Product Description

Loop hikes mean you end back where you started—but you get fresh scenery every step of the way! • 60 loop hikes accessible from metro areas including Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Boulder • Illustrated with topo maps, elevation profiles, and photos for each hike • Trailfinder chart lists hikes by factors including distance, hiking time, elevation gain, season, and highlights—quiet wilderness, mountain meadow, great views, wildlife, etc. • Bonus listing of loop hikes that are great for winter snowshoeing Looking for a short, easy loop stroll, or a challenging loop trek? Do you want loops that offer solitude or loops that are kid-friendly? There are loops that involve overnight stays and loops that involve fourteeners to consider, too. And did you know that some loops double as great snowshoe trails in winter? You’ll find all these and more in Loop Hikes: Colorado. As you can tell, the operative word here is "loop." That’s right: there’s no need to bore yourself by retracing the same path. Your every step is shiny and new, all without tandem driving or dropping off a car at both ends of the trail. It’s the holy grail of hiking!

Regions represented include Front Range, Central Mountains, Southwest Mountains, Western Slope and Canyonlands, Northern Mountains, and Rocky Mountain National Park.

STEVE JOHNSON is a freelance writer focusing on outdoor recreation. A former longtime Colorado resident, he returns for hiking vacations yearly. He is the author of three outdoor guidebooks and writes for Cabin Life, among other publications. DAVID WEINSTEIN is a lifelong Colorado resident who grew up camping and hiking throughout the state.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #284669 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 236 pages

About the Author
Steve Johnson is a freelance writer focusing on outdoor recreation. A former longtime Colorado resident, he returns for hiking vacations yearly. He is the author of three outdoor guidebooks and writes for Cabin Life, among other publications. David Weinstein is a lifelong Colorado resident who grew up camping and hiking throughout the state.

Customer Reviews

A quality collection...
Unfortunately the previous review does not give just credit to the hikes included in this book and the specific reason for including them. As a native of Colorado, I can say that there are copious amounts of trails and wanderings to be enjoyed and Weinstein and Johnson's guide does an excellent job of providing a handful of quality Colorado options for the day-hiker or multi-day trekker. It is truly one of the few guides that covers loop routes of Colorado in vivid description and I would highly recommend it.

Detailed descriptions
This is arm chair reading for the winter months, as most of the trails described are covered with snow. I was pleased to find so many options within a two hour drive of Denver. The descriptions give enough detail to create interest but do not overwhelm the hiker with minutia. I will copy the appropriate pages and put them in my pack in anticipation of Spring.

Geared for short hikes near Denver/Front Range
Although S. J. Pfrimmer's review doesn't seem to be that popular, the reviewer hit the nail on the head. As mentioned, 31/60 hikes are along the Front Range. While this is great if you live in Denver and want a Denver specific guidebook, this book is advertized as pointing out the best hikes in Colorado, not the best hikes around Denver (and even then many of the hikes are hardly "the best"). It doesn't appear that the authors are even familiar with most of the state and were in a hurry to choose the hikes for the book.

Here's an example. In contrast to the Front Range, there are only six hikes in the mighty San Juan Mountains. Not one even gets close to timberline! Only one of them is over 5.5 miles and the rest are short jaunts. There is nothing wrong with a short hike as being one of the best, but to include almost nothing in the San Juans that is more than a couple hours and never gets close to timberline and have the nerve to call it the "best" the range has to offer should be a crime.

The above was only one example. Entire huge swaths of spectacular areas of Colorado are completely eliminated. There is nothing at all mentioned in places like the Sangre de Christos or Dinosaur National Monument. In the entire section of Colorado (a huge portion of the state) west of Steamboat Springs and north of I-70 there is only one hike featured.

As mentioned, this book does have some good hikes mentioned and is good for Front Range residents, but the book should not be advertized as covering the "best" hikes in Colorado. It is more focused on only one area in Colorado rather than the whole state.