Rating: 
Summary: Overrated
Review: Very disappointed with the trail information. Most of the hikes I took did not live up to their ratings and some of the directions were wrong. There's alot of information but I now doubt its credability.
Rating: 
Summary: Very useful book. Accurate and good taste in trails.
Review: We certainly enjoy this book. The previous reviewer was disappointed because the hikes were not wilderness hikes. I don't know where he lives, but I had done many of the long Yosemite dayhikes that the book recommends before buying it, and the authors certainly cover some *world class* hikes in the wilderness. We bought the book mostly as a way of discovering good dayhikes in the Bay Area, and it has served its purpose admirably. This book put us onto a couple truly fantastic trails within 15 minutes of our apartment in San Bruno. I'm not telling you which ones - you'll have to buy the book and find out for yourself. I have two small objections that made me give this book 4 stars instead of 5. First, the hike quality ratings are basically compressed from 6-10. So basically, they have only four possible rankings. I think this explains why they are too free about giving "10's". Some "10's" that I have done are better than others. Second objection: this book has two authors, and one is obviously in better shape than the other. One need only look as far as the hike difficulty ratings to see this. One of our favorite hikes is given a difficulty of 3 out of 5. It gains roughly 1000 feet over two miles. The Four Mile Trail in Yosemite gains 3500 feet over 4.5 miles, and it also gets a "3" for difficulty. These numbers are incompatible, and it becomes impossible to figure out just how hard a hike will be.
Rating:
Summary: Dissapointed, but thorough...
Review: We have used the book over this past summer and every trail we seem to do from it is dissapointing. Many of the trails have been more like walking in a city park than hiking in the wilderness and I doubt I'll actually buy the book (had it from the library to evaluate). The trails we did from the book also did not come close to how I would rate the scenery. We did 9 adn 10 trails and I would give them, at best, a 4 or 5. It certainly has lots of trails, so maybe we consistently choose the wrong ones, but I'm looking elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: 1994-1995 edition
Review: Well, my copy is a little dog-eared by now. Every spring I pick it up, and look for my next CA adventure. I look for secluded places, with senic beauty - this book has not let me down. Favorite of mine was the Summit Trail hike in South Warner Wilderness. "Savor every moment of this trip--it is one of the greatest little-known hiking trips anywhere in America." Who would have ever thought of going there if it weren't for this book. The 45-mile, 4-day hike was rated 4 (of 5) for difficulty, and 10 (of 10) for scenic beauty, and I found it to be exactly that. Keep in mind, that the difficulty factor can be adjusted by stretching the hike over more (or less) days, or by throwing in a layover day. Usually, when I pick this book up, I'm looking for a place to backpack for several days - the book is somewhat limited in this area, as approximately 2/3 of the book seems to be about day hikes - this is, of course, a plus for day hikers! The book is comprehensive - if you live in California, it will no doubt include hikes near your home.
Rating:
Summary: If you live in CA, you must own this book!
Review: Wow, I've hiked all over the state and this book is my guide. I used this book to find trails in Kings Canyon, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, the San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Barbara, and San Diego. They were all winners...every single one I tried. The only weakness in the book that I can find is the SF Bay Area trails. The authors missed the mark there, but that's not bad considering there are 1,000 trails in this book. Every California hiker should own this book!
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