California's National Parks: A Day Hiker's Guide

by John McKinney

California’s glorious natural wonders are preserved in its state and national parklands, and chronicled here in this guide by John McKinney, hiking columnist for the Los Angeles Times for 18 years. In this guide, McKinney, known to his readers as “The Trailmaster,” has identified the finest hikes that each parkland has to offer. California’s National Parks describes over 150 walking adventures in famous national parks as well as those in federally-managed national monuments, preserves, and recreation areas. McKinney’s rousing descriptions of each park will inspire both first-time California travelers to explore the state by foot, as well as California residents in search of new trails. Also included are maps of each park, fun facts and natural and human history, scenic and historic photos, and the distance and elevation gain of each hike.

337 pages, Paperback

Published August 12, 2005

Reviews

[E G Melby · Rating 3 out of 5]

More trails were just put on my “to do” list.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book traveled with us on a recent trip to visit California's awesome and beautiful redwood forests. The hike descriptions in the chapter on the redwood national and state parks helped us select 2 of the 10 hikes listed. The information provided about how to get to the trailheads and what to expect on the hikes was accurate and the maps were helpful. A good resource for hiker's of all levels.