50 Best Short Hikes in Utah's National Parks

A number of years ago, Wilderness Press published a series of 50 Best Short Hikes, guides meant for families and really almost everyone. The Utah National Parks selection was one of the best sellers in the series, but author Ron Adkison has passed on, and Wilderness Press has brought in Greg Witt to write a new version of this book. He has done a marvelous job. Yes, the book remains true to the original series and focuses on walks the whole family can enjoy. But these are spectacular hikes, and any hiker of any ability level will find something to captivating in this book, including die hard exercise enthusiasts who would normally shy away from a book with the word "short" in the title.Utah's national parks are managed with day hikers in mind. Backpacking is often an option, of course, but water sources are scarce and unreliable, and often the best scenery is fairly close at hand anyway. Visitors to Arches, for example, can take in much of the park in an extended day, and one of the best features of this book is that Witt offers a "park in a day" preface to each chapter so visitors coming for spring break, probably the best time to visit most of these parks, can get the maximum enjoyment for their time. Utah is not that easily accessible to me, and books like this are ideal for my type of exploration. Often, you can get a better feel for a park by doing two or three short hikes than one long one in any event. And one cannot quarrel with the hike selection: Park Avenue and Devil's Garden in Arches, The Queen's Garden-Navajo Loop in Bryce, Mesa Arch and Grand View Point in Canyonlands, and Hickman Bridge in Capitol Reef. Virtually every one of my favorite trails appears in this book.Each park gets about 10 trails, with Zion (correctly) meriting slightly more. Mileages are accurate, sketch maps adequate, and the side bars on natural history make the text all the more enjoyable. But most importantly, this book gets you out of your car and onto the trails in short order, allowing you to experience the best of each park. And what makes it a great book is that if you use it once, you are sure to want to use it again. I know my week long visit this year has whetted my appetite for more, and I have avidly read, and reread, the route descriptions in this fine little volume. I can hardly wait to use it again next year. That is the mark of a great hiking guide. Get it.

Purchased this book just a week or so before heading off to see all 5 of Utah's national parks, and it was invaluable, truly a great aid in planning our hikes and visit. Got more accurate and useful information out of this book than all 4 or 5 other books I'd looked at previously that cover hiking in this area. All hikes listed include a short synopsis at the beginning of each detailed trail description, which includes information about elevation range, distance, type of hike (loop, out and back, etc.) directions to the trailhead, facilities at the trailhead (restrooms, parking, water) as well as a brief description of highlights. Included maps of parks and of each trail were also helpful in planning/choosing hikes. The author's recommendations on which way to hike a loop trail were much appreciated, and made for much better experience on several of the hikes we took in Arches and Bryce. Also enjoyed the short paragraphs scattered throughout the book on the flora, fauna, history and geology of the parks. As another reviewer noted, this is not a dull hiking book! I did not feel lack of color pictures detracted from the book at all - the author's descriptions are more than adequate to determine whether a trail is of interest or not. The only addition I would have appreciated would be an elevation gain/loss profile map for the hikes, but that would be a "nice to have", not a "need to have".

This book seemed like the author had interviewed me and then wrote a custom book based on exactly what I was looking for. I took a trip to Utah to visit the "Big 5" National Parks. I had a week. By definition, it was an introductory trip. I only had time for shorter hikes and I wanted to make sure I got a good taste of all the parks and made the most efficient use of my time. Mr. Witt lays out priorities and itineraries for each of the parks that were so well matched to what I wanted experience, I almost couldn't believe he wasn't an old friend.Mr. Witt provides highlights of the parks, what makes each park special, and a synopsis of each park. He gives clear instructions about where everything is and what to expect on each hike he features.I really felt my visit was critically enhanced by this book. It was THE essential equipment for my trip. I ended up having one of my best vacations ever and now rave about how great Southern Utah is to all my friends and family. But, I also make a point of recommending this book because it was so incredibly helpful.If you are going to visit Utah's National Parks (which I highly recommend), you will love this book for planning out your time and what hikes you want to do.

Book seems to have good info. We'll organized per each park. The paper pages are pretty thin makes it slightly harder to page thru but totally doable. Tge cover is nicely made thicker. The pics are in black and white a little disappointing but I guess that holds the price down. I'm satisfied with this book.