Rating: 
Summary: Reliable guide to have along.
Review: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
= A book you can count on
Reviewer: Marcel L'Engle from South San Francisco
Catalogues (in a friendly fashion) the best trails around here. As a thirty year resident of the Bay Area, I can honestly say this is the definitive authority if you like to hike or just want to explore the backroads. I was surprised to find so many choices in one daypack-fitting book. For Saturday morning bike riders and moms looking for places to take kids this is a treasure trove. Be sure to consult their "Best Of" category first. I highly recommend this guidebook to first time visitors who will find the directions really easy to follow.
Rating:
Summary: Really outstanding
Review: A refreshing candid compendium of the best trails San Francisco and Marin have to offer. As a life long native of the area, I can vouch for the accuracy of what the authors have to recommend and the choices they have chosen to highlight. A wonderful way to introduce visiting friends to our outdoor treasures.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Resource
Review: Compact and full of useful information. It's given me a whole new perspective of the Bay Area. Definitely written by locals who like to hike and have higraded all the best spots. Entertaining, not encyclopedic like all the rest. It's unique, I liked it very much and highly recommend it to outdoor nuts.
Rating:
Summary: Super Plus
Review: Complete is the best way to describe this guidebook. I wasn't planning on visiting the Marin side but was forced to when the fog in San Francisco made it too cold and wet to enjoy the parks and trails. Marin was in complete sunshine everyday. This book stands apart from all the rest because it was written by hometown authors who definitely know their turf and didn't mince on destinations, more than any other book on the subject. It mades a good companion with the Lonely Planet San Francisco book. If you like to explore the outdoors on your vacation buy this book. It will keep you entertained as well as busy.
Rating:
Summary: Super Plus
Review: Complete is the best way to describe this guidebook. I wasn't planning on visiting the Marin side but was forced to when the fog in San Francisco made it too cold and wet to enjoy the parks and trails. Marin was in complete sunshine everyday. This book stands apart from all the rest because it was written by hometown authors who definitely know their turf and didn't mince on destinations, more than any other book on the subject. It mades a good companion with the Lonely Planet San Francisco book. If you like to explore the outdoors on your vacation buy this book. It will keep you entertained as well as busy.
Rating:
Summary: Trailblazer fan
Review: Detail, reliability, honest opinion, humorous insights are all reasons I consistenly choose these as my guides. I like the author's candid style and tips for knowing how to find all the top trails. I only spent three days in the area and left feeling saturated with knowledge and a new love for California. My favourite in their series so far.
Rating:
Summary: Wanderlust
Review: First trip to the coast of California. Used this book to preplan the entire two weeks around San Francisco then stayed another week. What a great place! I relied on this book all the way. Absolute necessity for the person who isn't afraid to walk the extra mile and really get to know a place. Found Marin to be a mountain biker's paradise. You'd never dream that a metropolitan area like San Francisco has so much park space and this book has it all.
Rating:
Summary: Eye Pleasing, Entertaining, and Oh So Helpful
Review: I have reviewed lots of travel-related guidebooks over the years, so I can say with some authority that the Golden Gate Trailblazer--the third title in the popular Trailblazer series--is a real find. Although I lived for a number of years in the San Francisco/Marin area, I was simply overwhelmed by the amount of new information I learned about this most wonderful place. The choices of hikes, walks, jogs, and off-road (and sometimes on-road) cycling options are simply overwhelming. The "Best of San Francisco and Marin" section thankfully helps to break down all these choices into dozens of useful categories to help you get to where you want to go faster (for example: Short Walks to High Places; Wildflowers; and Raptors and Woodland Birds; Family Rides; Beach Runs; etc.). The "Free Advise and Opinion" section near the back, while only three pages in length, is nothing short of fabulous in dispensing loads of cryptically written, helpful information and side-splitting humor in equal proportions. And the black-and-white photography throughout the book are stunning in creating a visual sense of place (In my view, the quality of the photos sometimes reaches award-winning status--I would certainly love to see enlargements of some of my favorites!). Including hundreds of trail descriptions, jogging paths, and so forth in a book less than 300 pages long is no mean trick. The Sprouts accomplish this by using a consistent, well-organized, yet compact format, well-selected abbreviations, and carefully crafted yet succinct directions. One important note: This is one book where reading the "How to Use This Book" section will be time well spent. The organization of the book works and works well. But the reader will benefit by taking a moment to orient him or herself. And buying a good street map of the area is another essential, as the authors themselves so indicate. Map drawing, especially in the backcountry of Marin County, is a major challenge and the authors were wise to leave that job to the cartographers. With a copy of the Golden Gate Trailblazer and a good street map in hand you will be ready to explore places you may have never even heard of in a lifetime of living in the Bay Area. And if you are first-time visitors you will be thrilled to have so much well-informed guidance in selecting the activity that is just right for you. And, oh yes, a final tip of the hat to the authors for taking the time to include dozens of good ideas for outdoor exploration for those in wheelchairs and parents who opt to push the little one(s) in a baby stroller.
Rating:
Summary: A Bargain
Review: I recently was forced to cancel my trip abroad and bought this book to fill the time. There's so much to do, it's like being on vacation in my own hometown. Wonderfully paced and thoughtfully written. I'm recommending it to serious jocks, as well as my slow tooling Granny who I know will enjoy the Golden Gate Park walks. For the price of two movie tickets, it's a deal that will fill many weekends to come.
Rating:
Summary: Tooling Around
Review: I use this as my weekend outing toolkit. It contains tons of trails to explore and the authors cleverly add twists, tips and history to liven up the descriptions. What I liked most is that I don't have to hunt through the pages to make choices. I first go to the index, look at the photos, get the directions and hit the road. For any person living around here it's an essential manual for knowing all there is to do. It even has hand selected lists of good local restaurants and hotels. Never lend it out. You'll never get it back. I've inscribed my name in huge letters on the inside cover.
| 
