Customer Reviews

Sierra Nevada Byways: 50 Backcountry Drives For The Whole Family

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

 

 

As an owner who actually goes off-highway, I often get asked by people at work who've bought a shiny new Jeep or 4Runner, where they can go exploring. And I always recommend this series of books. The Sierra have hundreds (thousands?) of miles of legal dirtroads and off-highway routes, and this book highlights about 50 of them, from North of Tahoe to near Death Valley. Each route has a detailed description and map. The routes range from easy drives to more challenging routes, but author Huegel assures us that all are feasible in almost any stock SUV without requiring special equipment or skills. The emphasis is on the scenery, the natural and human history, and family enjoyment, not crawling over rocks or slogging through mud bogs.

In addition to route descriptions, there's a good introduction to off-highway driving techniques and trip planning. Photos are adequate, providing a flavor of many of the trips.

If you have the previous edition, you'll miss the spiral binding but appreciate almost 20 new routes. By the way, I'd recommend this book to dual-sport motorcyclists and even mountain bikers.

"Sierra Nevada Byways" is the 3rd book by Tony Heugel that I've purchased since acquiring a Subaru Forester (not a heavy duty off-road monster, but more than capable of many pavement-free adventures). This is a great series!

Content (4 stars): Excellent for beginners like me. I've been on one of these trips already (Jawbone to Lake Isabella), and found the directions to be accurate and concise (so the navigator has time to enjoy the scenery!). A majority of the tours in this book are rated "Easy", making this a good choice for the first-time off-roader. I also appreciate that each tour is captured in two pages: one page of text (rating, directions, local points of interest) next to the map on the facing page. Sometimes I wish there was a little more information (landmarks, more detail on map), but there's usually enough to get you through.

Format (2 stars): Previous releases by Tony Heugel were spiral-bound, with an extra flap to hold your place. Those features are sorely missed in this paperback version. I think I'd rather have taken my chances with the older easier-to-use but not up-to-date release of this book. Doesn't look like much of the content has changed significantly, anyway. The older versions had color on the maps, too, making them easier to read.

Overall: Flipping through this book makes me want to hit the road on another adventure! Probably not the best choice for the hard-core 4-wheeler, but an excellent book for the mild-mannered yet adventurous sort who'd like to get away for a while.

To the customer who was "very disappointed in this book" it states plainly in the first few pages that it is not a difinitve guide to backroading and in fact recommends that you buy supplimentary maps and check with local (listed in the book also) resources for current road conditions as weather and local use may have altered the reliablility of the original map. Gentle readers, please realize that prefaces and warning pages are written for a reason and take advantage of the information provided in these often overlooked gems. This book is wonderful!

While this book doesn't provide all the information that you will need to undertake some of these 4x4 adventures, the author certainly gets you off to a running start. I use this book to learn about roads in an area I am visiting, then buy the appropriate maps and contact ranger stations, etc. to find out road conditions. It has brought several very cool drives to my attention that I otherwise wouldn't have known about. This book is a fixture in my glove box on trips to the Sierra.

This book is great! I highly recommend to anyone looking to get off the beaten path!

OK. This series is very good; but I suggest that people also consider carrying BLM or USGS maps as well. Also, please don't rely on your GPS in remote areas; we keep running into people in inappropriate vehicles in Outer Jack Rabbit Rut who are lost, stranded, or think that the abandoned mining/lumber camp over the hill is still a town.

We've found this book useful and handy. It has given us a resonable alternative to hiking. We have found it accurate and helpful. It's well recommended.

I just bought another copy of this book, this for my son's birthcay. My wife and I finally got to use ours last summer and found it very useful. Had no problems following it over about a week, and used the maps it recommended. I recommend it, and in fact this is the third I've bought. We have others in the series, and liked them also.

I live in the area and I didn't even know these roads existed nearby. I gave it for stars as I have already broken the book's spine. Whish they had not changed it from spiral bound.

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I will not deal with the Media Station in the future.