Best Easy Day Hikes Orange County

This book is both excellent and bad, but the excellent greatly outweighs the bad. First, the bad: it is OLD. It is more than a decade old as I write this. A lot of development has taken place in SoCal since it was written, and I've encountered two situations where driving directions were no longer accurate. Both of them involved rides starting in Corona. I found the ride in both situations, but you need to be aware of this. If you're not familiar with the area you want to ride, I suggest checking out the info using a mapping/directions website like Google or Yahoo maps. That should be more than enough to get you to any trail. As far as the good goes: this book has very clear trail directions and with one exception, I have never been lost following their directions (the one incident was probably my fault). By far the most useful part of the book is their trail ratings for each ride. I find the "grunt factor" to be my most valuable tool in picking a ride, as I'm still kind of new and am not capable of some of the rides with higher "grunt" ratings. Their maps are fantastic, trail rating info is fantastic, and everything else is just pretty much fantastic. In conclusion, if you ride in OC you should own this book. I've ridden many of the trails in it and have found the info to be more than 90% accurate, even with a decade separating me from the publishing date. Cross-reference some of the driving directions and you'll have the best guide you could ask for.

If you live in Orange County and interested in mountain biking, this book is the must have, no other books come close to it in detail information. It breaks down all trails in strenth rating, downhill rating, and technical rating, which helps reader to select his or her ride according to personal ability, you can also mix and match the same level of trails in one ride and get a lot of veriaty at the same area. I recently move to Nor. Cal and bought 3 trail books but really miss the way this book was edited, very clear description in techinal info and landscape scenary, not only provides guideline but also pumps you up before and after every ride.

It has everything, from rates to times, to miles. The hows and the don'ts. Very extensive coverage with nice graphics and maps. It describes as if you were riding along and it makes you feel safe when riding. This is a must have.

I have taken many of the trails listed in this book and was impressed with the accurate trail maps which include mileage markers, geologic features, and elevations of mountain peaks. Trail descriptions include the distance, estimated time required, start and end elevations, and technical ratings. The book is useful for both mountain bikers and hikers. About fifty pages are devoted solely to trails in the Santa Ana Mountains. Unfortunately, recent development has eliminated some of the trailheads, especially in Aliso & Wood Canyons Park.

I love the book, and refer to it every weekend