Customer Reviews

Hikes Around Philadelphia

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

 

 

This is a great book for those interested in afternoon or day hikes in the Greater Philadelphia area.

The book contains 40 hikes - all within a couple of hours of Philadelphia and most within sixty minutes. Each hike is organized with an easy to read map, distance, elevation changes, time estimates and other capsule information. A one to three page narrative describes the hike in detail, discusses options and points out areas of scenic and historic interest or particular difficulty.

Of particular use are descriptions of disability access and suggestions for hikes with young children. All in all, this is one of the best organized and informative guides I've seen.

What originally started as a great guide to local hikes, quickly turned into a major letdown. Though I enjoy a nice challenge at times...not just once or twice, but for three of the listed hikes we got lost and/or (as also previously mentioned) stuck in a shrub of a not-so-well-marked path. This book is definitely outdated. And not only that, the directions are not entirely clear (e.g. for the Blue Mountain and Phillips Canyon hike, it is vague that you need to return up the path you came from to continue along the Appalachian trail). So three times a charm; thanks to this book, I will now be investing in a portable GPS for my hikes.

Hikes Around Philadelphia is a great title for novice hikers (like myself). It provides good maps, directions, time/distance estimates, and descriptive narrative about each hike.

I've used it on three hikes and my only complaint is that it needs a new, updated edition. It was published in 1997 and some areas have changed in the last decade. I learned this the hard way half-way through my latest hike on "The Springfield Trail". The author might have been the last person who hiked the full trail. I was nearly trapped in vines and brambles situated between the Springfield Mall and a housing development (that was obviously built after the book was published).

I still recommend the book, but you should double-check the validity of each hike using Google Maps or another source.