more than wild-looking bends in the river.

03/04/2016 By Allison Williams