Customer Reviews

60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Los Angeles: Including San Bernardino, Pasadena, and Oxnard

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Like other books in the 60 hikes in 60 miles series, this book introduces readers to pleasant outings within easy reach of a major metropolitan area, in this case Los Angeles. Prospective Amazon buyers should be aware that the subtitle of the book on the Amazon page is not accurate. It should read "Including San Gabriel, Ventura, and Orange Counties" not San Bernardino and Oxnard. These hikes really are close to the city.

The hikes are also, for the most part, fairly short. Distances range from 1 to 6 miles, but the vast bulk of the walks described are from 2 to 4 miles in length. These are trips you could take before or after work and still have time to squeeze in dinner or a movie. A few of the hikes described will have a genuine wilderness feel to them. The Grotto trail in the Santa Monica Mountains and Arroyo Seco Canyon outside Passadena are examples of such walks. Others are very urban. The Rose Bowl Loop and Duarte Recreational Trail are city walks. Most of the hikes fall somewhere in between. The nature trail at Descanso Gardens seems fairly typical of the offerings Ms. Randall gives her readers.

This is a decent book, but LA has more genuine wilderness near it than this book suggests. Many spectacular hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains are not included despite being very close to LA. In other cases, Ms. Randall's focus on shorter walks has prevented her from listing some truly outstanding adventures. For example, she directs readers to the loop trail through the Devils Punchbowl, a 1.2 mile walk. But the same trailhead also has a wonderful hike to the Devil's Chair, a prominent overlook from which to survey the entire region. This 7 mile hike has it all: spectacular views, a stunning pine forest right at the edge of the high dessert/mountain transition zone, and a serious workout. It is also not mentioned in this book. So, if you are looking for pleasant walks in and around LA, by all means get this guide. It is well written and offers several nice outings. Readers looking for longer hikes and less of an urban setting will want to invest in Ann Marie Brown and Julie Shear's 'Take a Hike LA' or the very comprehensive 'Afoot and Afield in Los Angeles' by Jerry Schad.

When I first purchased this book, I had more than a little buyers remorse. I was looking for an thinking that I was getting a book along the lines of Trails of the Angeles. What I got was a book with more 'urban' trails. That said, lately I've been finding times where I wanted to hike, but didn't have either enough time, or the schedules of fellow hikers didn't coincide with being able to drive to get to hikes closer to the wilderness. So, I found myself taking hikes on trails closer to home. Here's where this book helped out quite a bit. Quite a few of these hikes are not in the more popular trail guides for the Angeles Natl Forest; e.g., Big Dalton Canyon, Monrovia Canyon--Bill Cull Trail, Garcia Trail, and are a close enough drive to the metro area to make a quick hike for part of a day. Hiking these also, led me to research others in the areas near them. Colby Trail, Marshall Canyon, South Hills, among others.

The only bad thing, and this isn't the books fault, is that most hikes close to the metro area are also killer trails to hike in summer. There are quite a few coastal hikes that beat the heat, but in order to do that in the mountains you have to gain elevation (and drive time)to get to those. There aren't any high country hikes in this book, so you're better off buying something like Trails of the Angeles (TOTA) to research those.

All in all, after 'third' thoughts about this one, I'm glad I purchased it and keep it handy with all the other hiking guides I use.

Fast delivery and perfect condition...even came wrapped in plastic! My roommate loves hiking and she's really excited about this book!