Reviews for 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Washington, DC: Including Alexandria, Frederick, and Leesburg

The average rating for 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Washington, DC: Including Alexandria, Frederick, and Leesburg based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-09-09 00:00:00 Salvatore Distefano A nice starting point, but not as versatile as the previous edition I was disappointed that I couldn't make the authors' event through Smithsonian Associates. (But, quite frankly, I also didn't feel like spending $50 on this event…) I'd been using the previous edition for years and hoped that the new edition would be similar (just with better maps and better copyediting): a wide variety of hikes at all skill, time, and ability levels throughout the region that introduced me to new parks and trails. Indeed, the prior edition got me hooked (6 times and counting!) on the One Day Hike, which I never would have heard about if not for Paul Elliott's championing. However, new, adventurous hikes were not to be found in the update. These are more strolls, and less hikes. In revising the book for the new edition, the authors "eliminated some [hikes] that catered to cyclists rather than hikers," (xiii) by which they mean: nothing with any serious distance. So long, W&OD Trail. Farewell, One Day Hike on the C&O Canal Towpath (and all the other longer-distance C&O routes). Auf wiedersehen, long hikes in Prince William Forest Park. Many of their modifications to existing hikes truncated routes, usually creating simple loops rather than out-and-backs with side trails. Most of the new and updated hikes tap out at around 10 miles, but thankfully the authors note which hikes are more conducive for longer additions. The majority of the hikes are deemed "kid friendly," which is helpful--but in doing so, Sklarew and Cooper have narrowed their audience to be mostly families or very new hikers, not maintaining the audience of a wide variety of skill levels. When the most challenging hike I could find in the update was a mere ~6 miles on the Appalachian Trail from Route 7 to Raven Rocks and back, I knew that I didn't need to buy this book. I wanted more than this book had to offer, which is more my problem than a universal one. I did enjoy the elevation charts and the new maps. My copy of the previous edition is marked up with instructions like, "bridge no longer exists," "don't follow the white blazes but rather the blue," and "he didn't mention the rock scramble…" I very much appreciate the detail the maps contain: they are much more useful in this edition. I did a rough comparison of the updates to note the differences between this edition and the previous. (I may have missed something during my review…) DC New hikes ** Anacostia Riverwalk Trail: this trail wasn't finished when the previous edition was published Modified hikes (usually shorter distances) ** Capital Crescent Trail: now is Fletchers Cove south to Georgetown; previously was Fletcher's Cove to Bethesda ** National Arboretum ** Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park ** Roosevelt Island ** Northern Rock Creek Park ** Boulder Bridge in Rock Creek Park ** Glover-Archbold Trail ** Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens ** East Potomac Park Eliminated hikes (I'm pretty okay with this, actually: these were hard to follow and not that fun of a hike. The sights on each hike are better seen outside the context of an urban hike.) ** Brookland sights ** Upper Northwest Military Sights ** Southern Rock Creek Park Close-in Maryland New hikes ** Billy Goat A&B in Great Falls ** Brookside Gardens and Wheaton Regional Park ** Cabin John Regional Park ** Lake Needwood (excellent addition) ** southern part of Patuxent Research Refuge (the previous edition had the northern part) ** different part of the Seneca Greenway Trail (now it's 355 to Brink Rd; was Black Rock Mill to Great Seneca Highway) ** Sandy Spring Underground Railroad Trail ** Seneca Creek State Park Modified hikes (again, usually shorter) ** Black Hill Regional Park ** split the previous Carderock to Great Falls on the C&O Canal Towpath into 2 sections: Carderock to Great Falls, and Great Falls to Old Angler's Inn ** Cosca Regional Park ** Greenbelt Park ** Lake Artemesia ** McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area Eliminated hikes ** Riley's Lock to Swain's Lock on the C&O Canal Towpath ** Henson Creek Trail ** Watkins Regional Park Close-in Virginia New hikes ** Burke Lake Park ** Glade Stream Valley Park ** Turkey Run Park loop (previous edition did the Potomac Heritage from Scott's Run to Roosevelt Island, hiking through Turkey Run Park) ** Lake Accotink (excellent addition) ** Potomac Overlook Regional Park Modified hikes (usually shortened) ** Cross County Trail from Difficult Run (much, much shorter than the original: this is now a short out-and-back from the parking lot at 193 to the Potomac River, versus 9+ miles from Colvin Mill to the Potomac and back) ** Fraser Preserve (thrilled that this map was updated: got very, very confused here years ago…) ** split the prior Riverbend Park and Great Falls hike into 2 separate hikes, one for each of the parks ** Huntley Meadows ** Mason Neck State Park ** Scott's Run ** Winkler Botanical Preserve Eliminated hikes ** Holmes Run Trail (I'm okay with this: this wasn't a great hike) ** W&OD Trail Unchanged hike ** Fort Hunt/Mount Vernon Trail is pretty much the same Rural Maryland New hikes ** Calvert Cliffs State Park ** Cedarville State Forest ** Monocacy Battlefield ** Quiet Waters Park (looks cute and a nice side trip from Annapolis) ** Rachel Carson Conservation Park ** different part of the Magruder Branch Trail Modified hikes (usually shortened) ** split the previous Catoctin Mountain + Cunningham Falls State Park into 2 hikes (one for each park) ** Little Bennett Regional Park ** Piscataway Park ** Sugarloaf Mountain ** Jug Bay Wetlands Eliminated hikes ** both sections of the Appalachian Trail ** my beloved One Day Hike ** C&O Canal Towpath from Monocacy Aqueduct to Calico Rocks ** Woodstock Equestrian Park ** American Chestnut Land Trust Rural Virginia New hikes ** Algonkian Regional Park ** Appalachian Trail, Route 7 to Raven Rocks ** Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve ** Manassas Battlefield Modified hikes (all shorter) ** Bull Run-Occoquan Trail ** Leesylvania State Park ** Sky Meadows State Park ** Prince William Forest Park Eliminated hikes ** Bull Run Mountain (makes sense, since the cliff portion is closed indefinitely--glad I hiked it years ago when it was open!) ** Wildcat Mountain ** Thompson Wildlife Management Area (not terrible to lose; when we hiked it a few years ago, the trail was virtually non-existent) ** Virginia State Arboretum ** Shenandoah River State Park ** Overall Run + Heiskell Hollow ** Massanutten Mountain + Shenandoah River (hiking AND canoeing!) ** Appalachian Trail: Blue Ridge Center to Weverton ** Rolling Ridge Foundation to Appalachian Trail TL; DR? I wouldn't rush out to buy the new edition if you already own--and enjoy--the previous edition. If you're new to the area or new to hiking, this book is a perfectly decent introduction to what all the region offers. If you're a DC-area hiker who wants more than what Sklarew and Cooper offer, Hiking Upward does an excellent job at mapping and detailing trails.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-06-29 00:00:00 Lanoise Cockrell Includes some wonderful trails that I'd never heard of yet they're close by. Some very good simple maps. Even better is the marginalia about what's nearby, how to access the general area, some logistical concerns (though of course some of it gets dated quickly). Overall a nice layout to the book. But Oh, some of those trail descriptions! Long blocks of text with run-on instructions. I know that this is one of the toughest parts of presenting a trail guide but this book clearly goes over to the numbing.