Customer Reviews

Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails

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4 star:		(1)
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I bought this book before travelling from Ohio with ATVs. The book was extremely helpful in finding good trails to ride and to know what to expect. It is actually written for Jeeps and SUVs but since I could not find anything on ATV's this was the next best thing. If you are going to use ATV's or motorcycles you can adjust the difficulty levels accordingly. ie. Difficult for an SUV is Moderate for an ATV and so on. I am planning another trip out next summer and will probably buy Vol. 2.

Over the years, I think I've read most of the books on Colorado four-wheel drive roads, and probably have driven something like 25% of the roads described in this book. All things considered, Wells's book is the best of the bunch by a considerable margin. Errors are inevitable in books like these, but Wells seems to me to have made very few. In addition, the introductory how-to material was useful for tourist clods like myself.

If you are one of the many Americans who have purchased a Sport Utility Vehicle, and are planning a trip to Colorado, then you probably want to buy this book. The author begins with short chapters that cover equipment needs, basic driving techniques, and safety considerations (including warnings about Colorado's unpredictable weather). He then moves on to the heart of the book, the trails.

The trails are organized by their location in the state. The author classifies them as easy, moderate, or difficult. His classifications can keep you from getting on to a trail which is beyond your capabilities and which might result in damage to you vehicle, or worse. He provides directions on how to find the trail, a description of the terrain, a brief history of how the trail came to be, and other activities, besides four wheeling, that can be done in the area.

I found this book to be highly useful as I toured the state this summer, and the wear and tear on my copy is a tribute to its value.

This is the book that set the standard for the plethora of guidebooks that have appeared in the past few years. I reviewed this book for a magazine shortly after it debuted in 1998 and was impressed by it's intuitive, easy-to-navigate layout, crisp detail and value for dollar. The big question became accuracy. I began using it in my many travels over Colorado backroads, some familiar, some not. In the end, I had to admit that Wells had hit the target every time. My only lament at the time was that the entire state wasn't covered. He answered this in '99 with Volume 2, which rounds up the remainder of the state. If you are headed for Colorado to `wheel, I suppose you could buy whichever of the two books covers the area where you are going, but that's like heading for the OK Corral with a six-shooter that has only three bullets in it. Better pony up for both books if you are going to hit the Colorado backwoods. Bottom line is that you can count on Wells' trail guide to deliver to goods, and do it at a great price.

My wife and I were extremely skeptical we would be able to take our stock Ford Explorer on anything other than pavement or hard-packed dirt roads. This book changed that for us very quickly.

The book is divided into regions and gives details and descriptions of each trail. Each trail has been very accurately rated for difficulty level from novice to expert. We started out on a novice trail and from the first 5 minutes, we were hooked. The first trail took us to a great secluded hiking area and beautiful highland meadow and stream. The road was just difficult enough to provide appropriate challenges to a novice 4WD-er.

After this trip we ventured to the intermediate trails which were definitely more difficult, but well worth the effort. I would never have guessed that our stock SUV would have been able to tackle the terrain it did. It really makes you feel good about your purchase.

Overall, a very good book for beginners to advanced. I would recommend to anyone interested in taking up 4WD in Colorado or anyone who wants to get off the beaten path!

We recently got home from a 3 week vacation in Arizona, Utah, and Colorado and used Charles A. Wells books for each of those states for planning and navigation. We were extremely happy with these books as guides as we would have had no idea of were to go 4-wheeling without them.

Very well written and detailed trail descriptions. The maps and overall layout of the books were very friendly and easy to use especially while on the trail. We tried to hit as many of the authors favorite trails as we could and were not disapointed! We also noticed that the volumes were recognized and apparently respected by local tour guides that we met along the trails - a good sign. Some of the volumes included GPS coordinates which were a helpful reference. A mapping GPS makes a good companion to all of these books as you can match your GPS generated progress to any of the books fine maps.

The only down side as another reviewer pointed out, is that the binding of one or two of the books did give up but only because of its high use/abuse on our 3 week trip - don't let that stop you from buying though. (I'm going to move the pages to a binder)

You will be pleased with your purchase!

Thank you Mr. Wells

Book is very logically written. B/W photos are very crisp showing closeup shots of crossings and mountain/valley views. Photos show very accurate picture of trail condition and difficulty. Trail maps and descriptions are very thorough. Book is well worth the money. Would like to see a similar book by author covering European Alps. Can't wait to get a hold of the Jeep Grand Cherokee with Quadra-Drive and drive these trails.

Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails is an excellent resource for touring Colorados back country. I found the maps and trail descriptions accurate and easy to follow. The photographs are an added bonus, to let you know what kind of wonderful views to expect from every trail. The content of the book gives thorough descriptions of every trail and some history as well as information about other activities around each particular area. I definitely recommend this book to anyone planning on spending any amount of time enjoying Colorados back county.

I live in Western Colorado and reading this book clued me into lots of beautiful back country routes that I didn't know about. If you're coming to Colorado on vacation (which I recommend higly) grab a copy and lay out your plans in advance. The detailed information on how difficult the various routes are is extremely useful, especially if you're not a competition 4 wheeler.

This is the absolute best guide to Colorado Trails I have ever seen. The explanation of each trail is very good and the directions precise. The book gives you the areas on the trail that will be more difficult, places to see and things to do along each trail, and practical advice from someone who has actually been on each trail. The book is divided into geographical sections so you can really plan your trip around whatever area you are visiting. Whether you are wanting easy going family trails in your stock SUV or hardcore driving in a fully outfitted rig, this book should be your companion.