60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Phoenix: Including Tempe, Scottsdale, and Glendale

Like many Menasha Ridge authors, Charles Liu has written an extensive hiking guide to the Phoenix region, and then excerpted some of the shorter hikes for a contribution to Menasha Ridge's "Easy Hikes Close to Home" series. Happily, this book does include some original material and anyone who enjoys southwest hiking will find some benefit from this title.The book describes 20 different routes in the greater Phoenix area, all of which are within an hour's drive and none of which are longer than 6 miles. Still, readers who think they are getting all strolls in the park should be aware that no hike in the Phoenix area, especially in the summer, is truly easy. Be sure to carry plenty of water. Besides that, Liu has a passion for peaks, and this book includes several routes up the Phoenix mountains that are steep and moderately challenging. A few of these paths are not heavily frequented, but route descriptions are accurate, and this book includes a decent set of sketch maps.As a (fairly regular) visitor to Phoenix, I prefer the short trail format. I get to see a lot of the region quickly in a morning or evening hike without having to acclimatize to the heat that dominates the area from April through October. I also appreciate the diversity of terrain in the book, including a waterfall! (Really.) So if you find yourself in Phoenix for a few days, this is a nice book to pick up. It will give you a variety of options for exploring a part of the city visitors rarely see. Even residents will benefit from this title, though Liu's longer book, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles, Phoenix, may be a better choice for those who live in the Valley of the Sun.Final Note: This particular edition of the book is a large print edition for those who do not find small print readily accessible. As I age, I sometimes feel I am joining this group of readers. That said, the large print does have some disadvantages for hikers. Titles in the "Easy Hikes Close to Home" series are pocket sized, and you can easily carry them while hiking. This volume is significantly larger, but will still fit nicely in a day pack. But while the print is bigger, the maps are not. So if you need larger print for the text, you may still find glasses a necessity when it comes to the sketch maps Liu provides. Still, all factors considered, I am impressed by the "Read How You Want" customized book approach to popular titles. I am doubly pleased that they decided to take on the challenge of doing a hiking guide instead of simply focusing on popular fiction. This is an exciting trend in publishing, especially as the population ages.

The first time I climbed Camelback Mountain via the Echo Canyon trail I came to a new understanding of the word "steep." The trail rises in excess of 1,000 feet per mile and that includes a relatively level section. But Camelback Peak is hardly alone among the rigorous hikes and climbs in the Phoenix area. Many of the trails in the Phoenix Mountains are incredibly steep with no shade and few convenient rest spots. However, they also offer stellar views of the Valley of the Sun and some of the best off season recreation in the western US. They are also covered in detail in Charles Liu's new addition to the '60 Hikes within 60 miles' series from Menasha Ridge Press.Like other books in the series, this volume has a lot to recommend it. It includes a useful introduction on the basics of hiking and how to use a GPS unit. Hikes are organized by geographical region (within Phoenix, suburbs, and areas to the northeast and northwest, as well as south of the city) and each hike contains key "at-a-glance" information such as distance, elevation, approximate hiking time, and, relatively unique to Phoenix, how many quarts of water you will need if you wish to survive the experience. I might add here that some of the information can be redundant. Under the heading "exposure" virtually every hike lists shade as "none" or "very little." Liu deserves a lot of credit for his careful maps that accompany the trail descriptions. These were recorded by hand-held GPS and plotted onto downloaded topographical maps. Based on the trails I have hiked that are described in this book, these maps are excellent.In all, this is a great book if you are a Phoenix resident or regular visitor seeking hikes in the off season. (I fall into the latter category.) The author does describe several fairly level paths: the trail in Papago Park and the Bridal Murphy trail, to offset some of the more challenging adventures. For my part, I will use this book to explore the Bradshaw Mountains the next time I visit Phoenix in the warmer months. Liu points out their elevation makes them a nice alternative to the longer drive for Flagstaff if you want to beat the heat. I think it is a safe bet that even seasoned local hikers will find something new in these pages. So get the book and go take a hike (but not during June, July, or August).

I have researched many different books out there for tails and this one surpasses all of them by a lot. I do a lot of hiking and backpacking and the internet just doesn't give all the information needed to prepare for these trips, especially since i try to do new tails and it is easy to underestimate them.This book gives a great amount of USEFUL information such as;-length of trail-elevation gain, as well as a graph showing it-The difficulty-the surrounding Scenery-If there is shade exposure-Traffic on trail-The trail surface ei, gravel, rock, boulders etc.-Hiking time-How much water a person should carry-The season it is best in-When they are open as well as if a permit is needed and how much it costs-If there are bathrooms-If dogs are allowed-And additional comments with a website to go to for more info if needed and usually a phone number for the trail.The Maps are large and easy to read which i absolutely love. It also has an accurate description of the trails and difficulty. When it says the trail is moderate then it really is based off of someone who can handle themselves and in decent shape. Another thing it has which is very helpful are GPS coordinates for those of you with a GPS.I love this book and am super excited because I don't have to look at a ton of different sources on the internet to try and figure out what to expect. It is all in here and for the price, it is a must get.

This is a great book with many good hikes of several types and lengths. My only “wish” would be for an additional level of detail on the maps. In many of them, there are many alternate trails leading off the map that are not easy to discern.

Great book with helpful maps and information on terrain, elevation changes, landmarks. Book also arrived quickly as promised. Very happy with purchase.

Good map for some awesome hikes