Synopses & Reviews
California's Sonoma County is known for its wineries and a magnificent natural landscape--a picturesque mix of rugged coastline, steep cliffs, forested hillsides, and verdant agricultural valleys. The cities, towns, and villages are as diverse as the geography. Interspersed throughout the landscape are thousands of acres of undeveloped parklands, forests, and open space.
Day Hikes Around Sonoma County is a collection of 95 of the county's best day hikes, providing access to both well-known and out-of-the-way greenspace. Hikes are found along the Pacific, across the coastal ridges, into wide valleys, and through thick forests. Over a third of the hikes are on the coastline, accessed by Highway 1, which connects the coastal towns as it snakes along the oceanfront cliffs and bluffs. Many coastal access points that are not easily recognized from Highway 1 are clearly described. The remaining hikes explore the inland mountains, hillsides, and valleys through numerous state parks and undeveloped land. Highlights include fog-shrouded redwood forests, creekside canyons, wildlife sanctuaries, lakes, tidal bays, wave-pounded coastline, and sweeping panoramic views. A wide range of hikes accommodates amateur to avid hikers, from beachfront strolls to canyon treks. Straight-forward directions and clear maps accompany all hikes.
Synopsis
California's Sonoma County is known for its wineries and a magnificent natural landscape--a picturesque mix of rugged coastline, steep cliffs, forested hillsides, and verdant agricultural valleys. A collection of 95 of the county's best day hikes are combined into this guide, providing access to 60 miles of coastline and thousands of acres of greenspace. All hiking levels included, with focus on short- to mid-range hikes.
About the Author
Since 1991, veteran hiker
Robert Stone has been writer, photographer, and publisher of Day Hike Books. He is a Los Angeles Times Best Selling Author, an award-winning author of Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers and Photographers, and writes a column for the
LA Weekly magazine. Robert has hiked every trail in the Day Hike Book series. With 22 hiking guides in the series, many in their third and fourth editions, he has hiked thousands of miles of trails throughout the western United States and Hawaii. Robert resides summers in the Rocky Mountains of Montana and winters on the California Central Coast.
Table of Contents
Each hike includes a summary, driving directions, hiking directions, and a map. (1) Introduction and master map of all hikes (2) North Coast (3) Central Coast (4) Southern Coast--Jenner and Bodega Bay (5) Guerneville, Forestville and Occidental area (6) Cloverdale, Geyservile, Healdsburg and Lake Sonoma area (7) Sonoma-Napa Boundary (8) Santa Rosa, Sebastopol and Rohnert Park area (9) Sonoma Valley (10) Petaluma and North Novato area (11) Index