Moon California Hiking

by Tom Stienstra, Ann Marie Brown, Michael Hodgson

Book Overview

Seasoned outdoors authors Tom Stienstra and Ann Marie Brown know the best hiking trails in the Golden State, from breathtaking coastal walks north of Los Angeles to challenging backcountry treks in the Sierra Nevadas. Including 21 new hikes and unique "best-of" lists--including Best Hikes to Waterfalls and Best Hikes to See Wildlife-- Moon California Hiking leads beginner and expert hikers alike to the best trails the state has to offer. Complete...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1612381634
• ISBN13: 9781612381633
• Release Date: March 2012
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing
• Length: 849 Pages
• Weight: 1.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Best Overview of California Hikes-- Great for a Road Trip

This is a terrific book for an overview of california hikes. It is very comprehensive covering just about all noteworthy hikes listed in any guidebooks It's very useful to give you an idea of where you might like to hike It was invaluable to me on a road trip to northern California and Oregon. Makes it easy to pick out in advance places you'd like to hike. It rates each hike by difficulty and scenery and the ratings are pretty accurate, though I might quibble with a few. It is extremely well organized with a system that makes it easy to find hikes in any partiular area. There is a large map of northern and southern California divided into grids, and then for each grid there is a map also divided into grids so at a glance you can see where any hike is, or if you are thinking of a particular area look at the grid and see the hikes there. Its easy to glance through the hikes in any area and pick out the easiest or most scenic. The directions to trailheads are excellent. I am reviewing this edition because it is the one I have, but I recently checked out the latest edition and I can't see any real difference (after all hiking trails don't really change over the years) --so you will do just as well buying a used older edition. This is an invaluable tool, and if I wanted one overall guide to California Hikes, this is unquestionably the one I'd choose.

Unlocks California for the hiker

This book opens up all of California to you as a hiker. It is great to take on trips (whether you are staying in a tent or a hotel) and great to page through planning the next adventure. It is not the only hiking book you will ever need, but it is a wonderful resource. I have owned many editions of this book and of California Camping by the same author and publisher. It is helpful to have a good Auto Club map to get to the trailheads and campsites.

Not quite 1000, but a nice survey nonetheless

Writing a hiking guide for the whole state of California is quite an ambitious task. By and large Ann Marie Brown and Tom Stienstra have succeeded. Over the course of 16 chapters, each covering a broad geographical region of the state, they have provided lists of the best hikes in almost any area that one could visit in California. They also provide nice maps of each region they survey showing the approximate location of each trailhead. For those who like exploring in the golden state, this is an excellent book. I have personally hiked over 200 trails in this book and enjoyed almost every one. I look forward to using this book in the future as well. Having said that, a few caveats are in order. First, the book does not list "over 1000" hikes. Earlier editions did, but many trails have been dropped from this edition. Gone is the Amos Alonzo Stagg tree, a nice walk to the 7th largest sequoia. Trips to Peppermint Creek and Nobe Young Falls are also absent. Some of these hikes have been replaced by others, but on the whole there are fewer trails listed than in previous editions. Second, the book has a strong bias towards Northern California. Not surprisingly, both authors happen to live there now. Of the 964 hikes in this guide, only 317 are south of the Monterey area. I could add numerous trails from the San Bernardino Mountains alone to this book. Finally, you should not expect trail maps in a book of this scope. The authors do, however, tell you where to obtain maps for each trail listed. These caveats aside, you should purchase this book. It is a great introduction to hiking in California. Once you begin exploring trails in any region you will undoubtably find others to entice you. Happy trails.

California Hiker's Bible

Here's an overwhelming collection of California hiking trails. Each is rated on two scales. An overall rating from poor to great lets you know if it's worth your time. A scale from stroll to butt-kicker prepares you for the hike. The John Muir and Pacific Crest trails are covered start to finish. Permits and fees are listed so you can arrive prepared. I always check out the trail notes before any adventure. - Outstanding!

Rating very accurate and reliable!

Too bad this guide is not available for other regions. When traveling into Northern California I found the hiking scale for difficulty & view to be very accurate. I really appreciated the User Group section, which let me know where I could take my dogs (they like to hike too). Excellent guide & I hope more are to be coming.