Customer Reviews

Hiking Big Bend National Park, 2nd (Regional Hiking Series)

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

 

 

My husband & I just returned from a fantastic trip to Big Bend National Park. We used this excellent, handy, easy-to-use book as our primary resource for deciding what hikes we were capable of taking in the park. The book proved very useful in showing numerous shorter, easier hikes that older people like us with foot and back problems could take as well as longer, harder trails for those who want them and are able. It also gave very interesting, accurate, readable, and useful descriptions of such matters as how to drive to the trailhead and whether parking is available there, some things (mainly scenery & geological features) one is likely to see on the trail, trail length, elevation gain, trail traffic etc., to allow use to decide which trails would most interest us. Further, it contains some useful black and white photos. And it provides some information about neighboring Big Bend Ranch State Park which we also at least drove through. Thanks in large part to this book, we were able to enjoy some the best hiking of our lives despite our current physical limitations. I only wish we had visited the park a decade ago or more when we could have done some of the more strenuous trails described as well. I would recommend this book for virtually anyone planning a visit to Big Bend.

Gives a great synthesis of hikes of all levels in the park. Well-organized and thus very easy and quick to use.

I would highly reccommend this book to anyone wanting to hike Big Bend. This could take me a while. This book allowed me to make the most of my limited time there. It clearly stated how far and long each hike would take, how difficult or easy it was, and a good description of the scenery. I was able to plan my days weeks in advance with this information, making my trip much more enjoyable than it would have been had I tried figuring it all out while there. i can't imagine why anyone would want to give this less than five stars. On a personal note, the cactus were in full bloom in late April, and made for amazing photos, and general enjoyment. Do pack lots of water, and drink even when you don't feel thirsty. The dry air is very deceiving if you're not used to it. My throat got so dry and tight, It was hard to talk. Do listen to the warnings about the poorly marked trails, it is very hard to navigate the desert if you aren't experienced. A Garmin GPS watch is helpful, it will at least guide you back along the path you came in on. This is a great park for handicapped people. The scenery just from the car is incredible, and there are several scenic overlooks, and even trails that are very short, and worth it. This is a great park if you are a biker. I saw more Harleys than cars. My sister and brother in law took their bikes all over. This is a park the size of Rhode Island full of off road biking! if you have the time, spend at least a week, two if you can. And take one of the river raft trips from Terlinqua. The drive to where they put you in the water in Big Bend State park is wiorth the price of admission. And a day rafting is a nice break for weary bones that have been hiking. Enjoy this incredible park, and use this incredible book.

It does the job it was purchased for, ie finding trails in Big Bend National Park

The kindle edition of this book leaves much to be desired. You cannot zoom in on the maps as you can with PDF files so they are barely readable. Also, this is no chart summarizing the hikes so you have to go to each of the hikes to find a hike of a particular difficulty or length.

Hiking Big Bend National Park, 2nd (Regional Hiking Series)
I was hoping for a book with some context on why one might want to hike this park, or where or when. Instead, this whole book is simply a list of hikes and their descriptions.