Guide to Catskill Trails

Rating:
Summary: It is what it is...
Review: Except for "definitive," I agree with most of the positives already mentioned. The negatives are really about local knowledge, something no print guide can ever cover, however user-friendly.
Even the most current NYC Transit print guide cannot anticipate train delays, or happen to mention that no signs direct you through the construction to the LIRR from the R train at Atlantic Ave. Hopelessly lost is when you end up in Ronkonkoma instead of the Cloisters, or when you take a train to Canal St. and find yourself over the East River wondering why the sun is rising in the west.
To minimize nasty surprises (you cannot eliminate them), talk to knowledgeable people with (very)recent experience of the area you plan to hike. (AMC's Mid-Hudson chapter is a good resource.) Post a question to an active discussion board. Take a shakedown hike. Get lost. Find your way back. Live to tell the tale.
Buy the Guide for what it is, not for what you hope it is.

Rating:
Summary: It is what it is...
Review: Except for "definitive," I agree with most of the positives already mentioned. The negatives are really about local knowledge, something no print guide can ever cover, however user-friendly.
Even the most current NYC Transit print guide cannot anticipate train delays, or happen to mention that no signs direct you through the construction to the LIRR from the R train at Atlantic Ave. Hopelessly lost is when you end up in Ronkonkoma instead of the Cloisters, or when you take a train to Canal St. and find yourself over the East River wondering why the sun is rising in the west.
To minimize nasty surprises (you cannot eliminate them), talk to knowledgeable people with (very)recent experience of the area you plan to hike. (AMC's Mid-Hudson chapter is a good resource.) Post a question to an active discussion board. Take a shakedown hike. Get lost. Find your way back. Live to tell the tale.
Buy the Guide for what it is, not for what you hope it is.

Rating:
Summary: A fine book and the definitive guide to the Catskills
Review: The guide book as some minor errors as any guidebook does; however, it give a good description of each trail and one knows exactly what to expect. It's easy to read the trail descriptions and to narrow the search down to the trail that meets your specific needs. The maps for the region, sold separately, are referenced in the book which makes find the exact locations on the map easy. The author does a nice job of pointing out things of interest on the trail or what makes the particular trail interesting without giving away too much and thus leaves the discovery part of hiking in tact. With or without the guide book and maps the trails in the region are well marked and are very easy to follow. With a map, the trails are a snap and easy to navigate because there are not that many junctions and when there are junctions they are mark with signs showing direction and distance to various points. Additionally, once having read the guide and looked at the map a rough mental picture of what is to come is easy to create. Getting lost in the area seems like a hard task. I wold imagine that most people could use just a map and do fine, but the guide provides a sense of trails, so it's easy to decide which one to do. The above reviewer seems to lack basic hiking skills, a.k.a. a map or common sense or both, and they seem to believe that this is the guidebooks responsibility.

I've done several hikes in the area and have yet to have a single problem. Don't forget to purchase the maps of the region.

The guide is well written, a few minor and noticeable mistakes aside, and is the one you will want to purchase if you are going hiking in the area. Good luck

Rating:
Summary: Guide to Catskill Trails
Review: This book was very imcomplete. It skimmed the surface of the hiking and camping situation in the catskills and would be suitable for only the most casual of hikers. There was not nearly enough information on the the types of camp sites, whether there are fishable lakes and what the regulations are for the region.

Rating:
Summary: Guide to Catskill Trails
Review: This book was very imcomplete. It skimmed the surface of the hiking and camping situation in the catskills and would be suitable for only the most casual of hikers. There was not nearly enough information on the the types of camp sites, whether there are fishable lakes and what the regulations are for the region.

Rating:
Summary: Get this book and get lost
Review: Want to get horribly lost? Then get his book! The key to writing a useful guidebook is to put yourself in the shoes of the reader, something the authors of this book neglected to do. The misleading and incomplete directions in it got me lost both on the way to the trailhead and on the trail itself!

The descriptions to the trailhead were vague and cryptic at best, with very few references to street names or landmarks. I had to depend on the kindness of strangers to get myself to the trailhead. And once on the trail, I had to depend on the park rangers to stay on the right track.

While the book may make sense to the authors, it doesn't make sense to anyone who is new to the area (the very audience of this book). This book is in serious need of an outside editor who would have caught the many gaps in directions. I have no doubt that the authors know the region very well, but they did not do a good job communicating their knowledge.

Rating:
Summary: Get this book and get lost
Review: Want to get horribly lost? Then get his book! The key to writing a useful guidebook is to put yourself in the shoes of the reader, something the authors of this book neglected to do. The misleading and incomplete directions in it got me lost both on the way to the trailhead and on the trail itself!

The descriptions to the trailhead were vague and cryptic at best, with very few references to street names or landmarks. I had to depend on the kindness of strangers to get myself to the trailhead. And once on the trail, I had to depend on the park rangers to stay on the right track.

While the book may make sense to the authors, it does not make sense to anyone who is new to the area (hence the audience of this book). This book is in serious need of an outside editor who would have caught the many gaps in directions. I have no doubt that the authors know the region very well, but they did not do a good job communicating their knowledge.