Customer Reviews

Buffalo River Handbook

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

 

 

If you are interested in learning about the trails, river, people, geology and biology of the Buffalo River . . . this is the place to start. No one knows the Buffalo River country better than Ken Smith. It has been his passion for more than 40 years. An earlier book he wrote, Buffalo River Country, played a key role in the creation of America's first national river. He knows the Buffalo River trail as no one else can. He laid it out and supervised its construction. He is actively involved today in the extention of it from Hwy 65 to Hwy 14. This trail will ultimately make it possible for a hiker to travel by trail from St Louis, Missouri to near Ft. Smith Arkansas.

Buffalo River Handbook easily rates five stars for anyone going to the Buffalo. I would also buy the Trails Illustrated maps of the Buffalo which he also edited and which go hand in hand with the Buffalo River Handbook.

Admittedly, it is difficult to be comprehensive and remain a "handbook," meaning something that you could take with you and refer to while on the trail or the river. If you are looking for specific maps for trails, I would recommend books by Tim Ernst, or if you are looking for details on running the river, A Canoeing & Kayaking Guide to the Ozarks are both superior for their individual information. This said, if you want something to refer to in general with historical as well as geological information along with talk of the flora and fauna with generalized information on trails and the river this book is outstanding. Excellent color and black and white pictures, and a searchable index.

I purchased this book for a recent trip down the Buffalo. I primarily wanted the mile-by-mile descriptions to help to know what to not miss on the river.

The author provides a lot of information in one place and a level of detail that is probably not available anywhere else. I believe this is considered the definitive guide to the river.

My biggest complaint is the seemingly endless geological formation descriptions. These are great if you are a geologist or geology enthusiast but become wearisome when you're just trying to find out what's ahead. (I understand Mr Smith's passion for geology and find some of it quite interesting but this is too much.) Too late now, but he probably should have included a separate mile-by-mile geologic description section instead of embedding this in the rest of the river description.

Also, the author mentions that the Trail Illustrated maps are essential to use with the book, prompting me to order them. I found them useful but not much more so than the USGS maps I already had.

get the book, a map and go there. Be good the locals. just great guide book...take only pictures and pick up your trash

This is a great reference for nature lovers who love the Buffalo River. Hikers, canoers, kayakers, children, adults...you name it...this is a great book to carry along the trail or just read and dream of hiking orfloating those trails or river locales. Great book to have on the coffee table of nature lovers.

This book contains over 400 pages of everything about the Buffalo River and the park imaginable. It is filled with all kinds of information and history about the Buffalo River plus a step by step break down of the river listed by mile marker. This book also has plenty of illustrations to accompany the vast amount of material. This book along with the National Geographic Trail Map are a must have for anyone wishing to spend time on the Buffalo National River.

It took 5 weeks to receive this book - I almost didn't get it in time for my trip. The book is a good reference for the Buffalo River.