Customer Reviews

101 Hikes in Northern California: Exploring Mountains, Valleys, and Seashore

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the best hiking guide for Northern California that I've ever used. The great selection of hikes covers more area than most books about the region. I've found a lot of places I never new about. I love the descriptions of the hikes-a great easy style, really clear, and full of interesting information about the plants, geology, and history that adds a lot to the hike. A helpful locator map, good topo maps, and great photos too. A nice addition is the comprehensive list of hikes by theme that help choose where to hike based on what you want to do-lakes, waterfalls, wildflowers, etc. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for the best Northern California hiking guide-for both dayhikes and backpacks.

I love this book. The author has put a lot of effort into finding a large number of hikes well off the beaten track. To date, I have done nearly a dozen of the hikes and seldom encountered anybody else. If you like beating the crowds while enjoying some of Northern California's most scenic backcountry, the majority of the hikes more than satisfy. Several popular hikes are included as well (Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, for example) but these are much fewer in number and seem to be limited to those truly spectacular destinations which more than merit the crowds. Directions are good, the topographic maps are very usable, and lots of natural history information is included for trail-side reading. The book also covers a much greater area than other Northern California guidebooks and includes areas in the southern Sierra Nevada and Central Coast neglected in similar titles. About the only bad thing about the book is the index, which is sparse in places and can make finding a particular park difficult

I bought this book earlier this year, and have used it extensively to see great outdoor places in Northern California. It has all the components that that make a great hiking book - locator map, difficulty level, distance and elevation gain, best time of year, whether you need two cars etc. You also don't have to cruise the entire book either when looking for a specfic type of hike, because it has summary lists of hikes recommended by month of the year, and different aspects of a hike such as best wildflower hikes, best views etc. The directions to the trailheads are good (never got lost once), and the trail descriptions are thorough often including local history, geology, making for interesting reading before hand, or while stopping on the trail for a snack.

This is an amazing resource book for exploring the most spectacular wilderness areas in Northern California. It is easy to use with accurate and detailed maps and inspiring pictures that make you want to get out there and start hiking. Heid has chosen some of the most remote parks, preserves, and national forests in Northern California to explore, making 101 Hikes the best book off the beaten hiking path.

This book provides a good overview of many hikes. Living in Silicon Valley I found many hikes that were close enough for a day or weekend as well as those further away. I particularly like the comprehensive directions

I've recently purchased several Northern California hiking books and found this one to be just so-so, the standard places where everyone goes. My favorite guide for this area is 100 Classic Hikes in Northern California.

I wish this guy would write more books. I liked the geology. I liked that he had a 5 star system instead of a 3 star. I like that there was a one line highlight description for each hike

This is a great hiking book. It has all the info I need for great hikes in my area. I have gone on several of the hikes and the info is accurate and very helpful.