Day Hikes of the Santa Barbara Foothills

Rating:
Summary: Excellent guide!
Review: There are a number of hiking guides relating to Santa Barbara and Raymond Ford has produced one of the best. It's small enough to carry in your back, but meaty enough to read in your Lazy Boy in front of the fire. I've traveled all over the world and the most beautiful natural setting I've seen is Santa Barbara. The ocean, the mountains, the vegetation, flowers and incomparable climate make this a unique paradise. Hiking here is a sublime experience and its possible to do it year-round since the temperatures rarely dip below 50 degrees. If you're a dedicated hiker and have missed Santa Barbara, please try and remedy this. You'll spend some of the best hours of your life hiking in this incredible place.

This book is one of the best hiking guides I've found for the Santa Barbara area. If you're a beginner, there are plenty of short treks for you, mostly clustered around the beach or city. There are also a dozen moderate hikes and quite a few trail descriptions for streunous jaunts, all of these in the mountain areas. The descriptions of each trail is quite good and the driving desriptions to the trailheads is adequate (I haven't gotten lost yet from following their directions). I recommend this guide for everyone fortunate to hike in this beautiful locale.