Product Description

An all-new guide to backpacking and hiking in this highly rural and still-unspoiled state.

West Virginia native and long-distance hiker and author Leonard M. Adkins has walked more than 400 miles to uncover 50 hikes available to outdoor travelers of all ages and abilities. From rugged Allegheny Mountain summits to the banks of the Ohio River, the author leads you to hikes beside rushing streams and crashing waterfalls, up to windswept plains whose flora and fauna resemble that of Canada's, and into hill country's hidden valleys. Other journeys traverse rocky mountain crests, reveal far-reaching vistas, travel miles of nearly level rail-trails, and explore historic sites and Civil War battlefields.

One hike passes by a listing wooden shelter once used by President Lyndon B. Johnson; another goes into a series of tunnels cut through the mountains. The shortest hike is 0.5 mile, the longest is a challenging multiday backpacking trek on the state's premier long-distance route, the Allegheny Trail. An overview chart provides information on the 50 hikes at a glance, making it easy to choose the hike that's right for you. Each hike description includes trailhead directions, total distance, hiking time, vertical rise, a detailed account of the route, and a topographic map. 50 black & white photos, 51 maps, index.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102970 in Books
• Brand: W.W. Norton & Company
• Published on: 2005-02-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Leonard M. Adkins, a freelance writer and lecturer on long-distance hiking, has traversed the full length of the Appalachian Trail at least four times. In all, he has hiked more than 17,000 miles exploring the backcountry areas of the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean. He is the author of other titles in the 50 Hikes series and more than 10 books on the outdoors, in addition to Maryland: An Explorer's Guide. Also, he is the recipient of the National Outdoor Book Award and the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award. He lives in Catawba, Virginia.

Customer Reviews

I have really enjoyed using this book
50 hikes in West Virginia has provided me with information on places that I have been hiking for years, but never knew the background on them, such as the history of the place, why it looks like it does, what plants and animals make their homes there and what their lives are like. So many guidebooks just tell you how to get to a hike and how long it is, but 50 Hikes in West Virginia is so much more than that.

I enjoy sitting down and reading the book before I go on the hike, so that I will know what to be looking for while I'm out there. Get this book and you will have a great time in the wilds of West Virginia.

I agree--great book
I agree--great book
I live in Marlinton, almost in the center of hiking in West Virginia, and just bought this book about a month ago. I have found it to be helpful in learning about new places that I have never heard of (and I thought I was a well-seasoned WV hiker). I also like the author's style of writing in that it flows nicely from point to point as it gives the directions you need to find your way along with wonderful pieces of information about the place you are hiking through. Again, I agree with the previous review. This is the best WV hiking guide I have come across.

Great Book!
Great book. Well written, interesting background on the hikes--both human and natural history as well as detailed descriptions. All of the hikes I've done so far have been very accurately described. Has some well known hikes, but also many others that are just as good, or better. I've used many other guides to the Mountain State--this one is the best.