Day Hikes Around Los Angeles: 45 Great Hikes

Rating:
Summary: A Great Place for Non-Hikers to Begin
Review: "Day Hikes Around Los Angeles" is a great place to start exploring L.A., especially if you're new to the area and not a regular hiker. The book gives decent directions on where the trails begin (but bring along your Thomas Guide for backup), and provides a generous estimate on the length of time you'll need to complete the hike. Most of the hikes are short -- a couple hours or less. If you're a more experienced hiker, or you're interested in doing hikes that last a whole day, check out "Afoot and Afield in Los Angeles" instead. But beginners or those who just have a few hours to spare will prefer "Day Hikes." If you do all the hikes in the book, you'll get a great feel for the L.A. area -- and you'll be able to say, without hesitation, that it's one of the prettiest areas in the U.S. And you'll have the pictures to prove it.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Place for Non-Hikers to Begin
Review: "Day Hikes Around Los Angeles" is a great place to start exploring L.A., especially if you're new to the area and not a regular hiker. The book gives decent directions on where the trails begin (but bring along your Thomas Guide for backup), and provides a generous estimate on the length of time you'll need to complete the hike. Most of the hikes are short -- a couple hours or less. If you're a more experienced hiker, or you're interested in doing hikes that last a whole day, check out "Afoot and Afield in Los Angeles" instead. But beginners or those who just have a few hours to spare will prefer "Day Hikes." If you do all the hikes in the book, you'll get a great feel for the L.A. area -- and you'll be able to say, without hesitation, that it's one of the prettiest areas in the U.S. And you'll have the pictures to prove it.

Rating:
Summary: good short hikes
Review: Focusing on the Santa Monica mountains and Griffith Park, this book contains a number of very nice short hikes. For longer hikes or hikes in a larger variety of areas, I'd suggest Afoot and Afield in Los Angeles County.

One very nice feature of this book is the simpliflied map which accompanies each hike. Each hike's map is zoomed in to cover only the area of interest, with important landmarks identified. I did find one small mistake on one of the maps, but it was easy enough to figure out what was intended.

The descriptions of the hikes are very brief, and there isn't any detailed information about what to look out for, but all of the hikes go to very interesting places. Again, the book Afoot and Afield in Los Angeles County can fill in many gaps, as that book lacks the nice maps, but has great descriptions of many of the hikes in this book. I recommend buying both. Read the long descriptions in the bigger book, then carry this book with you on the trail as it has more useful maps.

Rating:
Summary: good short hikes
Review: Focusing on the Santa Monica mountains and Griffith Park, this book contains a number of very nice short hikes. For longer hikes or hikes in a larger variety of areas, I'd suggest Afoot and Afield in Los Angeles County.

One very nice feature of this book is the simpliflied map which accompanies each hike. Each hike's map is zoomed in to cover only the area of interest, with important landmarks identified. I did find one small mistake on one of the maps, but it was easy enough to figure out what was intended.

The descriptions of the hikes are very brief, and there isn't any detailed information about what to look out for, but all of the hikes go to very interesting places. Again, the book Afoot and Afield in Los Angeles County can fill in many gaps, as that book lacks the nice maps, but has great descriptions of many of the hikes in this book. I recommend buying both. Read the long descriptions in the bigger book, then carry this book with you on the trail as it has more useful maps.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Place for Non-Hikers to Begin
Review: New in town? Don't know where to go to get away for a day?
This is the most economical way to get started, with 45 suggestions for hikes that are mostly in the Santa Monicas (a lot of these are in Malibu), state parks and wilderness areas, and even a few smack dab in the metro area (including the Venice canals and Runyan Canyon, right in Hollywood).

Each hike includes location, some directions to the trailhead, and a very loose map to show the routes suggested by Stone.

A reality check is very important with respect to the maps and the directions (especially distances). Landmarks change and in a couple of cases the distances are either mistakes or typographical errors. The maps are sketchy, and do not always accurately reflect the side trails you may find or their names.

Stone also does not describe very much of what you will find, leaving most of that up to you. Tuck the book in your pack, or leave it in the car, and explore.

Rating:
Summary: Good starter if you're new to the area
Review: New in town? Don't know where to go to get away for a day?
This is the most economical way to get started, with 45 suggestions for hikes that are mostly in the Santa Monicas (a lot of these are in Malibu), state parks and wilderness areas, and even a few smack dab in the metro area (including the Venice canals and Runyan Canyon, right in Hollywood).

Each hike includes location, some directions to the trailhead, and a very loose map to show the routes suggested by Stone.

A reality check is very important with respect to the maps and the directions (especially distances). Landmarks change and in a couple of cases the distances are either mistakes or typographical errors. The maps are sketchy, and do not always accurately reflect the side trails you may find or their names.

Stone also does not describe very much of what you will find, leaving most of that up to you. Tuck the book in your pack, or leave it in the car, and explore.