front cover of Family Hiking in the Smokies
Family Hiking in the Smokies
Time Well Spent
Hal Hubbs
University of Tennessee Press, 2009

front cover of Family-Friendly Biking
Family-Friendly Biking
in New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania
Goodspeed, Diane
Rutgers University Press, 2005
Do you love bike riding with your kids, but are tired of rides that take you in circles around the neighborhood block? Looking for something more exciting, yet still safe and manageable?

Through years of research and a lot of trial and error with her own two children, Diane Goodspeed gives us the first biking book for this region geared specifically toward families with young kids. Packed with photos and easy-to-follow maps, Goodspeed shows us where to find nearly twenty-five kid-friendly trails—trails that are not too steep or too long, do not encounter many roads, and provide ample access to food and restroom facilities.

You will find detailed information on popular New Jersey routes, including the Columbia Trail, Delaware & Raritan Canal Trail, Sussex Branch Trail, and Paulinskill Valley Trail, as well as undemanding rides through Duke Island Park, Hartshorne Woods, and Sandy Hook National Recreation Area. In eastern Pennsylvania, kids of all ages can peddle along the Lehigh Canal and the Delaware Canal and explore the many rambling paths of Tyler State Park.

These and many more rides are rated according to a child’s biking skills and each one is accompanied by detailed descriptions of the area. And because kids are always full of questions, Goodspeed includes a short history and interesting "did you know?" facts for each region. Tips on equipment options, bike safety, and the nearest bathrooms, playgrounds, and ice cream shops make this book the definitive source for kid-tested, parent-approved biking fun. It is an essential guide for planning the most enjoyable and rewarding family bike excursions.

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front cover of Fat Tire Wisconsin
Fat Tire Wisconsin
A Mountain Bike Trail Guide
W. Chad Mcgrath
University of Wisconsin Press, 2001

Razorback Ridge. Levis Mound. The Underdown. Washburn and Nepco Lake. Whether you’re looking for a snake-like singletrack or a steep descent, whether you want to hit the trails near urban centers or escape to the scenic northern woods and waters, Fat Tire Wisconsin will take you there.

In this updated Second Edition, authors and Wisconsin natives W. Chad McGrath and Mark Parman share the knowledge gained from countless hours of riding Wisconsin’s off-road bike trails. They’ve included twenty-one challenging new trail systems, as well as changes and expansions to older systems. Fat Tire Wisconsin includes details of terrain and levels of difficulty; trail maps, directions to the trail sites, and use fees; and information on organizations, races, and websites.

Worldwide, mountain biking is enjoying ever-increasing popularity. Wisconsin, already a popular and welcoming locale for cycling activities of all kinds, is fast becoming a leader in off-road biking. Fat Tire Wisconsin takes you straight into the heart of everything that off-road Wisconsin has to offer.

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Field Guide to Oregon Rivers
Tim Palmer
Oregon State University Press, 2024
In this updated edition of his classic Field Guide to Oregon Rivers, Tim Palmer gives us an unprecedented reference, introducing the state’s waterways and offering outdoor enthusiasts and resource professionals an interpretive approach to an extraordinary network of streams. He begins with natural history—geology, climate, hydrology, plants, and wildlife—then profiles 111 Oregon rivers with notes about nature, fish, and conservation, followed by essential tips on where to see each river, hike along the shores, fish, and explore by canoe, kayak, and raft. Illustrations identify riparian plants and animals while more than 150 photographs showcase a magnificent rivers estate. This volume is an essential outdoor companion for Oregonians and visitors alike.
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front cover of Fifty Must-Try Craft Beers of Ohio
Fifty Must-Try Craft Beers of Ohio
Rick Armon
Ohio University Press, 2017

Every craft beer has a story, and part of the fun is learning where the liquid gold in your glass comes from. In Fifty Must-Try Craft Beers of Ohio, veteran beer writer Rick Armon picks the can’t-miss brews in a roundup that will handily guide everyone from the newest beer aficionado to those with the most seasoned palates. Some are crowd pleasers, some are award winners, some are just plain unusual—the knockout beers included here are a tiny sample of what Ohio has to offer.

In the midst of the ongoing nationwide renaissance in local beer culture, Ohio has become a major center for the creation of quality craft brews, and Armon goes behind the scenes to figure out what accounts for the state’s beer alchemy. He asked the brewers themselves about the great idea or the happy accident that made each beer what it is. The book includes brewer profiles, quintessentially Ohio food pairings (sauerkraut balls and Cincinnati chili!), and more.

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front cover of Follow the Blue Blazes
Follow the Blue Blazes
A Guide to Hiking Ohio’s Buckeye Trail
Connie Pond
Ohio University Press, 2014

Many changes have taken place in the decade since Follow the Blue Blazes was first published, changes in the trails themselves and in the way we hike them. The Buckeye Trail still wends its way around the state of Ohio, following the course marked out by the characteristic blue blazes on trees and signposts along the way. In the intervening years, however, sections of the trail have changed their route, added amenities, or just grown more interesting. From the startling rock formations and graceful waterfalls of Old Man’s Cave, to Native American mounds, battlefields, and scenic rivers, Connie and Robert J. Pond provide a captivating guide to often-overlooked treasures around the state.

Each chapter features an overview of a 100-mile section of the trail and three self-guided featured hikes. The overviews and the accompanying maps may be read consecutively to acquaint the reader with the entire course of the trail. But most readers will best enjoy the trail by taking the guide along on one of the featured hikes. Each route is outlined on an easy-to-read map with GPS coordinates and waypoints to guide the hiker, as well as explicit directions from parking lot to trailhead.

The Buckeye Trail is readily accessible from Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, Cleveland, and Akron. Even a short trip can lead to an adventure near your own backyard.

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front cover of Follow the Blue Blazes
Follow the Blue Blazes
A Guide To Hiking Ohio's Buckeye Trail
Robert J. Pond
Ohio University Press, 2003

Unique among hiking trails is the one that forms a complete loop around the state of Ohio. That 1,200-mile trail is called the Buckeye Trail. Showing the way on tree trunks, rocks, and other natural signposts are the blue painted markings called “the blue blazes.” In Follow the Blue Blazes, the reader embarks on a journey to discover a part of Ohio largely unseen except along this great path.

Beginning with the startling rock formations and graceful waterfalls of Old Man’s Cave in southern Ohio, and leading clockwise around the state to visit expansive forests, lovely parks, ancient mounds, historic canals and battlefields, and scenic river trails, experienced trailsman Robert J. Pond provides a captivating look at each section of the trail.

Each chapter features an overview of a 100-mile section of the trail and three self-guided featured hikes. The overviews, with accompanying maps, may be read consecutively to acquaint the reader with the entire course of the blue blazes. But most readers will best enjoy the Buckeye Trail by taking the guide along on featured hikes. Each hike is supported by a detailed but easy-to-follow map and includes explicit directions to trailheads and approximate hiking times.

In addition to many outlying areas, the extensive Buckeye Trail is accessible in or near Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, Cleveland, and Akron. Robert Pond has supplemented each description with interesting details about the geology and the diverse habitats of flora and fauna. Readers, too, can enjoy the beauty and wonders of Ohio if they Follow the Blue Blazes.

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front cover of Forest Park
Forest Park
Exploring Portland's Natural Sanctuary
Marcy Cottrell Houle
Oregon State University Press, 2023

Situated in the rugged hills west of downtown Portland, Forest Park is the nation’s premier urban natural sanctuary. It supports essential habitat for hundreds of native plants and animals, including species at risk, and is one of the largest city parks in the world. While extending critical ecosystem services to the region, it offers miles of outstanding hiking trails, all within minutes of the downtown core.

Forest Park: Exploring Portland’s Natural Sanctuary showcases this treasure in a new light, offering a compendium of the most up-to-date and comprehensive information available. Twenty-one hikes covering seventy-five miles bring a full awareness of the park’s outstanding attributes. Hikes are grouped by theme to encourage people to explore Forest Park’s watersheds, geology, lichens and mosses, vegetation, amphibians and reptiles, pollinators, native wildlife, and wildlife corridors. Beautiful photographs and full-color maps accompany each trail description.

Forest Park is a shining example of the Pacific Northwest western hemlock community—an ecosystem unique among all temperate forests of the world. It is also an exciting model for a future Urban Biodiversity Reserve, a concept that would recognize the park’s scientific, natural, and cultural qualities. Forest Park will help all visitors discover the beauty and wonders of this extraordinary natural resource.

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