60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Washington, DC: Including Suburban and Outlying Areas of Maryland and Virginia (2nd Edition) (60 Hikes - Menasha Ridge) [Paperback]

Paul Elliott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2007

From in-town urban hikes and walks to scenic suburban forays to world-class area wilderness hikes, Washington, D.C. offers great opportunities for nature-lovers. This book guides locals and visitors to the wealth of possibilities here for every season, including a ridgetop trek on Massanutten Mountain, a leisurely walk through Prince William Forest Park, and a breathtaking tour of the 7.5-mile U.S. National Arboretum with its dwarf conifer forests, dawn redwoods, and Fern Valley. Detailed profiles of each site help readers determine the best hike according to length, time needed, difficulty, and scenery. The book covers special interests too — hikes that are sure to please children, wildlife enthusiasts, history buffs, waterfall watchers, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for a previously published edition:
"A handy new guidebook close to home."--Potomac Review

From the Back Cover

It's time to take a hike! No more excuses like "there's nowhere to go around here," "the woods are too far from the city," or "I don't have time to wander the trails." With 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Washington, DC as your guide, you have dozens of places to hike to your heart's content, and all within an hour's drive or less. Trailblazers scour the earth for the best places to explore, and yet they often overlook their own backyards. 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Washington, DC blows the lid off the myth that you can't have a great hike close to home. The District of Columbia and its environs may be an ever-expanding metropolis, but there are still plenty of super hiking options, including short hikes, long hikes, hikes for kids, urban hikes, rural hikes, wildlife hikes, historic hikes, and many others. Whether you live in Washington, DC or the surrounding area, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Washington, DC provides you with the information you need to choose the perfect day hike, including maps, directions, trail lengths, hiking times, and a wealth of detail about the trail itself. So lace up those boots, sling that pack, and hit the trail! (6 X 9, 256 pages, b&w photos, maps)

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 346 pages
• Publisher: Menasha Ridge Press; 2nd edition (March 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897325559
• ISBN-13: 978-0897325554
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #330,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good hikes in an average guide, June 27, 2009

By 

Marcus Peacock (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Washington, DC: Including Suburban and Outlying Areas of Maryland and Virginia (2nd Edition) (60 Hikes - Menasha Ridge) (Paperback)

I've tried to like this guide, I really have. The author seems a nice fellow. The hikes are diverse and interesting. The writeups include a nice dollop of history. And it's got 60 hikes -- that's a lot of hikes. But it is not 'above average.' Why? First, it's occasionally unreliable. Take hike #7, on and near Catholic University. The author sends you behind the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center to 'savor the view' from a grassy knoll. A parking lot and air compressors are what you savor. (Related warning: the depiction of the trails in the northeast section of the hike #35 map, Mason Neck, is seriously flawed.) Second, I have a dog. Can I take my dog on these hikes? I can't tell. You won't find the words 'pet', 'dog', 'leash' anywhere. Finally, the directions are just a little sloppy at times. For instance, hike #14 (Black Hill Regional Park) tells you to go "right" at an orange pole that has a number of trails eminating from it. It took me half a mile to realize I was heading too far south for it to be the right trail. The best guides often organize hikes around mileage - they mark notable features always starting with the mileage the hiker has gone from the start and then describe what you should do or what you will find there. "60 Hikes" is written up more as a travel log. The mileage is often there, but its thrown in at different spots. Sometimes the directions have too much detail and other times not enough. In short, it's just harder to follow if you are trying to use it on the trail. Are these big problems? Not really, but that's what separates the good guides from the great guides.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, August 9, 2009

By 

applebaum8 - See all my reviews

This review is from: 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Washington, DC: Including Suburban and Outlying Areas of Maryland and Virginia (2nd Edition) (60 Hikes - Menasha Ridge) (Paperback)

This is a great book for the beginner hiker to know what's out there. However my main gripe is that in the front of the book he lists which hikes are metro accessible. But when you go to the hike, no where does it actually say which metro to get off at. Also some of the "hikes" in DC are made up. I don't consider walking on city blocks an actual hike. Some color pictures would have been nice, but there are plenty of nice b&w pictures though.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for hikers, January 9, 2009

By 

N. Zhang (Michigan) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Washington, DC: Including Suburban and Outlying Areas of Maryland and Virginia (2nd Edition) (60 Hikes - Menasha Ridge) (Paperback)

I got the book three months ago and have used it a lot since then. It provides pretty accurate information for my hiking trips in the area. I would recommend it to hiking enthusiasts.