Customer Reviews

Tucson Hiking Guide

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is not your ordinary hiking guide, this guide not only gives explicit directions to trail heads and details of what to look for on the trails; Betty's thorough research gives fascinating insights into local history as well. Hiking these trails it is not uncommon to see hikers carrying this book, for it is recognized as the definitive hiking guide for this area.

I lived several years in Tucson and was an avid hiker. As such I am very familiar with the trails and mountains of which Betty Leavengood writes. Betty provides all of the necessary hiking information (distances, elevation, topo maps), but what sets this book apart from others are the historical anecdotes which are part of each trail description. Betty's keen knowledge of history brings the trails to life!

Each trail has a profile, topo map, and other trail data including distance and difficulty. Descriptions are complete and very well done. There is a good balance of trails surrounding Tucson. Honestly though... research is outstanding! Trail history digs deep to find out how the trail names came about. Information on the Pontatoc Trail name set my mind at ease having grown up in Oklahoma. Several trails sparked my interest having seen little information previously in print. Highly recommended for all and a must have for Tucson residents - joe bartels Webmaster - HikeArizona.COM

This book describes in great detail the most popular and scenic trails in and around Tucson. It contains detailed information about each of the trails, including a difficulty rating, USGS type topo map, and elevation information. It also gives information about possible water locations (important if you are spending a few days camping). This book is a classic and was recommended to me immediately when I mentioned that I was interested in hiking here in Tucson

I used the original guide written by Betty Leavengood frequently - it was well put together and gave just the right level of hiking detail. The newest edition improves and updates the original, which is helpful since some trails have been altered over the years. The book is like an old friend - happy to have it.

Now in a thoroughly updated second edition, Tucson Hiking Guide by experienced Tucson hiker Betty Leavengood offers thirty-four hikes grouped by mountain range, and ranked from easy to difficult. Most of these journies past superb scenic mountain vistas are only a short drive from downtown Tucson. Maps, photos, elevation/distance profiles, trail access information, historical notes, personal anecdotes, and much, much more fill this solid and thorough guide from cover to cover enabling anyone to see and experience the natural splendor of the Tucson area on foot.

This guide is amazing, I'm new to hiking and was limited with what material I initialy could find to help me persue my new hobbie in my area and after some research I purchased this book.

The author of this book did an amazing job to get as much detail and information about the trails written about, she also give such great background and history of the trails that if you were not a hiker but happened to pick this book up and read a little you would be compelled to start hiking!

Overall this book is just amazing and covers all you need to know to get you out there and enjoying the trails in the Tucson area, not sure I would have stuck with the idea of hiking and thoroughly enjoying it as much as I have been had it not been for this book.

The text for the descriptions of the hikes is fantastic. The directions are generally good, although the directions to a lot of the Sabino Canyon hikes is a little lacking.

What really irritates me about this book is the trail profiles. For example, the Agua Caliente trail profile begins at an elevation of 5420'. It ends at 5420'. It goes up in the middle, but it is nearly impossible to tell how far -- there are no other elevation marks besides the first and last. This pattern is repeated on a number of different profiles, and is the only thing that prevents me from giving 5 stars.

Those familiar with reading topo maps may be able to decipher altitudes, but for the rest of us the profiles are useless on many hikes.

the book was outdated & unhelpful. the trail was unmarked & unmanaged. wouldn't recomend it to anyone at any skill level. trail #24's sign was hidden beneath a tree & without guidance we'd have missed it. bear canyon's trail was also unmarked at 2 crucial turning points. without guidance again, we'd have not known to go right at 1 crossroad & left at the other. we were very fortunate to have encountered helpful hikers along our path. it was unfortunate we didn't encounter any along the trail from 7 falls to the base of bear canyon's trail as the trail crosses the river several times & was difficult to find where it picked up again.

The guide said look for the sign for the Cam-Boh picnic grounds and turn. Maybe someone stole the sign. Maybe it rotted away. We couldn't find it. So we drove a ways and stopped at a parking area to explore a wash. There we met a man who told us where to turn, but he said there was no sign. By this time it was too late to go back. Later, I looked at the map in the guide. It was a cut out portion of a USGS map. But, when you take just a small portion of a map there is a good chance you may omit the portion of the map that has a road's or river's name. That's what happened. So, on the guide's map -- a major road near the hike and its trailhead is nameless. I think the author should have put the name of the road on the map. Had I taken the guide's advice and taken the time to purchase National Geographic's map of the Saguaro National Park, which I later did, we probably could have put the guide and the NG map in synch and found the turn. But, hindsight is 20/20. In the future I won't put all my eggs in one trail guide. I'm also thinking that maybe trail guides should be made GPS friendly.