Customer Reviews

Beyond Mount Si: The Best Hikes Within 85 Miles of Seattle

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Simply stated, the book offers hikers of any caliber a great selection of day-hiking opportunities close to the Seattle area. I was in Seattle for a summer and bought this book from a used-book shop for a dollar... one of the best purchases I have ever made. I gave it away when I left, and now that I'm about to return, I'm going to buy this book again.

Throughout the summer, I took about 12 distinct hikes from the book. Sometimes I went solo to move at a faster pace and start early in the morning, and other times I used it as a guide for selecting a hike for a group of not-exactly-in-shape people. The directions to the trail heads are excellent, although occasionally misleading about the road conditions... but if you have an SUV and not a cavalier or escort like I have, this won't be an issue for you. Never once did I get lost travelling to a hike.

Moreover, I never once got lost on any trail. Washington state doesn't seem to label anything, unlike many trails in the East. But the small maps were enough to get me through all of the trails that I travelled, and the descriptions about the tricky points in the trails were a huge bonus. You might consider richer topographical maps just to be safe, but I was able to get through with little problem. I also really like the visualizations of the elevation changes so I have a good idea of what I'm in for climbing-wise. Also, the descriptions of times to hike (i.e. when the snow has melted) were great for someone from the East who usually doesn't see snow in the mountains past April.

In short, an excellent guide to a great many hikes near Seattle. It's a no-brainer for avid or occasional day-hikers alike.

NOTE: If you're looking for guides to hikes near Olympic park, this is *not* the book for you. All hikes are north, east, and south of Seattle... there are no hikes listed to the west.

Zilly is not just an outdoors geek. He is a great writer. His descriptions are user-friendly (I especially love how he signals a tough stretch with an "oof!" and a confusing fork with a "whoa!"). And the trails he's chosen offer great variety--I usually hit the trail in spring with the easier ones then graduate to the tougher ones in early fall. But the best part, I think, are the maps. They're simple, use recognizable icons and also offer an elevation cross-section, so you can visualize the elevation gain (or lack thereof). I buy all my new-to-town friends this book and they love it too.

best hiking book I've come across for near-seattle hikes.

this book has -good- driving directions (and GPS coordinates). along the lines of "go north off exit #34 for 1.7 miles - trailhead is on your left" - I have never gotten lost trying to find a trailhead in this book.

a lot of the hiking books I've come across are written by well-intended old farts who know the area like the back of their hand. unfortunately they assume you also know where you are going and leave out detailed directions. I sometimes suspect they have a secret agenda of trying to prevent too many people from actually finding the trailhead.

nice selection of hikes - some of which are 30 minutes from downtown - others a bit further away. all of them are within a few hours drive.

Finally a comprehensive guide book for a variety of hikes close to the Seattle area - previously hikes around the area have been scattered through various guide books, some good, some not so good. This is a good one! The driving directions and hike maps are easy to follow and very informative. Each map stands alone with its own micro-legend. The rating system and elevation profiles provide a good starting point. There are gps coordinates for each hike for folks that know what to do with that info and for those who are just learning. Indicating which hikes are appropriate for children also helps in the selection process. This is a great book for sitting in a cafe on Saturday morning trying to figure out where to go for the day.

This is a great book for natives of the region who are into intense, strenuous hikes. I however, am more of a novice hiker and found only a few hikes in here that were of my skill level. There aren't too many hikes to pick from if all you want is an afternoon hike along the water or an easy day trip with the kids.

This is one of 3 local hiking guides I have of the area and this is definitely the most user-friendly one. The driving directions were clear and the description of the hikes was acurate and very helpful.

The thing I appreciate most with this guide provides was that whether or not there is a fee (parking and/or permit) involved at each hike. By listing who manages each trail, I could avoid arriving at a hike just to find out that I did not have cash to pay for parking or that I should have stop by a local vendor to get a pass/permit.

Also, I always take my dog on hikes, so it is good to know the pet regulation at each trail.

This is defnitely a must for everyone who lives in the Seattle area and wants to explore the local trails.

I'm a Washington native and have been doing some type of hiking most my life and I enjoyed this book. I am not normally one for guidebooks, but this was a good one after moving northward and trying to learn the new trails I'd have access to. It's great for learning about hikes close to the Seattle and central King County. However this does leave out some great hikes that a little farther out. A good resouce for those that are centrally located. I like the elevevation chart as it gives a easily viewable representation of the trail, however I'd like to see Topographic maps as well to see a little more cleary how the locations come together. I also don't care for the directions as they all seem to indicate mileage from exits. Unless you follow the exact directions(from seattle) there are no mile marker references. So those of us who know some of the backroads but not the trailhead location are left to search our own route or take major routes more. I'd also like more information on varying the hikes along areas that are quite networked with trails(the Issaquah alps for example). Overall I'd recommend this book to anyone who lives along the 1-90 or 1-5 corridor and wants to get familiar with the local hikes, but if your much outside Seattle or Bellevue then this book starts to seem less useful.

My husband and I just moved here from California and we are both just getting to know the area here in Seattle, so this book has been great! The rating system is really excellent as well as the descriptions, maps, and driving directions. There are plenty of options near and far from the city and of all different hiking levels.

This book is by far the best of the bunch. It offers a concise overview, turn by turn directions and the best maps.

One of the issues with other books is the maps look more like a bad b&w copy of a USGS topo map. Not this book!

The maps in this book show the general area and most other trails in the area. Plus it highlights the exact route mentioned in the book. While this may seem basic, some other local books simply show the trails or have a topo like map without the trails highlighted.

Its critical to have good maps as many local trail systems have confusing interconnecting routes.

The other major bonus of this book is that it is really up-to-date and keeps to routes most folks can enjoy. Plus it gives honest comments about crowding and parking.

I have taken seven hikes in this book this year and have enjoy each of them.

This book is MUCH better than the Day Hike! series.

This book does a great job of describing so many of the wonderful hikes the greater Seattle area has to offer, rating them for difficulty and scenery and giving useful hints and directions.

We took our nine year old on several of the hikes and it was nice to know which ones would be most difficult and to tell him what to expect on the hike.