50 Hikes in the Tennessee Mountains: Hikes and Walks from the Blue Ridge to the Cumberland Plateau [Paperback]

Doris Gove (Author)

Book Description

Series: Explorer's 50 Hikes | Publication Date: February 2001

A new guide to the outstanding hiking opportunities to be found in the mountains, ridges, and valleys of eastern Tennessee.

The mountains of eastern Tennessee, with their miles of rugged trails, spectacular waterfalls, and colorful wildflowers, offer some of the finest hiking in the Southeast. Doris Gove has hiked hundreds of miles throughout the region to choose 50 of its most appealing hikes—in the Smokies, the Blue Ridge, Cherokee National Forest, Big South Fork, and Cumberland Gap. Although Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most heavily used in the country, hundreds of miles of its trails receive little use and can provide a true wilderness experience. Many of these trails, plus remote trails of the Smokies and the Appalachian Trail and sections of the 220-mile Cumberland Trail linear state park, were selected to provide excellent hiking with minimal crowds. The routes range in length from less than a mile to 12 miles, offering rewarding trips for hikers of every ability—some trails are even accessible to strollers and wheelchairs. An overview chart at the beginning of the book provides information on the 50 hikes at a glance. Each hike description includes directions to the trailhead, a detailed account of the route, a map, and entertaining asides on natural and historical points of interest. 50 black and white photographs, 51 maps

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Doris Gove is the author of Explorer's Guide 50 Hikes in the Tennessee Mountains, Exploring the Appalachian Trail, and co-author of Hiking Trails of the Smokies, as well as several nature books for children. She makes her home in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she serves on the boards of the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club and the Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Countryman Press; 1 edition (February 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881504327
• ISBN-13: 978-0881504323
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #720,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good guide to eastern Tennessee hiking, May 22, 2003

By 

David Prager "redhawk" (Winterville, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 50 Hikes in the Tennessee Mountains: Hikes and Walks from the Blue Ridge to the Cumberland Plateau (Paperback)

Before getting to details about the book, let me first say that this book does not describe 50 rugged mountain hikes as the title "Tennessee Mountains" would suggest. Rather, it describes 50 hikes of various difficulty in eastern Tennessee (i.e. points south and east of Cookeville). This region includes Big South Fork, Fall Creek Falls, Great Smoky Mountains, and Cherokee National Forest.

Hikes range in distance from 0.5 mile to 11.2 miles, with the average being around 6. Each hike contains excellent directions to the trailhead, always starting from an easy-to-find town. Each hike has a trail map, usually taken from a USGS topographic map. The maps are therefore excellent. As in most of the newer 50 hikes books, there is a summary table in the front of the book that allows you to find a particular hike of interest easily. The author's writing style is pleasant and friendly but well-informed. She brings a lot of practical, "first-hand" knowledge to the table with her writing.

All of the ingredients for a great trail guide are present, but I have to say that rather often I felt underwhelmed after reading about a hike. What I mean is, based on the trail description, I did not feel excited about hiking the trail myself (although I am an avid hiker who has personally hiked a few of them). This result may be due to poor trail selection (there are hundreds of trails in eastern Tennessee, and Doris had to choose just 50) or a poor job of "selling" the hike. Great trail guides create interest in hiking by either describing great trails or making the reader think they are describing great trails, but this guide does not do either one on a consistent basis.

In summary, I would recommend this work to people who want information on trails in eastern Tennessee. This book makes for an excellent source of information, but disappoints as a source of reading for the reason mentioned above. Therefore, this is a very good guide that just misses being great.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great guide for the hiking enthusiast, June 8, 2007

By 

Free Thinker "Amazon made me remove my blog s... (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: 50 Hikes in the Tennessee Mountains: Hikes and Walks from the Blue Ridge to the Cumberland Plateau (Paperback)

Tennessee is one of the most beautiful of the southern states, especially the section east of Knoxville, and this book shows the reader some choice hiking adventures in that mountainous region. I used it during my visit there and had a great time exploring the Appalachian Trail. This is a fantastic guide book and is highly recommended.