Hiking Marin: 141 Great Hikes in Marin County

I love the San Francisco Bay Area and try to get to that region as often as possible. Hiking, biking, and simply "getting away from it all" opportunities abound within minutes of one of the biggest metropolitan areas in the world. I can never decide if I like the Santa Cruz mountains in South Bay or Marin County more, but if you are looking for detailed trail descriptions of the latter, the third edition of "Hiking Marin" is a good place to start.This book describes trails in some of the most popular sections of Marin County, including Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Point Reyes National Seashore, Mt. Tamalpais and Muir Woods. Hikes in many other less well known "Open Space" areas are also included. Although the title mentions 141 hikes, there are actually 168 trail walks described over seven sections of Marin County (chapters A-G in this guidebook) with two additional chapters (H and J) on new hiking opportunities since the first edition went to press in 1995. Nearly all 600 miles of trail in the county appear in one or more loop hikes of this book. Almost anyone can find a walk suited to their abilities within the confines of this guidebook. Detailed maps and route descriptions will help spare walkers the frustration of missing a key turnoff.So why does a book like this only get 4 stars? More for what it is missing than what it includes. Trail descriptions are heavy on routes and intersections, but natural and cultural history are essentially absent. Three hikes described in this book begin in Muir Woods National Monument, for example, but none describe the colorful history or biological importance of this stand of old growth forest. I find that information like this enhances my enjoyment of hiking. There are also very few photos. Finally, I found some technical problems with the "downloadable maps" that are new to this edition. The authors refer readers to their website where they can download any map or trail description from the book (with a password found at the beginning of each chapter). When I went to their site, however, my browser claimed the pages related to the book "could not be found." Hopefully this little glitch will be cleared up later.In the final analysis, if you are a Bay Area resident, this book will provide you with many hours of enjoyment. But if you are a tourist other guides to the region may be better. They may not have as comprehensive a selection, but pictures and a fuller discussion of local trails might make finding a good trail easier. Even so, this is a good guide to what's "out there" in Marin.

Found many new places to walk. Gives good directions to trail, length, difficulty and cover. Also has a website to download and print just the trail you plan to hike. Yes, there are smart phone apps to do this sort of thing but they are hard for older eyes.

Wonderful guide for the Marin hiker. Book describes parking for trail heads, elevation changes, terrain, degree of difficulty, as well as what you can expect to see on the hike seasonally. Book is cleverly organized by area and/or what you are after in a hike --- wildflowers, wildlife, waterfalls and panoramas. Locations for along or near trails are also included. Great buy for veteran hikers looking for new areas to explore, or for newcomers to the area trying to figure out where to start on all the great trails available in Marin.

i purchased this book to get some background for an upcoming trip to San Francisco and Marin County. I still haven't gone yet, but already the book is providing some greatly detailed information about where and when to hike and what to expect as far as difficulty of specific trails. There's a lot of good advice for out-of-towners in this book, which I doubt I would have found anywhere else. I'll definitely have this book in my backpack during my upcoming adventures along the Pacific Coast.

I would give five stars for an updated version! But this has some issues that are just based on the year printed. Otherwise I love the layout, the maps are great, the information is worthwhile, and finally the book is easy to navigate. Hope you enjoy!

Great for relocation to Mill Valley family hiking adventures!

Useful book for planning local hikes.

Truly the best hiking book of Marin County! I have been using this hiking book since its first edition in the 90s to explore Marin County hikes. It is so well put together and detailed. Highly recommended!