The hikes in this book range from easy strolls suitable for families with children to extended adventures into remote corners of an incredible landscape.
* More than 100 hikes included * Includes lesser-visited Dinosaur National Monument, Salinas National Monument, Snow Canyon State Park, and northern San Rafael Swel, as well as the major parks and wilderness areas * Includes trips in more recently designated national monuments and wilderness areas such as Grand Staircase-Escalante, Canyons of the Ancients, Black Ridge Canyons, and more Hiking the Southwest Canyon Country will take you from the Colorado Plateau to the Grand Canyon to the banks of the Rio Grande. Perfect for hikers off all levels, this guidebook features trips that highlight the dramatic scenery of the Four Corners Region, from waterfalls and natural bridges to slot canyons. Each itinerary offers options such as day hikes, backpacking trips, scenic drives, raft trips, and visits to archaeological sites. You'll find a "Best Places Adventure Chart" that compares features of hikes such as rock art, arches, and serene rivers.
Up to date with current events, boundaries, and public land information Descriptive trail guides for 25 hikes with color photos and color maps Detailed natural history and archaeology This guidebook covers the original 1.88 million acres of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument designated in 1996 to protect its natural wonders and preserve the area for scientific research. In 2017, the monument was trimmed to 1 million acres, reducing protections around some of the world's most geologically diverse landscapes. The hikes featured in this book range from family-friendly day hikes to multi-day backpacking trips that will excite the most adventurous of spirits and will educate readers about the importance of protecting public lands, visiting sensitive areas with respect, and considering low-impact recreation as a pillar of multi-use policy for enhanced conservation.
“Get your head into the clouds with Aerial Geology.” —The New York Times Book Review Aerial Geology is an up-in-the-sky exploration of North America’s 100 most spectacular geological formations. Crisscrossing the continent from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to the Great Salt Lake in Utah and to the Chicxulub Crater in Mexico, Mary Caperton Morton brings you on a fantastic tour, sharing aerial and satellite photography, explanations on how each site was formed, and details on what makes each landform noteworthy. Maps and diagrams help illustrate the geological processes and clarify scientific concepts. Fact-filled, curious, and way more fun than the geology you remember from grade school, Aerial Geology is a must-have for the insatiably curious, armchair geologists, million-mile travelers, and anyone who has stared out the window of a plane and wondered what was below.
Traversing six national parks, a national recreation area, a national monument, and various wilderness study areas, the Hayduke Trail is a challenging, 800-mile backcountry route on the Colorado Plateau. This guide book is designed for experienced desert trekkers seeking a thorough-hiking experience on a well-tested route.
The Cedar Mesa country in southeast Utah is a land of convoluted cliffs with arches, natural bridges, hoodoos, spires, hat rocks, ledges, and alcoves. It is a land of flash floods and extreme temperatures that demands much from those who would explore it. It is also an unparalleled museum of geological features and ancestral Puebloan culture. This fascinating culture flowered for more than a millennium and visitors to southeast Utah are treated to a sampling of archaeological wonders. A Hiking Guide to Cedar Mesa describes sixty-three routes, ranging from quarter-mile walks to fifteen-mile day hikes, loops, and multi-day backpack trips. There is essential information on permits, weather, gear, road, trailhead access, geology, human history in the region, and leave-no-trace camping. Care is given to name only those well-known archaeological sites that are visible or immediately accessible from roads. Throughout, the author emphasizes proper visitation protocol for fragile archaeological sites. He states, "I have been touched by this landscape and would prefer to keep its teachings and secrets to myself, but I cannot. The experience of the desert should be available to everyone with the motivation to encounter it."
"Solid history and archaeology combines with an understated call to preserve Bears Ears—all of it, not just a sliver." —KIRKUS REVIEWS FOREWORD INDIES WINNER, EDITOR'S CHOICE PRIZE NONFICTION For more than twelve thousand years, the redrock landscape of southeastern Utah has shaped the lives of everyone who calls it home. R. E. Burrillo takes readers on a journey of discovery through the stories and controversies that make this place so unique, from traces of its earliest inhabitants through its role in shaping the study of archaeology itself—and into the modern battle over its protection. R. E. BURRILLO is an archaeologist and conservation advocate. His writing has appeared in Archaeology Southwest, Colorado Plateau Advocate, the Salt Lake Tribune, and elsewhere. He splits his time between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Flagstaff, Arizona.
• The top attractions in 76 National Monuments in 11 states (AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY) • Includes 17 national monuments currently under administration review • Features spectacular color photos, maps, trailhead directions, and details about each monument The Guide to Western National Monuments showcases 76 of the nation’s 122 public lands protected by a Presidential decree. These are the best places to visit if you want to hike and camp in spectacular scenery with relatively few people (compared to National Parks). Many of the Monuments contain ancient ruins, pictographs, and petroglyphs that are still in good condition. The Antiquities Act of 1906 gave the President authority to establish National Monuments as an expedient method for protecting natural and historically significant areas in the United States. Theodore Roosevelt designated the first Monument, Devils Tower, and established the long-standing tradition. Many previously-designated Monuments have changed to National Parks or another federal status, while others have been transferred to state control. Nearly half of our current National Parks began as a National Monument. Currently, 23 of the National Monuments--including Bears Ears, Golden Butte, and Giant Sequoia--are under review and may be stripped of their protected status. This guide will help readers understand what may be lost to development.
Bestselling author David Gessner’s wilderness road trip inspired by America’s greatest conservationist, Theodore Roosevelt, is “a rallying cry in the age of climate change” (Robert Redford). “Leave it as it is,” Theodore Roosevelt announced while viewing the Grand Canyon for the first time. “The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it.” Roosevelt’s pronouncement signaled the beginning of an environmental fight that still wages today. To reconnect with the American wilderness and with the president who courageously protected it, acclaimed nature writer and New York Times bestselling author David Gessner embarks on a great American road trip guided by Roosevelt’s crusading environmental legacy. Gessner travels to the Dakota badlands where Roosevelt awakened as a naturalist; to Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon where Roosevelt escaped during the grind of his reelection tour; and finally, to Bears Ears, Utah, a monument proposed by Native Tribes that is currently embroiled in a national conservation fight. Along the way, Gessner questions and reimagines Roosevelt’s vision for today’s lands. “Insightful, observant, and wry,” (BookPage) Leave It As It Is offers an arresting history of Roosevelt’s pioneering conservationism, a powerful call to arms, and a profound meditation on our environmental future.