1 comments about ATV Trails Guide Colorado Taylor Park, Crested Butte.

1. Well done. Excellent coverage of the area. I've ridden in this area a number of times and the author was still able to find trails that I had yet to uncover. Great book for someone planning an ATV trip into this area.

2 comments about ATV Trails Guide Colorado Silverton, Ouray, Lake City, Telluride.

1. This book was very informative and helpful in determining where to ride our bikes and ATV's. Have all of his books!



2. The information in this trail guide is useful to everyone that plans to ride their atv. Every time we go to a new area we know where we can camp and what to expect. I enjoy the pictures to show the area and the maps are very helpful.

5 comments about ATV Trails Guide Colorado Central Mountains.

1. After comparing and actually using several different books, Charles Wells ATV Trail Guides is absolutely the best out there. It provides detailed descriptions of trail conditions when they change, they are mileage tracked, GPS wav point provided and very accurate to te actual experience. thank you. Now do the rest of Colorado and I will buy them all.



2. My husband says this is a great book and would give it a five star rating.



3. The book is an excellent reference of ATV trails in Central Colorado.
   I can't wait to investigate these trails after reading the book.
   Charles Wells goes to extent on describing the conditions and what these trails have to offer.



4. I bought this book as well as Colorado Road and Recreation Atlas. There is a great more detail in this book. This book includes detailed maps for each trail, color coded by difficulty in each segment, GPS coordinates for trailheads and important intersections along the trail. There is a nice synopsis for each trail, with "how to get there", difficulty, trail desciption by segement, etc. Also a nice quick reference sheet listing east trail by difficulty and maximum elevation. I have been on a number of the trails and for these the book was very accurate. On the other map book, about all you have is unlabelled red lines that may or may not be trails open to ATV's. Thumbs-up on this one.



5. The author has done a great job of finding trails not far from where I live, yet I did not know existed. With GPS coordinates and directions, the trails are easy to find. This author has published a number of similar guide books and all are excellent sources for riding and explaining the level of difficulty encountered on the trails.

5 comments about Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails, 2nd Edition.

1. My husband says this is a very good guide and to give it 5 stars.



2. Charles Wells put together a excellent reference book for those who want to explore the mountains of Southwest Colorado. Great pictures and descriptions of the best views of Colorado. Just perfect.



3. Great descriptions, could be better on reverse.
   Nice general maps help guide along with a better map.
   Ratings are of one persons opinion, use caution at all times. I found that some trails are harder overall than others rated much higher on the chart - could be time of year and use so always look ahead and don't rely on this as the only source.



4. While planning a ghosttowning trip through parts of the Rockies west of Denver recently, I cam across Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails. I thought it might be helpful and was right. I probably drove six of the trails in the book, but all were exactly as the author described them. I own a 2000 Honda Passport, and found that I could handle most of the moderate trails pretty easily, but I don't think I would attempt of the books more difficult routes. The trails are ranked by their difficulty, and again, I thought the author was correct with his rankings. The book also contains tons of helpful advice for first-timers, and great reminders and tips for proficient to advanced drivers. Why you need this book: it is the single best source for all the information it has. But, if you buy it, pick up the Delorme's Colorado map book as well. Colorado Atlas and Gazetteer Essential, and more detailed than this book when it comes to the trails. Used together, and maybe a decent GPS and you have everything you need to plan your next off road adventure.



5. I bought this as a gift, but wound up reading quite a bit of it. Very informative and easy to follow.

5 comments about Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau: Non-Technical.

1. While missing an index is a somewhat minor fault in a "non-technical" book such as this, it is hard to forgive the publisher/author for using such small type. This book is difficult to read in the best of situations. It also uses a paper of high grade glossiness, which looks really great, but makes the book about 2x heavier than it should be for a guide. Essentially, as long as you don't take this book with you on your hikes, it has everything you will need for hiking the canyons.



2. What hikes have been left out? Nothing worth doing. Michael Kelsey is the absolute authority of high adventure on the colorado plateau. Yes make no mistake there are others who make at best a weak imitation of a guide book and claim superiority because they are more of a environtmental "green nutjob". Other authors need to have mostly naked young turks do all the technical aspects of their canyon hiking and criticize Kelsey for being practical. Every Mexican I have ever talked to loves all of Kelsey's books. Think about it.



3. It's perplexing to see so many poor reviews written towards Kelsey and his wonderful books. After some research I have come to the conclusion that most were written by elitist, selfish, environmental extremist hypocrites that seem to hate him because he opened up their personal playground to everyday people like the majority of us.
   
   His books are not perfect...but only an idiot would expect them to be. This book is a basic guide designed to point you in the right direction with some items of interest along the way. Just take his data subjectively and no big deal. So what if he spells some words different, I had no trouble understanding anything. I will admit, the metric system is a pain, but I simply convert all info before I go. I guess he does brag a little, big deal, if he wants to toot his own horn go for it. If I could do what he's done, I'd toot mine too.
   
   This book has an immense amount of information about a lifetime of hikes for the average person. Although this particular book doesn't include a lot of historical info, it looks like there just weren't enough pages (or smaller type). That's ok though, because I've read his other books that have it all. I do like the way he alerts the reader to the best trailheads and informs us whether or not we need to drive the Jeep or not.
   
   Like I said before, if you use his data subjectivly, hope for the best--prepare for the worst, know your limitations and let basic common sense be your guide; the average hiker will have an excellent time and can't wait to tell all their friends. As for the self absorbed fringe extremists (you know who you are)--sorry for the intrusion on "your land" and hope to see you out on the trail.
   
   Buy the book, the majority won't be dissapointed.
   
   Thank you Michael Kelsey and keep up the excellent work!



4. For anyone who is serious about hiking the Plateau, this book is an absolute must. Despite the environmental hacks and the elitist "new" generation hiking authors, Kelsey is the original and the best. Kelsey's maps have guided me through some of the most remote and scenic canyons on earth. If you have ability to route find, read a map and a sense of adventure, Kelsey's books are invaluable. If you are going with Boy Scouts, better take a more watered down guide book with "how to" pictures and rosy Harvard prose. Simply put, Kelsey is the best in the biz and runs circles around others - literally, he has hiked more places on the Plateau than anyone else and no one will ever get close.



5. This book has the most thorough coverage of the canyon country available. It's allowed us to find several sites that we couldn't find in any other guidebook. That's the good news. The bad news is that what Kelsey considers non-technical often requires a harness and rope. He's obviously a climber, and on several occasions we've had to backtrack because we came to an impassable pour-off or cliff. So just be advised that hikers will often find the non-technical to be more technical than they'd expect from the descriptions.

5 comments about Colorado Atlas and Gazetteer.

1. This does not show many of the back roads (un-improved...), and is not very topographic (mountains...). VERY CONFUSING to try and follow!
   
   I "HIGHLY" recommend the!-
   Benchmark Colorado Road & Recreation Atlas (any state!) Excellent detail/topographic, and most of the trails...!
   Benchmark Colorado Road & Recreation Atlas



2. Although I have not looked at Benchmark's Colorado atlas to compare this atlas with that one, I used this atlas for a week and a half trip with a lot of backcountry driving & hiking last summer & was quite pleased. There is more detail here than in the DeLorme atlases I have used for Arizona & New Mexico, and all roads on my route appeared to be correctly labelled and located. I only encountered one problem: Forest Service roads at high elevation (ca. 11,000 feet and above) are snowy and impassable in June (at least, they were last year!). Perhaps this is obvious to anyone familiar with Colorado, but driving up from New Mexico (where I have yet to find a road impassable from snow) it was a bit of a surprise, and it would be nice if these high passes were marked as impassable from winter to early summer. That detail aside, the atlas worked perfectly for me.



3. This Atlas is perfect for finding out where public and private lands are located in a particular area. Great resource.



4. Close to what I expected but should have a little more detail for a topo map



5. Got this for deer and especially elk hunting season this year (2009). Worked great, but the scale is a bit high for even the smaller maps overall. I ended up scanning the page with my hunting area on it and blowing it up about 125% to 150% - and then used that when hiking/hunting. Worked great and covered just about all of the major and minor roads & trails where I was.
   
   I would recommend this over most other maps and even software I've used to get details for areas I planned to camp, hike, or hunt.

No comments about 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Denver and Boulder: Including Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Rocky Mountain National Park.

5 comments about 100 Classic Hikes Colorado.

1. This is a "must have" guidebook if you enjoy hiking in Colorado. Each hike is described in some detail with a ranking of how strenuous each trek is considered. The text is concise and to the point, but gives an adequate feel of each hike. There is at least two pages devoted to each journey and the hike descriptions are to the point. Many such descriptions were the sole reason I decided to hike some of these mountains and I was never disappointed.

   The quality of the book is also to be commended. The paperback binding holds up after major 1,000+ mile car journeys I've made with the book thrown in the back seat. If you buy one guidebook about hiking in Colorado, make it this one. I highly recommend it for the description of each trail and just the overall feel of the book.




2. I had the older version of this book and absolutely loved it. I've planned many weekend trips and vacations based on the hikes in this book. I've never disagreed with the authur about a hike being one of the top 100 in Colorado.
   The new version has elevation profiles which are very nice. However, I don't care for the new maps. The old book had maps which were very easy to see. The new edition has topo maps which I think are too crowded and busy to be able to make anything out. I can't tell if there are streams next to the trails, which is very important to me as I hike with a dog and it's usually the first thing I look at.
   There are several new hikes: Bear Peak (Boulder), Lake Isabel (W. of Denver), Mount Falcon (Denver), Devil Head (Sedalia). Red Rock Canyon (Colo. Sprgs.), North Cheyenne Canyon (Colo. Spgs.), French Pass (Jefferson/Fairplay), Tater Head Loop (Crawford), Mosca Pass (Alamosa), No Name Lake (Antonito), Rabbit Ears Mesa (Grand Junction) and Sarvis Creek (Steamboat).



3. Great book. I have the earlier edition...got this one for the updated features. Make use of it while hiking annually in Colorado.



4. This book is perfect for anyone, new or experienced hiker, looking for trails in Colorado. All the info you could possibly need is included. Great trails, all over the state. Love this book!!



5. My experience with it is limited, only used it for 2 hike, both in Indian Peaks. Descriptions and maps are excellent. Especially appreciate the topos, which not all books have.

5 comments about Colorado's Fourteeners, 2nd Ed.: From Hikes to Climbs.

1. This is the definitive volume on all Colorado 14ers. It includes detailed information from locations of trailheads to routes and photos that will allow even a novice to safely climb in Colorado.



2. Gerry Roach has written one of the best guide books I have ever had the pleasure of owning. If you have the basic experience needed for climbing 14'ers this book is extreemly usefull. Complete and well written from approaches to technicial route descriptions. $ 12 bucks. Huh ? Oh the one negitive is you would not want to through this book in your ruck sack it weighs about 5 lbs.



3. This is a great reference to Colorado's 14,000+ foot peaks. The natural grouping of the peaks, the description of all trail heads in each area, and providing numerous routes up each peak are some of the outstanding features. Another is the quality of the maps - in fact they are so good, I wish the author would offer a set of the maps enlarged as a supplemental product. The maps not only clearly depict the routes described with full topographic detail, they are also color coded to show which sections of which routes have specific difficulties (climbing classes).
   
   I had only two issues with this book - the first is that it apparently underestimates difficulty of getting to trail heads with normal cars. The second was that it does not include an overall map of the state showing where the 14ers are located - this is handy if you're in one area and wondering which are closest. Fortunately, both these can be overcome by checking the Internet.
   
   In summary, if one plans to summit more than one Colorado 14er, this book is indispensable.



4. In addition to an array of routes to chose from, Roach's guide also has the best descriptions on route and potential hazards on routes.Roach's guide is stellar for those interested in climbing in the summer and early fall seasons, when snow isn't an issue.
   
   Unlike Dawson there are few (if any) references to ski-mountaineering, and a limited number of snow routes. For this reason, Roach's guide isn't the greatest for those interested in snow-climbing and ski descents. If snow-climbing and ski-descents are your fancy pick up a copy of Dawson's Guide to Colorado's Fourteeners, Vol. 1: The Northern Peaks or Dawson's Guide to Colorado's Fourteeners, Volume 2, the Southern Peaks



5. Let's say you know you are going to be in a certain area of Colorado and want to see what fourteeners are close. With the way this book is set up you have to
   
   1. Go to the Colorado map and find a potential mountain, say #21.
   
   2. Go to the peak index and find that #21 = mt. yale.
   
   3. Go to the index in the back to find that mt. yale is on page 122.
   
   4. Go to page 122 to see if you want to do mt. yale.
   
   To make a decission on which one you want to do you have to go through this process for each potential mountain.
   
   It seems the only possible explanation for why the book is set up this way is because they thought it was more important for people to be able to quickly identify a mountains' rank by height than to quickly learn more relavent things like location, difficulty, different routes... But who really cares? How important is it to immediately know that mt. yale is the 21st largest peak in CO and, say, mt. shavano is the 17th? There's only a 30 foot difference between the two.
   
   Anyway, I still gave it 4 stars so obviously I liked the information contained in the book it just blows my mind that an author who specializes in the subject would be so clueless as to how people would use the book.

5 comments about Colorado Road & Recreation Atlas.

1. This book is a very nice map as long as you like having maps in a book form. No need to have it any other way now that GPS units are in the car.



2. Took this to Colorado for a week. Never got lost. When I found out the campground I planned on staying at was closed, I found another nearby before it got dark.



3. Great atlas. Very detailed maps. On my last trip I discovered a couple of cool out of the way campsites by following some of the roads in these maps that aren't shown in a larger more general atlas.



4. We bought this map to use on our Colorado vacation and it was very helpful. It allowed us to take some more roundabout (and scenic) routes and provided enough details to assist in our vacation planning. It fits into a backpack and is definitely worth purchasing if you're going to be traveling extensively around the state.



5. We ride motorcycles, and like to explore the backcountry. Although we're set up for gravel and dirt roads, we like to know what we're getting into before we get there. Unfortunately, finding a map that shows exactly what is dirt, what is gravel, and what is paved is nearly impossible. AAA maps do show some gravel or unimproved roads, GPS systems like Tom Tom and Garmin try their best, but mark some gravel roads as paved and some paved roads as "unimproved".
   
   I thought we'd always end up guessing and asking the locals, until someone told me about Benchmark. We are heading to Colorado on a motorcycle vacation, so I thought I'd give it a try.
   
   I am completely amazed! The detail in these maps is astonishing, and still so simple to read. Roads show transitions from pavement to gravel to 4 wheel-drive. Not only that, the recreation section lists all the Parks, Historical spots, Natural areas of note, Campgrounds, and other highlights of that particular grid on the map. You could plan an entire vacation just by reading the concise descriptions of the tourist destinations listed here.
   
   The layout is incredibly easy to work with, flip to the grid overview and find what section you want, then go to the page number. Want to follow a road to the next grid section? The page number is listed at whatever edge you're looking at, just flip to that page and continue on.
   
   My only complaint is the size, at 15" x 11", it's nothing I'll be stuffing in a tank bag. I would happily pay twice the price for a book half the height and width and including more pages, especially if the pages were made of waterproof tyvek or similar material. Because of the way motorcyclists use maps, I have a feeling we'll be disassembling the book and folding individual pages into the map holder on a tank bag. Regular map paper doesn't survive very long in these conditions, so something made of stronger stuff would be most welcome.
   
   But the maps themselves are absolutely amazing. I swear they read my mind and made the map book of my dreams.