Do you like hiking? Do you have kids? Do you live in New England or have plans to visit? (Amazon affiliate link) 50 Hikes with Kids New England is definitely worth checking out. Wendy Gorton has put together a fabulous resource.
First, this book is organized. Split between adventures in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, you can easily find the state you are looking for. There is a chart of each section (swoon) listing the adventure, the nearest city, the length of the hike in miles, the difficulty and elevation, and highlights of that particular hike. If you are hiking with kids, this is all pertinent information. It’s no fun to start out on hike you thought was a couple of miles only to realize you are now eight miles away from you vehicle and no, you are not almost back. I also love that she refers to the hikes as adventures.
Would you rather search for adventures based on features? She has that covered. There are lists of hikes with lakes, waterfalls, history, flora and fauna, geology, caves, summits and views, river and streams, beaches, and campgrounds. Or perhaps you want a little seasonal flair? Gorton also has lists popular trails for each season.
Then, for each adventure, Gorton goes through everything you need to know for that trail. Throw in her helpful tips for newer hikers (or hikers new to hiking with kids), scavenger hunts specific to each adventure, and where to get awesome snacks, and this book is a must have for anyone with kids.
The book has full color photos of the areas, as well as a basic visual appeal to the layout. The only bad thing I have to say about the book is that it only crams 50 adventures in it. I understand that any more would be too thick, but I wish I had this information for every hike we went on. She has other versions of this book for different areas around the US, and we will definitely be checking some of them out.
Disclaimer: An advance copy was provided by Timber Press.
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