A guide, not a forager: never eat or taste any plant based on this app — some look-alikes are toxic.

Understory

A Dog Woods Companion

Ask it when you’re curious about something you pass — a plant, a sculpture, a great old tree — then slip your phone away and enjoy the forest.

Land acknowledgement

Dog Woods rests on Guemes Island — home to the Coast Salish peoples since time immemorial. The island is remembered as “Lots of Dogs Island,” for the Coast Salish Woolly Dog. We walk here as grateful guests, with care for the land and its first people.

⚚Draft — to be written and approved with the Coast Salish Indian Nation.

Using the trail

Please stay on marked trails. Friendly, well-behaved dogs can wander off-leash — just don’t let your pup chase or harass wildlife, people, or other dogs.

YEP!

Hiking, bird watching, forest bathing, art appreciation, tree hugging.

NOPE!

No hunting, smoking, fires, camping, or drones — and no horses, bicycles, or motorized vehicles.

POOP!

Bag it up and pack it out. Please follow “leave no trace,” or leave your pup at home.

Keep it quiet — enjoy Understory silently and use headphones for any audio, out of respect for other visitors and the wildlife.

Liability waiver

Entering this area shall serve as a full release of liability and assumption of risk by you and any others in your group. By entering this land, you assume all risks and will hold Dog Woods LLC, and its members and managers, harmless from and defend them against all liability from any loss or injury which you or anyone else in your group may sustain while in this area.

By continuing, you accept the trail guidelines and liability waiver above.

Find a marker

Enter the number on its post, or browse all markers.

—

Markers are numbered 1–12

Dog Woods — a place woven from many threads

The woolly dogs of Guemes were raised by the Coast Salish people, sheared like sheep and their fur spun into yarn. In that spirit, every place here is woven from threads — the different stories that overlap and converge.

Coast SalishThe Coast Salish people of Guemes — their history, the woolly dogs, and their living connection to this land.

NatureThe living forest right now — plants, animals, fungi, water and weather.

CommunityThe current stewards, neighbors, trail-builders, and the dogs these places are named for.

RestorationThe forest coming back, and how this land became a preserve.

ArtThe works sited along the trails, and the artists behind them.

On the mapA pin’s ring shows its threads — here, two cross.

On the trailThe post wears the same ring — here, all four.

More