Customer Reviews

Best Easy Day Hikes Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks (Best Easy Day Hikes Series)

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1 star:		(0)

 

 

The entire series of Falcon Guides: THE BEST EASY DAY HIKES xxxxx are a delight to read and then follow. For those with a minimal amount of time to see vistas, canyons, and other scenery in parks and other areas of the country you can really experience a good variety of the locale by taking any of the hikes in these books.

I have about a dozen of these books, mostly of the western US and have referenced all of them in my hiking plannings. They are pocket size which makes them easy to carry with you and easy to read an understand.

My family recently took a trip to the west (south?) side of Zion National Park. We ventured on some of the hikes mentioned so I can only speak to those.

The book gives information in two distinctly different ways. One way is the very dry, just-the-facts writing as if an accountant were spewing numbers during a presentation. The teacher from Ferris Bueller's Day Off keeps ringing in my ear during much of the the reading of this book. Now, if you just want the facts, that's fine. Gimme north, south, east, west, tree names, shrub names and the like.

This alternates with an almost over-the-top romance novel type of writing. "A series of twenty-one switchbacks has been built cunningly into a rift in the wall here and bears the traveler upward at a calf-burning pace." The hike wasn't that hard. My 6-year old did it without 'burning' his calves. Or, "The trail climbs vigorously to reach the elevated mouth ... then levels off as it enters the the cool inner recesses of the cleft." Ahem.

The information, as far as I can tell, is not wrong. (except the trail name for "The Temple of Sinawava" is now called the "Riverside Walk" trail) The writing is just not the best.

Go to [...]. The information given is up-to-date, accurate and much more conversational.

By the way ... stock up on groceries, water, gatorade, etc. Prices are about double near the park at the groceries.

Zion National Park was the first park where I was truly captivated by the scenery. I was 9 and had just completed my first ascent of Angel's landing and realized hiking was the best sport in the world. Now, of course, I have a job and my time for visiting Zion, or indeed any park, is severely limited. I want to spend a few days, see the highlights, and then return to work so I can pay for my next excursion. At this stage in my life, books like this one from the Best Easy Day Hikes Series are a joy. They provide a sampling of short to intermediate hikes that I can use to plan my day. Molvar and Martin's contribution to the series, however, is better than most.

Despite having Zion and Bryce in the title, this book actually provides a selection of walks and hikes for much of southern Utah. It does offer 10 hikes in Zion, including Angel's Landing and the East Rim (neither of which should be considered "easy) and 6 more in Bryce. But it also covers Cedar Breaks and a variety of hikes in forests and state parks throughout Utah's "Dixie" lands. I would have added a few walks in Snow Canyon, the colorful low elevation rival to Zion, but this is still a fine selection of hikes. So if you are planning a short visit to southern Utah to explore parts of canyon country, this book is a good choice. It includes the classic hikes in the region, and more than a few hidden gems you would not know about otherwise.

The actual national park guides are really as good, but it is a decent second source to read about the hike. I did use it. But not a must.

Although the author has other guides in this series that are helpful, is neither complete nor helpful. You can find better trail maps for free at the park's Visitor Center. On a recent trip to Zion, I ended up not using the guide at all, and reading it beforehand didn't give me any interesting or useful information. I don't recommend buying this guide.

Just getting started in hiking again after a few years. Recommend the book and the bookseller