Exploring Colorado

Firsthand route descriptions to the 169 highest 13,000-foot peaks -- including the Centennial peaks under 14,000 feet -- and a complete listing of the 741 highest summits in Colorado.

* 50 hikes reveal Colorado's geologic history and diversity * Trailside Geology section offers advice for practical study on the trail Erupting volcanoes, shifting seas, the icy embrace of giant glaciers, haunts of the dinosaurs: it's all here inHiking Colorado's Geology. In 50 hikes, you'll see first-hand evidence of the most dramatic geologic events that created and continue to shape the terrain of this beautiful state. You'll benefit, too, from the authors' long experience as guides and lecturers, sharing their passion for the natural world. The guide is easy to use, with each hike headlined with the geologic features profiled. You'll also find an introductory section on geologic principles you'll see on the trail.

Travel the back roads and blue highways of Colorado to proven destinations and activities!

Over 20 hikes in Colorado.

This book is a collection of the very best non-technical hikes and scrambles on Colorado's 13,000-foot mountains. It will showcase 50 select routes on the most exciting, beautiful, and adventurous of the 637 officially recognized thirteeners. A balance of difficulty will roughly be divided into thirds: easier (about 25% of the routes), modest (50%), and difficult (25%). While the guide will cover the entire state of Colorado, there will be a slight bias toward summits within a two-hour drive of the Denver/Boulder metro area.

Rocky Mountain National Park encompasses 415 square miles crowned by spectacular mountain environments. Its famed Trail Ridge Road crests at over 12,000 feet elevation and includes many overlooks onto subalpine and alpine worlds. The park also features hundreds of miles of hiking trails, stunning wildflower blooms, wildlife viewing including the iconic Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, crystal-clear starry nights, and the highest continuous paved road in the nation.

Discover the most epic hikes close to town. With Best Hikes Colorado Springs, readers have everything they need for the adventure they seek, from an easy nature walk to a multi-day backpack. Complete with maps and full-color photos, hike descriptions provide everything you need to know before hitting the trail: location, length, hiking time, level of difficulty, canine compatibility.

With full coverage of Western national parks: Arches, Badlands, Big Bend, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, the Black Hills (including Mount Rushmore), Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Carlsbad Caverns, Channel Islands, Crater Lake, Death Valley, Devils Tower, Glacier National/Waterton Lakes, the Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Great Basin, Great Sand Dunes, Guadalupe Mountains, Joshua Tree, Lassen Volcanic Park, Mesa Verde and the Four Corners, Mount Rainier, North Cascades, Olympic, Petrified Forest, Point Reyes, Redwood, Rocky Mountain, Saguaro, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Theodore Roosevelt, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion. According to the National Park Service, as of June 2009, 127.7 million visits were made to national parks in the first six months of the year, an increase of about 4.5 million over the same period in 2008. More than 900,000 people visited Yellowstone National Park in July, 2009, an all-time record for monthly visits and a jump of 94,000 visits over 2008. The First Family visited Yellowstone in August, 2009.