Hiking North Carolina (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

North Carolina spans a mountains-to-sea spectrum of scenic beauty. From the Great Smokies and the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Piedmont and the Outer Bands, North Carolina ranks amount the nation's top outdoor recreation states. Hiking North Carolina is a comprehensive state-wide hiking guide, featuring more than 200 hikes in all regions of the state-including the Appalachian Trail, Grandfather Mountain, Linville Gorge and Shining Rock wilderness areas, and Roan Mountain, as well as the Charlotte, Durham, and Raleigh greenways, and the coastal areas of Nags Head, Cape Lookout, and Cape Hatteras. This guide includes mile-by-mile trail descriptions, evocative black-and-white photos, detailed maps, and a listing of trail-related Internet addresses to help you plan for and enjoy your next trip. Whether you are interested in a challenging backpacking adventure deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains or an easy day hike along a greenway or an ocean beach, Hiking North Carolina is an indispensable part of your next outing.

From the Back Cover

From the Great Smokies and the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Piedmont and the Outer Banks, this guide features more than 200 hikes in all regions of the state--including the Appalachian Trail, Grandfather Mountain, Linville Gorge and Shining Rock wilderness areas, Roan Mountain, the greenways of Charlotte, Durham, and Raliegh, and the coastal areas of Nags Head, Cape Lookout, and Cape Hatteras. Whether you're interested in a challenging backpacking adventure deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains or an easy day hike along a greenway or an ocean beach, <i>Hiking North Carolina</i> is an indispensable part of your next outing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Falcon; 1st edition (April 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560442115
• ISBN-13: 978-1560442110
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #951,504 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good all-round hiking guide, August 10, 1999

By A Customer

The author brings the trails to life with vivid descriptions, plenty of useful facts, and many high quality (for a paperback) black & white photographs. Each trail description is accompanied by a sketch map that clearly shows the trail and is especially helpful for finding the trailhead. You'll need to buy your own topo maps, however, for all but the shortest hikes. Good references help you locate the best maps for each hike.

I really like this guide, but there's room for improvement in the next edition. The Appalachian Trail and Great Smoky Mountains aren't covered nearly as thoroughly as the other hiking opportunities. And the order in which the trails are listed is a bit haphazard. Overall, though, it's a winner.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Casual hiker's bible, August 24, 2002

By	Anthony Hill "Frograil" (Oakboro, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you want a detailed, rock-by-rock guide to the AP, this book is not for you. However, if you're a casual hiker like my wife and I, this book allows you to carefully evaluate (before it's too late!!) the various hiking opportunities throughout the state. We use it 3-4 times a year, and it has saved us grief, time, and frustration, by getting us to places that are suitable for us.

I've got a big railfan guide on the net, and I know how time-consuming a book like this must be to put together -- hundreds and hundreds of hours of on the ground research. This book is a terrific bargain -- worth every penny and then lots more.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as its Hiking VA counterpart.., August 23, 2005

By	Barnes and Noble Junkie (Barnes And Noble, Midlothian, Virginia) - See all my reviews

having been very impressed with AFALCONGUIDE's 'Hiking Virginia' I picked this up as I left for North Carolina for an spur of the moment hiking trip.

The intro to the book is quite good, as it is almost an introduction to hiking. Sections include" clothing, footwear, leave no trace. hiking with kids and appalachian trail, as well as several others. This is something that the Hiking Virginia book lacked.

What I didn't like about this book was the way that the hikes were presented. The detailed maps contained in the Hiking VA book were gone, as was the elevation profile. The information wasn't as neatly presented as the VA counterpart, and I still can't figure out how the hikes were organized.

Did this book help me? Yes, but it was no where near as informative as its VA counterpart.

One hike that I would recommend is the Mount Mitchell hike. And if you decide to do it, make sure that you 1) Hike the Big Tom trail (it's a killer .5 miles..and the trail leading from Big Tom to Mount Craig to Mount Mitchell is great) and 2) stop by the restaurant on the road leading up to Mount Mitchell and get a helping of the cobler (with vanilla ice cream of course)..

Other worthwhile hikes are the Craggy Gardens and the Linville Falls hike, but beware, parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway have been washed away, and the detour is h#ll..

Happy Hiking!!!!!!!!!!