I really enjoyed reading the book The Best Bargain Family Vacations in the USA. At the advice of this book, my family and I just went to Family Camp at the Centerville Mills YMCA Camp in Bainbridge Township, Ohio, over Memorial Day weekend 1999. We arrived at 10 a.m. Saturday and left at noon Monday. The $75 per person fee included six meals, two nights lodging in a dorm style lodge room, a lot of horseback riding on lovely trails (they have over 150 acres of land), canoeing in the little lake, making tie dyed t shirts, archery, a hay ride, a campfire with s'mores, a night hike, other nature hikes, and swimming in the pool. My son loved shooting bb guns and fishing - the little lake is stocked with bluegills. My daughter loved the Rodeo Games, and, of course, the trail rides. I am looking forward to trying some of the other "Best Bargain Family Vacations in the U.S.A." - this first one we tried was a real winner. Great book!

Original Post (2000): This book is great if you're looking for places that are off the beaten path. For example: instead of going to Muir Woods to see redwoods (and hordes of tourists), head off to Heritage Grove in La Honda for a chance to be one-on-one with the mighty trees (and check out the banana slugs as well!). I've only hiked about 4 of the 70+ trails so far, but they have all been worthwhile. Highly recommended!

Update (2003): Wow - I'm glad "13 out of 13 readers" found my review useful! :-)

Three years later, this now lovingly-worn book has accompanied me on a dozen more hikes, from Mendocino to Big Sur. Friends and visitors are always amazed at how I've been able to magically find these spectacular places! The Appendices with Suggested Hikes are quite useful -- I have yet to be disappointed with the "Grand Views" of various parts of the Bay Area, for example. I can thank this book for providing many special memories, photos, and aching limbs (hey, the author was not joking about those "strenuous" hikes!).

Oh, I also purchased another Marc Soares book, "100 Hikes in the San Francisco Bay Area". While some hikes do overlap with this book, I'd recommend as a nice companion volume -- especially if you live inland (like me) and don't always have time to head to the coast.

I used this book in planning a recent trip to Oregon. Although my wife and I used to be avid hikers, we're not exactly in shape right now, so this book was an excellent guide to pick out a few short hikes in Crater Lake National Park and another near Bend.

Hikes can be located on a numbered map of western and central Oregon, or through the index in back. Each hike is rated by type of hike (day hike or backpack), difficulty, distance, terrain, high point, when it is hikable and contact information. The narrative gives a clear description of the hike, its popularity, what you'll see and how to get there. There is an explanation of the symbols used in the book, and the introduction discusses why you should hike with children, how to use the book, what to take, safety issues, good trail manners and trailhead fees.

So, whether you're a parent looking for some fun hikes for the children, or you're an adult looking to stretch your legs in the Oregon outdoors, this is an excellent guide to help you plan your outing.

Eighty dog-friendly hikes will keep you busy all year. Textual descriptions walk you through the trails, giving you a step-by-step description of what to expect. Also included is the mileage, hiking time, elevation gain, best hiking months for the trail, contour map, ranger district contact information, and photos. The only downside is that the directions to the trail are incorporated into the textual description -- this makes for a seamless description of getting to and hiking on the trail, but a little cumbersome for actual driving. However, Droopy the Explorer Dog definitely recommends this winner!

My wife and I used this book to plan our honeymoon to Hawaii. We stayed at one of the hotels Gayot's recommended, and it was better than described. This book is extremely accurate yet a little conservative, so you won't be disappointed by reality. The restaurant section is excellent. This is a superior guide without all the filler of other guide books.

If you're looking for a single bookthat truly captures the oddities and jaw-dropping absurdities that is La-La Land, this is the book. Harvey has truly captured what life in Los Angeles is all about. A great read!

Undoubtedly the most fun and most helpful travel book we have ever consulted. Have just returned from a wonderful week in this extraordinary city, made all the better by recommendations in "The Best of San Francisco." Instead of paying $200 at the conference hotel, we spent $79 at a small boutique hotel nearby everything, including the cable car, that was recommended in the "Proud Paupers" section. It could not have been nicer: impeccably clean, friendly staff, charming atmosphere, most comfortable hotel beds we have ever had, walking distance to shops, restaurants, galleries, everything you want is right in the neighborhood. We also used the "PP" section to select two wonderful ethnic restaurants - Thai and Indian. Both served delicious, savory meals, with large portions for small prices (under $6 in some cases). And provided interesting cultural experiences. In addition to pointing you in the right direction to enjoy San Francisco to the fullest, this book also tells you how to avoid major headaches, by recommending you do not, under any circumstances, drive a car in this city. We took that advice and were so glad we did! The best buy in town was also recommended, and that is a transportation pass at $15 for 7 days. You can ride any of the public transport, buses, trolleys, BART, and the famous cable cars. Before you take a trip to San Francisco, do yourself a favor and get a copy of this wonderful, down-to-earth little book. You will be glad you did!

Other guides to Marin may focus entirely on hiking, or biking, or history--this one actually includes all those things, plus reviews of restaurants, places to stay, and things to do (including shopping) that others leave out. Because the book covers a lot of topics of interest to visitors, you'd expect the reviews of hikes and restaurants to be too brief, which isn't the case at all. You'll get to know the county like a native.

The "Best Places" guides are not the most exhaustive guides to the destinations they describe, but they are very efficient because they focus on the attractions, restaurants, lodgings, and other useful information that the locally-based editors consider to be the best. I got this guide for a quickly-organized getaway to the Peninsula and was very happy with the restaurants and lodgings that we found through the book. There are also descriptions of a variety of activities, including museums, fishing, scenic drives, beaches, some shopping, and some hikes, although serious hikers will probably want a more complete guide to the trails. (We used Erik Molvar's Best Easy Day Hikes Olympics.)

I've had the older edition of this book for years and brought it on every road trip we've ever taken. Certainly it doesn't have every wonderful place you've ever stayed at -- but it has so many that are good it would be foolish not to follow the recommendations it provides.

My only complaint is that some of the wonderful places (which, granted, we never would have found had it not been for this book) have become so difficult to get reservations at that we find this book sometimes does not help for those last minute weekend trips out of town.

That said, if you live in the Northwest, consider this your bible -- from Portland to Vancouver, the Islands, and everywhere in between -- you will always find a reliable recommendation for a good table and a warm bed in the pages of this book.