An Outdoor Family Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park 2nd Edition [Paperback]

Lisa Gollin Evans (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1998

This easy-to-use guide is filled with terrific ideas for dozens of activities families can experience in Rocky Mountain National Park. More than 50 hikes and walks are included, along with information on perfect picnic sites, secluded fishing holes, great places for mountain biking and rock climbing, and opportunities for horseback riding and rafting. 60 photos. 36 maps .

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park offers an unparalleled playpen for parents and their kids. But in order to enjoy this spectacular area to the fullest, parents should know how and where to recreate with their children. The Outdoor Family Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park provides both practical advice and trip destinations--with ample consideration for little kids' needs and their parents' sanity. From the get-go, the author lays down the ground rules for successfully enjoying the outdoors with children in tow: "your wilderness experience is going to be radically changed ... traveling with children limits the scope of your activities, requires substantial planning for each outing, and demands a significant outlay of parental energy to ensure that your children's needs are satisfied." To this end, the guide offers hiking tips ("dehydration causes crankiness in children"), how-tos for enjoying the park safely (for instance, what to do in a thunderstorm), and a listing of special gear requirements. In addition, an overview chapter lists visitor centers and museums, and provides specific information on how to do all those things kids love--exploring, horseback riding, rafting, and biking--within the park. The rest of the book is devoted to trails, with hiking descriptions and at-a-glance details (difficulty, distance, usage, and elevation gain) to help you discern which trails are appropriate for you and your young trekkers. With this guidebook in hand, you'll also be able to dazzle your children by pointing out the flora and fauna, as well as local historical landmarks and facts. Detailed maps are also included. With a little courage, and plenty of sunscreen, sensibility, and snacks, both parents and their children can expect a wonderful wilderness adventure in the Colorado Rockies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books; 2 edition (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898865468
• ISBN-13: 978-0898865462
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,175,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide for seeing the park, especially for families, September 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: An Outdoor Family Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park 2nd Edition (Paperback)

We completed a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park with two children and found this book to be an invaluable guide. It provides an overview of the park and descriptions of 56 separate hikes. It has very clear directions on how to find the starting points for each trail as well as information on the difficulty and distance of the trail. The book also includes a lot of terrific information and ideas about hiking and camping with children. We found everything at the park to be as described in this book. We highly recommend it to anyone visiting Rocky Mountain National Park espcecially those travelling with children.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent guide to Rocky Mountain National Park, August 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: An Outdoor Family Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park 2nd Edition (Paperback)

Our family used this guide to prepare for our vacation. It is loaded with detailed information on dozens of locations in the Park. It's all presented in an easy to follow format with hikes grouped by location. If I had one gripe, it would be that there's *too* much information - my head was swimming after reading through it all, and I needed help narrowing the choices down. There's basic information on fishing, horseback riding and other activities as well. It's an excellent guide to the area that would serve you well on multiple trips.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best of the bunch, July 23, 2004

By 

Corakita "Corakita" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Outdoor Family Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park 2nd Edition (Paperback)

My family and I just returned from our first trip to RMNP and this book was so helpful, I made it a point to come back to Amazon and write this review. I bought a bunch of books for the trip and this is the one that we used the most. (I should note that Kent and Donna Dannen wrote a thick guide that makes for WONDERFUL reading but is not as useful as this one is for a newbie to the park.) This book is compact, well-organized, and easy to use. It was well worth its weight in the backpack.