Take a Hike New York City: Hikes Within Two Hours of Manhattan [Paperback]

Skip Card (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 13, 2006 | Series: Moon Outdoors

Hiking around New York City is not just about a trek through Central Park or between high rises. Award-winning writer Skip Card shows you the best hikes in and around The Big Apple. All hikes within the guide take less than two hours to reach by car, with details on public transportation options and clear directions on how to reach each trailhead.

Let Skip show you all the worthwhile hikes, from short, flat routes suitable for families to day-long, steep treks for more advanced hikes. Hike profiles contain practical information including point-by-point trail navigation, facilities, fees, parking instructions, and an easy-to-use map for each trail. Moon Take a Hike New York City covers trails within the city and parts of Long Island, New Jersey, the Shawangunks and Hudson Valley, and explores the Appalachian Trail.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Undoubtedly the best book of its kind on the market today . . . Skip Card has an extensive knowledge of the area." -- TrailWalker, July 2006. Review written by Daniel Chazin, the chairman of the Trail Conference's Publications Committee.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing (March 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566917638
• ISBN-13: 978-1566917636
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #82 in Books > Travel > United States > States > New York

More About the Author

Skip Card grew up in Tacoma, Wash., and was drawn to the Northwest's forests and mountains at a young age. By his 20s, he was an avid recreational backpacker and mountain climber, eagerly exploring the beauties of the Cascades and Olympic Mountains.

Card's career as a newspaperman took a beautiful turn in 1998, when he became a full-time outdoor recreation reporter for the Tacoma News Tribune. His work attracted the attention of Mountaineers Books, which connected Card with forecaster Michael Fagin. The two collaborated to create "Best Rain Shadow Hikes: Western Washington." Later, Card worked with climbing ranger Mike Gauthier to provide historical features for the second edition of Gauthier's "Mount Rainier: A Climbing Guide."

Card moved to New York City in early 2004. Exploring trails within two hours of Manhattan, he wrote and shot photographs for "Take a Hike: New York City," published in 2006 by Moon Outdoors, a division of Avalon Travel.

Card lives with his wife, Jean Margaret, and their daughter, Julia, on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The family regularly spends weekends in Woodstock, NY.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, especially if you don't have a car., August 31, 2010

By 

steveosan (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Take a Hike New York City: Hikes Within Two Hours of Manhattan (Paperback)

I stumbled upon this book in a bookstore while looking for trail maps. There are some basic maps in this book (don't rely on them as your sole map if you do these hikes) but that's not why I bought the book. I bought the book because it had detailed information on hikes that I was already curious about, plus others that I was not aware of.

In addition to the information and route descriptions, there are "Options" and "Directions" sections for each hike, which are great. The Options section offers ways to make the hike shorter or longer by taking different routes so you can adjust the hike to your experience and fitness level. The Directions section includes not only road directions for access by car, but public transportation options, if available. I have found those to be extremely helpful as I, like many New Yorkers, do not own a car. I knew about a few hikes that you could get to by train, but there were several others in this book that I had no idea about. I would say at least a third of the hikes in this book are accessible by public transportation, with several others within reasonable distance of a train or bus stop (in which case he includes walking directions to the trailhead). With New York having one of the most extensive public transit networks in the world and a substantial carless poopulation, this book was very smart to take advantage of that, and it was the main appeal for me, in addition to the interesting bits of historical context and visual snapshots that make each adventure seem more interesting.

I just bought the book about a month ago and already went on two of the hikes in the book, which were awesome. I plan to go on at least 2 or 3 more before it starts getting cold. Again, make sure you buy the New York-New Jersey trail conference map for the area you plan to hike before setting out, which Skip Card himself encourages. Though the maps in this book are helpful, you will probably get lost if you rely on them alone. So buy this book, buy a map, and get out there! Happy Hiking!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gift for all New Yorkers, June 5, 2006

By 

J. Hewitt (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Take a Hike New York City: Hikes Within Two Hours of Manhattan (Paperback)

I've lived in New York City for ten years, and just when I thought I'd done/seen it all, along comes this great book! I just completed my first hike outlined in "Take a Hike: New York City" yesterday (in the Ramapo Mountains of New Jersey) and I'm hooked. I carried the guide with me and - being a novice hiker - found that all the detail was perfect and wise. And it's smartly written as well with a bit of humor! I might last another ten years in New York now that I've been introduced to another facet of the city I call home.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Hikers Guide to Northern NJ and Southern NY, April 7, 2006

By 

David A. Hyman - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Take a Hike New York City: Hikes Within Two Hours of Manhattan (Paperback)

This book details, in an easy to read fashion, legitmate day hikes (3-9 miles) in the NY/NJ region. If you are looking for hikes that offer the best of what southern NY and northern NJ has to offer, this book is for you.