Day Hiker's Guide to California's State Parks (Walking California Series) (Paperback)

~ John McKinney (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Essential for every California hiker. A tour de force of the state's best trails. -- Susan Smartt, president, California State Parks Foundation

Product Description

Contains 150 day hikes in Southern California's magnificent state park system. Includes walks in the parks, preserves, and historic sites in mountains, forests, desert and coastal locales. From Anza-Borrego's palm oases (near San Diego) to the magnificent redwoods at Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay to the Salton Sea. This single volume is a great addition to the library of every hiking enthusiast, families and seasoned veterans alike.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Olympus Press; Rev edition (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 093416116X
• ISBN-13: 978-0934161169
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #856,190 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Read for the History, not the Hikes, December 21, 2005

By	Fritz R. Ward "dayhiker" (Crestline, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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California has a huge state park system with over 250 units, far more than any other western state. Some of these parks like Humbolt Redwoods, Big Basin Redwoods, and Anza Borrego Desert State Park rival national parks in size, scenery, and recreational opportunities. Each has a unique local history and McKinney's 'Day Hiker's Guide' describes the background of many of these parks. In it you will learn about Jack Mitchel who led tours in his namesake Mitchel Caverns, John Pfeiffer's homestead in Big Sur, and the efforts of Henry Cowell and Joseph Welch to preserve the big Redwood Trees in Felton north of Santa Cruz. It is all very interesting, and well worth the read.

As a hiking guide, however, I can only give it 3 stars. The problem is that in describing so many parks, McKinney actually does a disservice to the major park trail systems. With few exceptions, only one hike is described in each park. This means that the .6 mile nature trail at Marina State Beach and the "mile or so" trail of Caswell Memorial Park gets almost equal time with the nearly 100 miles of trail in Humbolt Redwoods and the many hiking opportunities in Anza Borrego. Too many scenic hikes at the preeminent California Parks are simply left out. So buy this book for the colorful read, but be sure to carefully check state park maps before you hit the trails. In many places you will find far more than McKinney's book would imply.