Customer Reviews

Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

In my life, I have literally read hundreds of hiking and climbing guidebooks from around the world. There are two things most of them have in common and are readily apparent. First, the author does not have intimate, first-hand knowledge of every location, every route; relying instead on other's trip reports and descriptions. Second, details important to the reader are brief, missing or just downright incorrect. This makes for a potentially deadly combination when a climber or hiker is facing darkness, dangerous weather conditions and fatigue.

Within Rocky Mountain National Park, an area I have explored and enjoyed over the past 25 years, I have carried and relied heavily upon guidebooks by 'renowned' local authors and on more than several occasions, have faced incredibly frustrating and sometimes harrowing circumstances, quickly coming to the realization the guidebook was worth less than the paper it was printed on.

Then, Lisa Foster entered the picture. Lisa established her credibility, professionalism and attention to detail long before writing this book, as a backcountry adventure columnist for the Estes Park Trail Gazette and as a host/guide in many local television and video productions; aimed at promoting safe and responsible adventure travel in Rocky Mountain National Park. This, coupled with her years of experience as a National Park Service Biological Field Technician, a top-notch alpinist and backcountry explorer, made her the perfect candidate to take on such a formidable challenge-to write a comprehensive guide to every named point in Rocky Mountain National Park as well as several areas on its borders.

Lisa was successful in accomplishing this totally unique objective, I feel, not by her wealth of knowledge nor years of experience as a writer-adventurer, but by her uncontrollable zeal for life and unconditional love of the outdoors; a passion for which I have never seen equaled.

The fruit of Lisa's tireless labor is in an extraordinarily beautiful book, both in appearance and in content. The guide is constructed so that both Park aficionado and newcomer will embrace it and find it an invaluable resource. Its layout is concise, easy to navigate and despite its 400 pages, easy to carry. Lisa's color photos are alluring, inspiring and illustrate the Park's beauty in all four seasons. The historical passages afford the reader a greater appreciation and better understanding of the area than any other reference I have studied.

I've written this not to be flattering nor to help the author sell a million books. My review is directed to you, the person with adventure in your heart, who is intelligent enough to read these reviews, diligent enough to do some research and wise enough to make an informed purchase. In the mountains, there is no room for error...you need to have the very best guidebook available, and this is it.

I live two miles from "Rocky", and thought I knew almost everything about it. Boy, was I wrong. Thanks to Lisa Foster and "Rocky Mountain National Park - The Complete Hiking Guide", I have been given the opportunity to experience this gem of the National Park System in an entirely different light - through Lisa's eyes. I can tell you with all sincerity, the journey so far has been nothing less than magical.

This book provides route information for every named destination in Rocky Mountain National Park, and for a number of destinations around the park as well as many unoffically named destinations within it. These destinations include waterfalls, lakes, passes, and mountains, 440 destinations in all. As the title suggests, it's an exhaustive guide, and probably has more information than the casual visitor can use.

The author, Lisa Foster, has been to each one of these destinations - - and I haven't. So my review begins with a lack of information, as there's no way that I can vouch for her route information. I have been to some of these destinations, either on the beaten track or just off it, and her information so far is good.

Three things make this book stand out, in addition to the sheer number of features covered. First, there are an extraordinary number of great photographs, an average of about one per page. This makes a big difference in selecting destinations.

Second, this is at last a book with enough maps. Each section (i.e., "Mummy Range") begins with a map covering that region, and every 5-10 pages is a detail map showing the routes for individual hikes or climbs. The overwhelming majority of these routes are off-trail, so the maps are essential for helping to show you where to go.

Third, and related to the maps, is the coverage of so many routes (686 for the 440 destinations). The section on Longs Peak is, not surprisingly, the most thorough, covering every route and feature that you might find from any direction. The book is not exhaustive - - for example, it lists two routes up Mount Lady Washington, and I know of a third - - but it provides more than enough for most people.

At the end of the book is a list of all the routes, with length and elevation information. My only complaint is that this information isn't put on the route page as well. This oversight mystifies me, why not add a line of text saying that the east route up Lady Washington is 4.2 miles with 3,881 feet of elevation gain from the Longs Peak trailhead?

That aside, this is an impressive book, both useful and beautiful.

I think this book is very helpful and very complete. It covers every trail in Rocky Mountain Park. It is precise in describing the level of difficulty for every trail, and the photos are helpful and beautiful.
I found, however, that it was too big and heavy for me to carry in my backpack on the trail, and I would have liked the author's opinion on the enjoyment rating of the trail, maybe a star system or a few words as to wether this trail would be worth doing.
I also missed some info for the neighbouring wilderness areas, such as Indian Peak Wilderness, or Roosevelt National Forest, which were not covered at all.
I always go on the trail with my other smaller guide, but I think owning this book is a very good idea, it is a great cross reference book and very worthwile to own. I used it everyday and enjoyed it.

Lisa Foster's guide book to RMNP is indeed complete, comprehensive, meticulous, and helpful. The amount of detail is excellent and her expertise is evident.

I found it overwhelming for a first visit to the park, however. My husband and I had only three days to dayhike, aiming for an average of 10 miles round trip, 2000 ft. climb each day, coming through the Fall River Road park entrance. It took me several hours studying Foster's book to select what seemed to be appropriate hikes and trailheads to start from. The book is primarily organized by destination, and the destination descriptions do not provide mileage and elevation change from trailhead -- this is instead provided in a helpful table at the back of the book. After a while, I found myself starting at the table in the back to look for suitable mileages, then flipping to the front of the book to read about the destinations and identify trail head locations on the maps.

This book seems better designed for experienced RMNP users who are looking for more information on how to reach all the named destinations in the park. Beginners like me would benefit from a "recommended dayhikes section" or something to help a first-time out-of-town user more quickly hone in on great hikes for a short stay.

Due to its comprehensiveness and solid construction, the book is heavy. I found it too heavy to hike with so I ended up copying notes by hand on some of the off-trail destinations and carrying those instead of the book. This worked, but I'd have preferred the book. Not sure how to improve this other than perhaps making the guidebook 3-ring with removable pages.

I live about an hour from Estes Park and hike in Rocky Mountain National Park several times a year. I'm familiar with many of the destinations, so I know that the information is accurate.

Lisa KNOWS what she's talking about! She has been to EVERY one of the 440 destinations in this book! That said, there is obviously a lot of information in this book - probably more than the average day hiker really needs. Most RMNP hiking guides cover a few of the popular destinations, this book covers EVERYTHING in the park and is written by someone who has been there.

I can't say enough about it! It's absolutely great! The route descriptions are clear, the photography is excellent - everything is there. I especially like the section towards the back of the book that has a list of every hike, along with the mileage, difficulty rating, etc. It makes it easy for me to plan a hike when I can look at a list of every hike and rule out the hikes that are too long, for example, when I only have a few hours to spare.

I've become very busy and haven't been on a hike for a while. The moment I opened this book, I was inspired get back on the trail.

EXCELLENT JOB, LISA!!!!

This new book covers every trail in the entire park, and many outside the park boundary. The author actually hiked every trail herself, which is an amazing feat in itself. The book is very well written and is full of beautiful pictures. The author also took all the images. I highly suggest this book for anyone who plans to hike in Rocky. I love the historical tidbits, too.

I think the vast majority of us, even if we lived in Estes Park and had an idea to write such a book, would have given up when we grasped the enormity of hiking to every named destination in Rocky Mountain National Park (and several in the neighboring national forests). Lisa Foster didn't. Even though she was ill and often had to hike alone, she persevered. This was truly a labor of love, because not many of us are going to scale the Spearhead or numerous other destinations that require off-trail route finding and 3,500-plus elevation gains. The trail descriptions are very good, and Lisa does not seem to run out of adjectives to describe the splendor. That in itself is an accomplishment well worth noting. The photographs are also spectacular, giving the hiker an idea of the reward for huffing and puffing yourself up a mountain trail. (I've visited the park 16 times since 1995, and I always forget how difficult hiking can be.) Lisa, my hat is off to you.

One of the best if not the best hiking guides to the park. I have led and/or followed hikes to 30 or more locales in the park and find this book to have the most complete and accurate write-ups.............

Lisa Foster has hiked to every named destination in the park, and has provided a manual for you to be able to get there also. Her numerous descriptions are necessarily short, yet the book is still too fat to want to carry in a pack. You should own this book if you want to take the road less travelled. She is a serious hiker and a technical climber, and the book is best for those who like to push themselves to new levels. She provides alternate routes to the same destinations, and includes helpful information to enable the reader to know what routes are within his or her own capabilities. Very short descriptions do not include many facts about what to enjoy along the trail; for that I recommend Hiking Rocky Mountain National Park by Kent Dannen.

I have been to almost all of the more-well-known National Parks in the continental US and always buy serveral books to research them before I go so I can learn as much as possible before the trip. Lisa Foster's "Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide" is the most detailed and well-laid-out book I've read about National Parks. The book is divided into areas so you're not hop-scotching over the whole park and the areas are sub-divided into hikes, trails, lakes, points of interest, etc. The photographs (and there's a lot of them) almost make you feel like you're there. I'd give this book a ten star if I could.

As we've gotten older, we have transitioned from longer hiking treks to avid photography trips with shorter hikes and the book still served the purpose. The very concise destinations chart in the back of the book with the trailhead, length of the trails and altitude change really makes it easy.

Kent (Suzanne's husband- The Amazon account is in her name)