Customer Reviews

60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Phoenix: Including Tempe, Scottsdale, and Glendale

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first time I climbed Camelback Mountain via the Echo Canyon trail I came to a new understanding of the word "steep." The trail rises in excess of 1,000 feet per mile and that includes a relatively level section. But Camelback Peak is hardly alone among the rigorous hikes and climbs in the Phoenix area. Many of the trails in the Phoenix Mountains are incredibly steep with no shade and few convenient rest spots. However, they also offer stellar views of the Valley of the Sun and some of the best off season recreation in the western US. They are also covered in detail in Charles Liu's new addition to the '60 Hikes within 60 miles' series from Menasha Ridge Press.

Like other books in the series, this volume has a lot to recommend it. It includes a useful introduction on the basics of hiking and how to use a GPS unit. Hikes are organized by geographical region (within Phoenix, suburbs, and areas to the northeast and northwest, as well as south of the city) and each hike contains key "at-a-glance" information such as distance, elevation, approximate hiking time, and, relatively unique to Phoenix, how many quarts of water you will need if you wish to survive the experience. I might add here that some of the information can be redundant. Under the heading "exposure" virtually every hike lists shade as "none" or "very little." Liu deserves a lot of credit for his careful maps that accompany the trail descriptions. These were recorded by hand-held GPS and plotted onto downloaded topographical maps. Based on the trails I have hiked that are described in this book, these maps are excellent.

In all, this is a great book if you are a Phoenix resident or regular visitor seeking hikes in the off season. (I fall into the latter category.) The author does describe several fairly level paths: the trail in Papago Park and the Bridal Murphy trail, to offset some of the more challenging adventures. For my part, I will use this book to explore the Bradshaw Mountains the next time I visit Phoenix in the warmer months. Liu points out their elevation makes them a nice alternative to the longer drive for Flagstaff if you want to beat the heat. I think it is a safe bet that even seasoned local hikers will find something new in these pages. So get the book and go take a hike (but not during June, July, or August).

We have a group of friends that hike almost every weekend all year and we've been referring to this book for almost two years for new hikes. We've done more than 30 so far plus some of the variations given in the book and every one have been well worth doing at least once. Most of them we have done multiple times or plan to do again.
We've done almost all of the longer hikes 4-12+ miles and the book has provided very accurate and helpful information. For instance finding the trailhead for the Vineyard Trail by Roosevelt Lake--if it wasn't for the book's instruction we would have never found the trailhead and it was one of our favorite hikes!!
The only complaint that I would have is that the book calls Tempe Town Lake and four similar paths "hikes" -- they shouldn't be in there at all -- if you're on a sidewalk you're really NOT hiking!
The book is very very good. If you want to explore new areas around Phoenix, this book is a great way to introduce you to them!

Have you ever purchased a guide and found yourself wondering if the author actually visited the site, and if he did, why he didn't provide more information? That will not be your experience with this book, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Phoenix. The author, Charles Liu, gives a wealth of information for each hike with detailed maps, charts showing the elevation gain/loss, key at-a-glance trail info, GPS coordinates, and more. Each trail is described "In Brief" with a sentence or two, then expanded upon in usually 2+ pages of well-written prose, describing every aspect of the hike. Most descriptions also feature a black and white photo of the trail, scenery, or a unique feature of the hike. Each hike's description ends with a paragraph of describing additional nearby activities.

Included in the book's 20+ pages of introductions and prefaces, there are particularly useful lists that make it easy to find the kind of hike one might be looking for. Want a scenic, solitary hike that is 4-6 miles, on a multi-use trail by a stream? Try the Vineyard Trail. Or a 1-3 mile flat dog-friendly trail that is good for viewing wildlife and ends in a swimming hole? Try the Badger Springs Wash Trail. Or a scenic, solitary high-altitude 9+ mile steep hike alongside a stream? Try Reavis Ranch via Rogers Trough Trailhead. Also charted are hikes with scrambling or climbing, those with archaeological ruins, those best for children, hikes best for wildflowers, those for regular workouts and hikes for runners.

The book ends with a short-but-useful appendix section, listing where to locally find hiking supplies, maps, and hiking clubs, and a glossary of both general hiking terms and ones that might be fairly particular to Arizona (like hoodoo and javelina).

My only wish is that the author would have better-covered the areas to the north and west of Phoenix. However, that's not enough of a detraction to warrant less than five stars. I have read and owned many, many guidebooks, and this one surely ranks among the best.

(The cover of my book is different from the one pictured here on Amazon.)

As an avid hiker of some of the more popular hikes in Phoenix, I bought this book a couple years ago with the desire to find some new trails. This book did not disappoint. It includes a great variety of hikes from all over the valley. I've been working my way through them and have enjoyed getting out into new trails and parts of town I don't normally get to. In fact, I may have to get a new copy, because mine is so battered from all the great hikes I have taken it on.

This book is very well organized and is very thorough. I had no idea just how spoiled I was until I picked up a couple other hiking books recently and they really came up short compared to this one. I could not recommend this book enough.

What a great book. After just moving to Phoenix from Washington State, I really didn't know where I could hike. This book gave thorough instuctions on each hike, from elevation, distance, all the way down to if there is shade or not. It is extremely well written, and is my bible for whenever I am out. Definitely worth the money.

I couldn't have asked for a better resource book for hiking trails in and around the Phoenix area. The author gives great descriptions of each hiking trail and gives an easy "guide" for the experience you want from each trail (i.e. - good for beginners, good for pets, or near water or is rocky, etc). It made it easy to choose a hiking trail and to be prepared for that hiking trail so a person doesn't get surprised or even disappointed because you aren't aware of what that trail is about. I highly recommend this book to hikers of all experience levels in and around Phoenix.

I recently relocated to the Phoenix area and love to hike so this book was a must have. I would highly recommend.

The book provides detailed information for each hike including:

1.) Length of each hike
2.) Elevation Gain
3.) Hike Configuration
4.) Difficulty
5.) Scenery
6.) Exposure (Shade vs. Sun)
7.) Traffic
8.) Trail Surface
9.) Hiking Time
10.) Water Requirement
11.) Season
12.) Access Hours & Parking Info.
13.) Maps
14.) Facilities
15.) Dog Requirements
16.) Comment Section
17.) GPS Trailhead Coordinates
18.) A brief description
19.) A more in-depth description
20.) Directions
21.) Nearby Activities

Gave this as a gift to a family member who had recently moved to Phoenix and they were very happy with it. Said they had had another book in this series in another city they lived in and that it was great.

I bought this book after being so disappointed with "Best Short Hikes in Arizona" by Laine and Letham. "Best Short Hikes" covers all of Arizona, so it only offers about 10 hikes near Phoenix. If you are looking for good hikes near Phoenix, buy "60 Hikes" (and yes, some are at the 60-mile periphery of Phoenix).

This is one book i go back to over and over for hikes in and around Phoenix. The author did a great job with selecting trails to include from the East Valley although I would have liked to see more included from the West Valley.

The directions and maps provided are useful and I would highly reccomend this guide to anyone hiking in the area!