North Carolina Hiking Trails, 4th (AMC Hiking Guide Series) [Paperback]

Allen de Hart (Author)

Book Description

Series: AMC Hiking Guide Series | Publication Date: April 1, 2005

Now completely revised and updated, North Carolina Hiking Trails is the most comprehensive guide available to the trails of the Old North State.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"When it comes to going on foot, North Carolina Hiking Trails is a must. From Murphy to Manteo, this guidebook offers details on thousands of miles of trails."
--Greensboro News and Sentinel

From the Back Cover

With more than 1,300 trails covering 3,500 miles, North Carolina is a hiker's paradise, boasting an incredible variety of terrain. This new edition of North Carolina Hiking Trails covers them all, from short family walks along the coast to long-distance treks in the mountains. You'll find coverage of trails along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and in Pisgah National Forest and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, plus trails in national wildlife refuges, state parks and forests, county parks, and much more. Each trail description details distance, difficulty, elevation, connecting trails, landmarks, scenery, and more.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Appalachian Mountain Club Books; 4th edition (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929173474
• ISBN-13: 978-1929173471
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,122,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An encyclopedia of trails--for all the bad and good, June 2, 2005

By 

T. Martinot (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: North Carolina Hiking Trails, 4th (AMC Hiking Guide Series) (Paperback)

I bought this book thinking that it would be a complete guide of trails throughout the state of North Carolina. By this, I mean that I hoped to use it for trails in the mountains as well as trails in the triangle.

This book does this much.

However, the reason for the low rating is that this book lacks "useability." By this, I mean that in spite of being very complete in terms of distance and elevation change, the book lacks terribly in the "useful" and "personal" aspects that I would hope to see in a guide (stuff like what to look for, where to go, what the nicer trails are, and what the best way to get to the trailhead may be, etc.). In all, it contains no useful maps to help guide the user.

I have used many guide books to help me through backpacking trips in the southeast, and this is by far the worst. Essentially, whereas I would typically carry both guide and a detailed topographical map to help me through my travels, I found that carrying this guide in addition to a map is simply redundant: All of the information I found in that book could be easily derived from a map (which is considerably easier to carry).

This book does not even help in trip planning.

The only good thing I found about this book is that thanks to its encyclopedic listing (it reads a lot like a phonebook), I found a few hiking trails near my home that I would otherwise never have known about.

If you're looking for a list of hiking trails, and little else, then this may be something for you (but a map is both cheaper and lighter).

If you're looking for a good all-around hiking guide that contains some maps and helpful information, then stay away from this one.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Major Disappointment, July 30, 2006

By 

Sean Giovanello "Sgio" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: North Carolina Hiking Trails, 4th (AMC Hiking Guide Series) (Paperback)

As an avid New England hiker, I relied heavily on the AMC White Mountain guide when planning and going on hikes. I also used the AMC Massachusetts Trail guide and found it quite useful. I wish I could say the same about the North Carolina guide.

When I moved down to NC, the first thing I did was purchase the guide. I was excited to start planning trips to the Smokies and routes for the Southern 6ers. Unfortunatey, this book is of little use.

Problems:

1) There are no maps.
2) It is simply just a list of trails - rather than a true guide book.
3) It is missing pages (skips 50 pages in the 300s)
4) Unless you are familiar with the area or have all your topo maps handy its very difficult to even think about crafting a route.

When I used my AMC White Mountain guide, I was able to select a region, then a peak/peaks and read about different routes to the summits. The trail descriptions were clear and it was very easy to choose between more scenic or less strenuous, etc. In the NC guide, this is nearly impossible. Nothing is organized in that manner. Instead it just lists all the trails in the various forests and gives a brief description.

A huge huge disappointment and a real blow to my view that the AMC gets things right.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great guide book, September 26, 2009

By 

R. Vest "i AM we the people" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: North Carolina Hiking Trails, 4th (AMC Hiking Guide Series) (Paperback)

This book has gone with me from Manteo to Murphy and I find it to be the most comprehensive guide book I have ever used for NC. Along with a good topo map, which Mr.de Hart recommends, this book has prepared me for every twist and turn I've hiked in NC; Pisgah NF, Uwharrie, Linville, Wilson Creek Wilderness Area, etc.

It is also a great reference for letting me know which trails will suit my nephew (18yrs old) and my daughter (8yrs old). It's a great tool for planning hikes depending on what you want to see; take the route with the most waterfalls, highest waterfalls, best overlooks, most remote location, flora, campsites, etc.

I've only gotten lost one time while using this comprehensive and detailed guide and that was due to a poorly marked spur and not the book. In fact, Mr.de Hart often mentions trails that are poorly marked so you can be on the lookout.

Indispensable for me.