Top Trails: California Central Coast: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone [Paperback]

Brian Milne (Author)

Book Description

Series: Top Trails | Publication Date: June 3, 2008

Halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, California’s Central Coast is a treasure of beaches, poppy-dotted meadows, and countless lakes and streams. This region offers a nearby destination for adventurers coming from both Northern and Southern California. Outdoor writer and lifelong Central Coast native Brian Milne has selected his favorite 46 trips for hiking, running, horseback riding, and mountain biking. From easy beach strolls to inland treks, trails range from a half mile to 18 miles, covering the mainland and the Channel Islands. At-a-glance information shows which trips have the best fishing, bird-watching, camping, running, and other activities.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A California native, Brian Milne is an avid outdoors writer who grew up hiking, mountain biking, kayaking and fishing in Central California. Milne earned his B.A. in Journalism at California Polytechnic State University and is an award-winning senior reporter for The Tribune newspaper in San Luis Obispo, Calif. He also contributes regularly to outdoors magazines and Web sites. His first guidebook, Fishing Central California, was published by No Nonsense Fly Fishing Guidebooks in 2007.

Product Details

• Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Wilderness Press; 1 edition (June 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0899974376
• ISBN-13: 978-0899974378
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 4.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #482,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There is a Coast between Santa Barbara and Big Sur, June 15, 2008

By 

Fritz R. Ward "dayhiker" (Crestline, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Top Trails: California Central Coast: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone (Paperback)

San Luis Obispo, Cambria, and the rest of the central coast is stunningly beautiful but it is not widely traveled. Yet in April and May this is probably the nicest part of the state for hiking. Finally, Brian Milne and Wilderness Press have realized this and published a guide to the region. Utilizing the very successful "Top Trails" format, this guide is both aesthetically pleasing and a useful compendium of some of the best trails in the region.

The "Top Trails" series provides detailed write ups, maps, lists of trail features, and sharp black and white photos. Milne divides the central coast into five portions, each of which receives a chapter. These include southern Monterey County, northern and southern San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara and northen Ventura county. Each chapter describes anywhere from 6 to 12 hikes, most of which are fairly easy and can be done by any reasonably fit person. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that over 1/4 of the hikes were under 2 miles and many more were in the 2-3 mile category. Hikers looking for longer workouts will also find a few trails here that meet their needs including an 18 mile trek along the shores of Santa Margarita lake, but this sort of trip is far more the exception than the rule.

I suspect I am not alone in confessing that California's Central Coast is one of the few parts of the golden state that I have not really explored. I've only hiked 12 of the 46 selections the author describes here, many in the last few months. But I am very impressed with the region and I want to return. All the trails I've hiked were winners and this guide will be my first resource on my next trip. When the subtitle says, "Must Do Hikes for Everyone" it means just that: everyone who discovers this treasure should do these trails. I strongly recommend this book and this region.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I use it weekly, January 28, 2011

By 

E. Lambeth (Paso Robles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Top Trails: California Central Coast: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone (Paperback)

This book doesn't have ALL the best hikes on the California Central Coast It's missing the Sycamore Avila hike which has amazing views of Avila Beach. Trail begins behind the Sycamore Mineral Springs. It doesn't have that, but it has the Salinas River Trail walk, which is a fairly new (and still unfinished) path behind my house that I wouldn't consider a "hike" at all. Consider it more of a leisurely walk that takes you behind an apartment complex, behind Albertsons and Wendy's, past the homeless living under the bridge, and then off to a park before it ends in a residential area. This one should've been left out.

However the rest of the book is phenominal, and what makes it so great are these things:

1) Directions to each location are phenominal. No way you're getting lost with his precise mile markers. Even when you're on the hike, he points out where each little landmark is, when to hang a left, etc. You'll never mess up when you have this guide handy

2) The book is segmented by region (south county, north county, etc). If you want to go for a hike around San Luis Obispo, there's all the hikes for it in one location.

3) At the beginning of each region, you're given a brief summary of each hike, how long it is, and the 1-5 difficulty rating based on climbing difficulty and length of the hike.

4) At the beginning of the book, it gives a chart showing all the hikes, and you'll know with these with which ones you can take a bike, a dog, a horse, a kid, a wife, and your wallet, because.

5) He tells you which places charge a fee to get in.

If you have any questions about a trail, rest assured the answers are in the book. Where to park, how difficult it is to find the trail, etc.

Great book to refer to when you're ready to go see some nature.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Hikes..Great Book, January 6, 2009

By 

McHops "Wacky" (Central Coast of Ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Top Trails: California Central Coast: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone (Paperback)

Love this book! Every hiker, whether beginner or expert should get this.
I definitely recommend it!