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From the iconic Pacific Coast to deep canyons full of stories to mountaintops with breathtaking views, explore the dramatic Southern California landscape without traveling deep into the backcountry. This book features easy-to-follow urban trails that allow hikers of all levels to discover the landmarks that shape the Golden state's cities and towns.
Urban Hikes Southern California provides the latest information to plan a customized trip:
- Unique hikes, from tranquil ridgetop strolls to thriving downtown explorations
- Full-color photos and maps, detailed trail descriptions, and trailhead GPS
- Insightful hike overviews and details on distance, difficulty, canine compatibility, and more
Southern California boasts a plethora of great urban hikes, and this guide highlights both family-friendly footpaths and culinary and gastronomic delights found along the way. Find hikes suited to every ability. From Santa Barbara to San Diego, from Redlands to Venice, learn what makes dozens of dynamic Southern California communities unique as you explore them on foot. Discover shoreline jaunts, hill-climbing treks, after-work rambles, and more. The book contains forty-one hikes that range from 3 to 8-miles. Each follows a variety of routes that include vibrant avenues, quiet residential lanes, park trails, pedestrian-only lanes, public stairways, beach boardwalks, and canal paths. Every excursion seeks out and describes viewpoints, natural features, local history, architecture, and street art. Starting points are selected for their ease of access and parking information is included. Many of the hikes are accessible to rail transit and directions are provided.
About the author
Bob Inman has lived his whole live in the Los Angeles area, except for a short stint on the east coast. His life of hiking began with the Boy Scouts when he began doing summer Sierra backpacks. He hiked more than half of the JMT when he was 16. His foot travels have taken him on continued excursions to the Sierra as well as repeated trips to the Desert Southwest, Switzerland, and the British Isles. His favorite place to hike is Scotland and in 2016, he did a 9-day thru-hike across the Scotland Highlands from Perth to Fort William.
While he has retired from a career in produce transportation logistics, Bob has written two books on walking in Los Angeles and he is the revising co-author of a famous guidebook to architecture in Los Angeles. He leads free, urban hikes as an avocation. More than 6000 people have participated in his events. He was the 2016 awardee of the Ray Bradbury Community Walking Champion award presented by the advocacy group, Los Angeles Walks. He lives in Los Angeles, California.
