AMC's Best Day Hikes in the Catskills and Hudson Valley: Four-Season Guide to 60 of the Best Trails from New York City to Albany (AMC Hiking Guide) [Paperback]

Peter Kick (Author)

Book Description

Series: AMC Hiking Guide | Publication Date: June 1, 2006

With more than 600 miles of trails within just a few hours of New York City, the Catskills and the Hudson River Valley are a hiker's paradise, boasting varied and scenic terrain from Westchester County to Albany. This new guide from the experts at the Appalachian Mountain Club leads beginner and experienced hikers alike along sixty of the region's most spectacular trails, from short family nature walks to day-long hikes that reward with magnificent views. Each trip description includes a detailed map and a summary of the trip time, distance, and difficulty, plus an icon indicating whether the trail is also good for snowshoeing or cross-country. The guide includes appendices packed with snowshoe treks, rock climbing in the Gunks, and other opportunities for outdoor adventure in the region, making this guide an essential four-season reference for locals and visitors alike.

Special features include:
>Fifty day hikes for all ability levels, ranging from two to eight miles long
>Detailed and accurate trail descriptions
>Locator map and "At-A-Glance" highlights chart for easy trip comparison and planning
>Hiking and safety tips
>Detailed maps showing parking areas, trails, and natural highlights
>Nature Notes about prominent species, and unique natural features of each hike
>Photographs of plant and animal life reflecting each trip's hidden wonders

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter Kick, a native of the Catskill Mountains, is a New York State licensed wilderness guide and trip leader. The author of several hiking and mountain-biking guides, including AMC's Catskill Mountain Guide, his writing also has appeared in Backpacker, Outdoor Traveler, and Adirondack Life. He lives in New Paltz, NY.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Appalachian Mountain Club Books; 1st edition (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929173849
• ISBN-13: 978-1929173846
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #758,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Licensed Wilderness Guide, Educator, Forester.
Tree Contractor, Timberline Tree & Landscape, Inc.

Author of books and magazine feature articles, 1985-present:
WW Norton & Company, Countryman Press (Backcountry Guides), Sailing magazine, Cruising World magazine, Backpacker magazine, Conservationist magazine, CutureFront magazine, Outdoor Traveler magazine, Adirondack Life magazine, Adirondac magazine (former staff writer), map and book reviewer, New York State Conservationist, NYNJTC Trailwalker

I grew up in an active scouting family and became an Eagle Scout. I received degrees in forestry and English. I've spent most of my life out-of-doors and became a part-time writing teacher, freelance writer and a tree surgeon in order to free myself of the usual constraints of the typical career, mostly so I could explore Canada's subarctic rivers (The Wheeler, Whale, George, Albany, and so on). I also made considerable personal sacrifices to explore the Hudson Bay Territories several times by small sailing vessel, going as far as Hudson Strait in the year 2003, in a Beneteau First 210 sloop. This obsession with journeying, in the immortal words of Robt. Frost, 'has made all the difference'. (Anyway, one must never confuse having a career with having a life).

As a result of my canoe and sailing trips in the Ungava region of sub-arctic Canada, I was recruited by a handful of Cree acquaintances, under the auspices of the Cree Grand Council in Ottawa, into the James Bay Speaker's Bureau, for which I worked and lobbied against the massive Hydro-Quebec power projects of the 1980s and 90s. This richly rewarding work resulted in some long time friendships and ties with the Cree and Inuit people of Nunavik and the James Bay/Hudson Bay territories. Today, Canada's indigenous people continue their struggle against the same, unwieldy provincial utilities that destroyed (by flooding and mercury pollution) a great deal of their ancestral homeland and food supply.

I spent most of the summers of my youth on a defunct family dairy farm in the Saugerties-Woodstock area of the eastern Catskills in upstate New York. I got to know the Catskill trails intimately during that time, and they would become a subject of special interest to me in later years. I'm a NYS licensed guide, and have led trips in the Everglades, on Maine's St. John and Allagash rivers, and throughout the Adirondacks (The Raquette River, St. Regis Ponds, Oswegatchie River, and so on). After writing all I could about the Catskills and the Hudson Valley, I moved to mid-coastal Maine. In the two years since, I've served as an Allagash Ranger in the headwater districts of Chamberlain and Churchill lakes.

My Amazon.com titles naturally evolved out of the things I love most--adventure travel, cycling, canoeing, and hiking/backpacking. Recently, I've been working on canoe guidebooks. My mixed experiences with the world of commercial publishing have resulted in my increased interest in self-publishing, which is an option many regional authors are finding both more attractive as well as practical.

Please use your judgement before embarking upon any of the adventures described in these books. People and ability levels, perceptions and agility of course vary significantly, and an author cannot account for these differences except to offer them in terms of his or her own personal experience. Please feel free to contact me or the publisher(s) of my books if you have questions or can provide input regarding any of the trips that are described within them.

Cordially,
Peter Kick
[e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The premier guide for anyone planning an excursion in New York's Catskills and Hudson Valley country!, August 8, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: AMC's Best Day Hikes in the Catskills and Hudson Valley: Four-Season Guide to 60 of the Best Trails from New York City to Albany (AMC Hiking Guide) (Paperback)

There are more than 600 miles of hiking trails in the Catskill mountains and the Hudson Valley, locales that are within just a few hours of New York City. "AMC's Best Day Hikes In The Catskills & Hudson Valley" is a practical "day trip" guide to varied and scenic terrains that range from Westchester County to Albany, showcasing sixty of the most scenic and spectacular of these trails which suited for anything from short family nature walks to day-long hikes with magnificent views. Each individual trail trip includes a detailed map and a summary of the trip time, distance, and difficultly. An icon indicates whether the trail is also good for snowshoeing or cross-country skiing in the winter, making "AMC's Best Day Hikes In The Catskills & Hudson Valley" an all weather, all-season reference of value for both local residents and vacationing visitors. Enhanced with hiking and safety tips, advice for hiking with children, an 'At-a-Glance Trip Planner' for finding the best hikes suited to the reader's aspirations and limitations, "AMC's Best Day Hikes In The Catskills & Hudson Valley" is the premier guide for anyone planning an excursion in New York's Catskills and Hudson Valley country!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You'll want to try them all!, October 17, 2007

By 

Lara (Princeton, NJ, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: AMC's Best Day Hikes in the Catskills and Hudson Valley: Four-Season Guide to 60 of the Best Trails from New York City to Albany (AMC Hiking Guide) (Paperback)

We are not expert hikers, but we got around fine using this guidebook. We knew we wanted to go hiking during our B&B weekend in the Hudson Valley, but wanted to try somewhere other than Mohonk Mountain (which is very nice, and covered in the book, but we've done it a few times). We took his suggestion and rode out to Stissing Mountain. It was so worth it! Between the directions in the book and help from our GPS, we were able to find the trailhead. Climbing to the top was a little intense, but we were rewarded with amazing views from the firetower, just as promised! We can't wait to go back for more hikes!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide, January 18, 2009

By 

Elizaveta Temidis "middle of the night reader" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: AMC's Best Day Hikes in the Catskills and Hudson Valley: Four-Season Guide to 60 of the Best Trails from New York City to Albany (AMC Hiking Guide) (Paperback)

I love to hike with my children. This book is filled with simple yet clear maps, excellent directions, helpful descriptions, and useful information. I rely on it to assess the level of difficulty of and what to expect from a particular hike. The authors put a lot of hard work and heart into this guide. I highly recommend it.