Explorer's Guide 50 Hikes in Michigan: Sixty Walks, Day Trips, and Backpacks in the Lower Peninsula

It is a little outdated as the trails have changed slightly but still good for knowing where they all are. It has very detailed descriptions of the trails and what is at each location. I wish it had more maps but it will do just fine.

This is a very good guide to some of the most scenic hikes in Michigan. If you want to find some good advice about finding beatiful places to hike, but don't need a huge atlas that lists every trail, this book is for you. It is a managable size and has good directions, and the trails are really well-selected. You won't be disappointed by any of them. The book is quite inexpensive. If you want a huge book that gives you every trail in Michigan, choose "Michigan Trail Atlas" by Hansen instead, but it is very big and kind of costly.

I recently had a friend of my wife comment on how I knew all the good and "secret" places to go in Michigan. This is not true, but I do often wonder at how people know of some of the truly great places to go in my home state.Any knowledge that I might have comes from owning several books written by Jim Dufresne. Dufresne is among a handful of what I consider the best writers out there when it comes to the outdoors/travel. Happily, he lives in and writes about my home state.I not only own this 50 hikes book, but I have books written by Dufresne on hiking with children in Michigan, Michigan's State Parks, the Porcupine Mountains, and the best campgrounds in Michigan. With the exception of the Porcupine Mountains book (which is of a narrower interest) all of these books are indispensable.50 hikes in Michigan (there are actually 60 hikes listed) really does contain most of the best hikes in the lower peninsula of Michigan. From this book I learned of the Algonquin trail in beautiful and semi-remote Negwegon State Park (you won't find any brown signs on the main roads leading you there). This hike alone is worth the price of the book.But why stop there?You can also explore such places as the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the Manistee River Trail and the plethora of shorter trails in Waterloo State Recreation area. These hikes and the others listed in this well-written and engaging book are some of the best to be found anywhere. I only wish there were an Upper Peninsula edition.Jim Dufresne himself, though not homegrown, is one of Michigan's great treasures. I recommend this book and others by him. Get a copy today.

If you are new to Michigan or new to hiking, hiking guru Jim Dufresne's "50 Hikes in Michigan" is required reading.From the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to the Ohio state line, "50 hikes" lists the wildest but easiest to find, easiest to hike trails. "Wild" usually discourages the novice, however, rest assured these are all well traversed trails and usually well marked.This is my second copy, and I bring it with me in the field. Having hiked nearly all of the trails in his book (including all of the North Country Trail segments, and all the others not in the book), I have learned to take this book with me on my hike.A tip: keep it in a zip lock bag. Those of you who are familiar with Michigan's weather know--it may be sunny, but wait a few minutes, it could rain!