New San Fran Hiking Guide Ventures off the Beaten Path

SAN FRANCISCO — The Bay Area is home to one of the richest, most hike-able landscapes in the continental U.S. But the fact is, according to local author and outdoor expert Jane Huber, there are hundreds of hiking spots around the Bay even life-long residents have yet to discover.

Huber’s new guide to local hiking, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: San Francisco (now in its 3rd edition from Menasha Ridge Press) aims to fix that.

There are hundreds of smaller parks unknown to most tourists and even life-long residents.

The Bay Area has a number of “destination parks,” places where visitors from all over the world flock to walk among giant redwoods or to whale-watch. “But there are also hundreds of smaller parks unknown to most tourists and even life-long residents,” Huber explains in the preface to her new guide.

Many of these hidden hiking gems, Huber continues, can be found right in your backyard. “Thousands of people living in the foothills of Mount Tamalpais, for example, can literally walk from their front doors all the way to the top of the mountain if they like.”

Huber’s new book finds the 60 best hiking spots within roughly an hour’s drive from central San Francisco. By keeping its focus on the immediately local area, this new edition highlights even more of the lesser known hiking parks and open-space preserves — especially those surrounding the Bay Area’s most densely packed cities of San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland — while still including major tourism draws, making it perfect for city natives and visitors alike.

Huber makes each trail seem like home by providing key information like:

• Hike time and distance
• Difficulty level and hike configuration
• Average trail traffic
• Completely updated maps, GPS coordinates, and park details
• Categories and an at-a-glance rating system for interests such as kid-friendliness, scenery, waterfalls, wildlife, public transit, and more

“Getting to know your backyard means getting to love your backyard,” Huber explains. With her new hiking guide, Bay Area hikers can do just that.

 

Media: For inquiries, please contact Pat LaFleur at pat [at] menasharidge.com