2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
This Book Will Waste Your Time, June 14, 2005
This review is from: A Bark in the Park: A Guide to Walking Your Dog Around Salt Lake City (Paperback)
Beware. This book wasted HOURS of my time, and all because it is poorly organized, inaccurate and carelessly put together. Although it does list some dog-friendly trails, here are the 4 major problems I had with it:
(#1) Provides inaccurate/incomplete driving directions to at least two trailheads (I haven't tried them all). Did the author bother to drive her own directions? Doubtful.
(#2) Lists at least one dog park that has been closed for about a year. The book I bought has a copyright date of 2005, but in June of 2005 when I tried to find to one of the fenced-in dog parks listed in the back of the book, I could not locate it. Three young men who lived in the area told me the park had been closed for 10 months. Another woman corroborated their story and said it had closed over a year ago. The fences had been torn down, and it now looks like an unkempt, abandoned lot.
(#3) Illogical organization. Why would someone who wants to walk their dog need to see the trails listed *alphabetically*? Why not by region? Let's think about this. When deciding on a dog-walking venue, the very first thing I need is a general sense of where the trail or park is so I can determine if I have enough time to make the trip. Is this a half day outing or something I can squeeze in after dinner before dark? The author does NOT provide a diagram or map to show the general location of the trails. This forces the reader to wade through all of the trail descriptions before heading out.
(#4) The author assumes the reader knows the area and can fill in the gaping holes she leaves in her work. While the roads in the Salt Lake City area are logically named/organized according to a basic grid, that is a general rule, and there are many exceptions. Avoid this book unless you want to buy your own maps and put in some significant research time, or if you are already very familiar with the area (in which case, you probably don't need a book like this).
The back cover of this book says the author is a resident of Sandy, UT. Since she lives here, the lack of accuracy is inexcusable. (Even if she didn't live here, she could have consulted maps before sending this thing to the printer.)
I've had this book for about a month and I've probably wasted 8-10 hours getting lost or, having learned my lesson the first time she sent me on a wild goose chase, pre-researching accurate directions to trails. And now I am using more time writing this review because this book was so maddening, I felt compelled to warn others. Time is precious and scarce to most people I know. This book does not respect the time of its readers. But I will say that it does list 19 trails all over the area. I've not seen any other place to get this info. So, it's a good start, but certainly not a convenient, easy to use reference.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Bark in the Park, October 18, 2004
This review is from: A Bark in the Park: A Guide to Walking Your Dog Around Salt Lake City (Paperback)
Useful fun and fascinating book about hiking in the Salt Lake area. I especially liked the references on hiking times.
She really knows the trails ! My dog loves it also .
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
perfect for summer, June 19, 2005
This review is from: A Bark in the Park: A Guide to Walking Your Dog Around Salt Lake City (Paperback)
this is a great reference to use when walking/hiking with your dog. the directions are easy to follow and all the trails are very dog friendly.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
