Product Description

The Texas backcountry is as spacious and diverse as the Lone Star State itself. There are the rugged Guadalupe Mountains in the west, and the deep canyons of the Red River in the Panhandle. In the center of the state, crystal clear streams cut through juniper and oak forests in the Hill Country while lakes dot the eastern landscape. The opportunities for hiking adventures are almost endless. Hiking Texas, formerly The Hiker's Guide to Texas, the first guidebook to the entire state, is the perfect introduction to the Texas backcountry. Written by veteran guidebook author and outdoor photographer Laurence Parent, Hiking Texas contains hikes to suit all abilities and interests. Many hikes lie within the boundaries of the state's two national parks, and many others can be found in the impressive Texas state parks. The book contains accurate, up-to-date trail information, complemented by detailed maps, and many features of the landscape are captured in black-and-white photos. The book also contains a foreword by former Texas Governor Ann Richards and sections on hiking with children and backcountry safety and ethics. Whether you are a backpacker looking to head into Big Bend National Park for a few days or a family planning an easy hike within the city limits of Austin, Hiking Texas is an essential item in any knapsack.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #827674 in Books
• Published on: 1996-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

From the Back Cover
As the first guidebook to the entire state, you will find hikes that suit all abilities and interests. Many hikes lie within the boundaries of the state's two national parks, and many others can be found in the impressive Texas state parks. The book contains accurate, up-to-date trail information, complemented by detailed maps, and many features of the landscape are captured in black-and-white photos. The book also contains a foreword by former Texas Governor Ann Richards and sections on hiking with children and backcountry safety and ethics. Whether you are a backpacker looking to head into Big Bend National Park for a few days or a family planning an easy hike within the city limits of Austing, Hiking Texas is an essential item in any knapsack.

Customer Reviews

Interesting, but frustrating.
To all of the worthwhile qualities of this book mentioned by other reviewers, I wish to add a deep, perplexing deficiency that will leave most any reader scratching his or her head.
The book has absolutely no chapter or regional designations for the hikes. They are merely numbered from Hike 1 to Hike 75 with no regional geographic categorization. This is a huge disservice to any purchaser, especially new hikers who may be interested in attempting some endeavor near them. Yes, the hike descriptions list a "general location" in the subtext of each entry, but how in the world does one choose an area of interest without pawing through a bunch of places identified only by number and name?
This book has no chapters. None. Simply "The Hikes" - one after another after another after another. If you wish to get out sticky notes or marker or razor knife to separate this thing into useable regions or chapters, by all means, have at it. This is the book for you.
As a hiker new to Texas, I am left frustrated and disappointed by this book and its lack of common sense organization and bookmaking courtesy.

Down the Road
I guess this review could be about how great hiking is or how beautiful the state of Texas is. However the reader may just be getting into hiking. Or the reader may have quite a bit of experience. Regardless the reader would find Parent's book useful in that it presents evaluations of the 75 Texas hiking trails.

Right after I bought this book I decided to check out the accuracy of Parent's book by comparing it with a nearby hike. The map of the hike was on target save for a finger of land which extended into the lake. Parent showed the trail as going down the center whereas it went closer to the shoreline. To me that would not be far off target.

The description of the hike's strenuousness was accurate. I decided to check out the descriptions of other hikes on the Internet. In each case Parent's description was about the same as the website description and in some cases, the website had decided to use Parent's description of its hiking trail.

Though Parent does not divide his 75 hiking trails into regions, he does provide a very useful map just after the Foreword at the beginning of the book. Just a little study will show the reader that e.g. hiking trails 1 to 13 are clustered in the Big Bend area whereas hikes 71 to 75 are clustered just north of Beaumont. One will have no trouble finding the location of any of the hiking trails except that the map shows two 62's, one of which is hike 59. This is just a typo.

Texas is not the only state in which I have hiked. I have found great beauty in each of the states in which I have traveled and lived. We have a beautiful country. However if one is looking for a hike in Texas, Parent shows the way for a hike which is ... just down the road.

Note on publication date
The copyright (and only) date listed in the Globe Pequot reprint edition of this book is 1992. The 1996 date listed above is presumably the date that Globe Pequot reprinted the original Falcon edition.