5 comments about Canoeing Michigan Rivers: A Comprehensive Guide to 45 Rivers, Revised and Updated.

1. This book, Canoeing Michigan Rivers, and Paddling Michigan by Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom were both purchased by our Scout Troop to aid in the planning and execution of our Scouting Outing Canoe trips. Both books are great, but the boys preferred this book over Paddling Michigan.

   This book has to all to plan an outing, the maps, river description, challenge, a "standard time factor" and excellent commentary on the expectation of the canoe trip. The Senior Patrol Leader Council, the event planning committee of Boy Scouts aged 14-17, was able to take this book and properly plan, organize and execute several canoe trips. It had all the information needed to make the proper decisions without having to go visit the river first, or rely on comments from someone who knows someone who said that access to the river was available from County Road 48.

   The Scout Troop now uses this book as a first resourse for planning canoe trips in Michigan and has greatly aided the exploration of the rivers of Michigan with confidence!




2. The people who wrote this book definately did their homework. I've gone down a few of the rivers in the lower peninsula and this book was an impeccable guide. Now, Lower Peninsula rivers aren't exactly the meanest or fastest, but there are enough twists and turns to keep your attention and to want a book like this aroud, if only to know what's all out there. There was also good attention paid to campsites and drop off points gone through in great detail. I once tried a dropoff point agains the recommendation of this book and paid for it dearly.
   
   The problem about getting hardcovers of natural wonders like rivers is that all too often the data becomes obsolete after a couple years. For this case is seems that it's still pretty to date, but check on the web anyways just in case conditions change.



3. This book is really good to have in the car or for planning a trip. It is really handy having the maps next to the description. Good accurate maps and great insight.



4. What a great book! I am a beginner kayaker having never kayaked a river before - and was nervous even thinking about it. This book was very descriptive and informative. We did the Platte River from Loon Lake to Lake Michigan and it was a blast. Very relaxing. The maps of the rivers were great as was the description of the landings and portages. Looking forward to my next river, and this book will help decide which one!



5. It would be nice if it were easy to scout out a river before driving to an access point and paddling it. This book does it for you. The directions to access points and places to park are very detailed and good. The maps are excellent and very clear. There are written notes on the problems or special circumstances you will encounter, which are very intelligent and accurate. I checked the rivers I have paddled and read the remarks, and they are just what you need to know, and they are true. The author really knows what he is writing about, this is not a book thrown together by someone who hasn't actually been on the river. If you want to know which Michigan rivers are in this book, here is a list:
   
   Lower Peninsula:
   Au Sable
   Au Sable South Branch
   Betsie
   Black
   Boardman
   Cass
   Chippewa
   Dowagiac
   Flat
   Huron
   Jordan
   Kalamazoo
   Little Manistee
   Little Muskegon
   Mansitee
   Muskegon
   Ocqueoc
   Pere Marquette
   Pigeon
   Pine
   Platte
   Rifle
   Shiawassee
   Sturgeon
   Thornapple
   Thunder Bay
   White
   
   Upper Peninsula:
   Black
   Brule
   Escanaba
   Ford
   Fox
   Indian
   Manisique
   Michigamme
   Montreal
   Ontonagon (East Branch, Mainstream, Middle Branch, South Branch)
   Paint
   Presque Isle
   Sturgeon
   Two Hearted
   Whitefish

2 comments about Weird Michigan (Weird).

1. This book is great. Gives a very different view of Michigan. Interesting information not found elsewhere. I want to go on a long road trip and see these places.



2. This book is very interesting! It tells you about some of Michigan's little known places.

5 comments about A Guide to 199 Michigan Waterfalls.

1. I highly recommend this to anyone who's interested in waterfalls. The photography is very nice and the directions are clear and concise. My family and I visited twenty-four waterfalls so far this summer/fall in the Marquette area using this book.



2. I carry this book with me whenever I go into the U.P. I like to photograph the waterfalls of Michigan and this guide is constant travel companion. The book gives clear directions on how to get to each of the falls. The falls are broken down into the corresponding counties. Not only is this a unique guide it is a comprehensive guide to Michigan falls. The only minor enhancement that could be made to the book to make it even better is more photographs of the falls. However, the bit of mystery of what the falls will look also is a good motivation for exploring more and more. There are more to Michigan falls than Tahquamenon. I highly recommend Bond Falls. This book is the bible to exploring the falls.



3. I highly recommend this book! We have many visitors to the UP and this book is a great asset for day trips. It is so well organized, the maps of both the counties and the individual falls as well as the written directions are very clear. I know we'll be getting alot of use out of this book and I encourage you to buy it and see all the waterfalls for yourself!



4. The book preview doesn't tell you that it ONLY has ONE waterfall in Michigan's Lower Pennisula, which is disappointing. Perhaps I should have known better. Alas, it is getting us motivated to travel North to gaze at the beauty in the Upper Pennisula where there are 198 more wonderful waterfalls. I had no idea there were so many there. The book seems very organized, more so than another waterfall book I have from another state. I can only comment on the location of where the waterfalls are with slight disappointment. Seems like it will be a good guide when we get to the UP.



5. This is for the amature to expert hiker. Find those hard to find, but just off the beaten track waterfalls all over Michigan.

5 comments about A Traveler's Guide to 116 Michigan Lighthouses.

1. Prior to a vacation to the great state of Michigan in search of lighthouses, we purchased this book from Amazon. It was THE BEST tour guide! The directions were invaluable and the history behind each of these beautiful lights was a bonus. I would definitely recommend this book if taking a trip to visit the lights of the Great Lakes.



2. I am a freelance photographer that travels the State of Michigan. This book is by my side when I plan trips and when on the road. It is organized logically in a trip around the state. Each light has a complete and detailed map and distances are almost always correct



3. Just this past May (2001), I toured to most of Lower Michigan's lighthouses. Starting in St. Joseph and traveling north to Old Mackinac, then up to Whitefish Point in the UP, then back down in the Lower Peninsula. Once in the Lower Peninsula, we followed Lake Huron south to Marine City and then crossed over into Canada for our trip back to Buffalo. All I can say is...WHAT A GREAT BOOK. The biggest thing that I like about it is it includes directions to each light. What a concept. This book, coupled with my Garmin Streetpilot GPS unit got us everywhere we wanted to go without guessing. All together, we visited about 44 lighthouses and took over 30 rolls of film. ...



4. If you are planning a trip to visit lighthouses in Michigan and are not familiar with MI do not do it unless you buy this book. I used this book to visit about 50 of the 116 lights. I would have visited more except the rest are out in the water or on islands.
   I have the previous edition of this book and it only has a
   few color photos. This newer edition may have more. There are several B&W photos in the edition I have.
   Laurie Penrose also has these books:
   A Traveler's Guide to 100 Eastern Great Lakes Lighthouses
   A Traveler's Guide to 116 Western Great Lakes Lighthouses



5. Lots of great information and pictures of each lighthouse. We have used this book to visit many of the lighthouses and to keep track of our visits. I highly recommend it for Michigan lighthouse fans.

5 comments about Hiking Michigan's Upper Peninsula (Hiking Guide Series).

1. I will say without a doubt that if you are looking to do anything off the beaten path in the UP (which is most things), then this book is absolutely crucial. There are hikes for all levels of hiking experience, each with a bit of background information and spot-on directions. The hikes are all personally recommended by the author and not just a re-hash of what you read in the Hunt's Guide or some other lesser peer (if I may use an oxymoron). A complete guide to hiking the UP would take a series of books this size, but fortunately for us Eric Hansen has done all the walking himself to find the fifty that cannot be missed. I live in the UP and I had frequented many of the places in this book before it came out, yet I still was never left without some fresh knowledge regarding each and every hike. Buy this and begin walking!



2. This is the book I've been waiting for ever since I saw Eric's article and photos on the undiscovered Trap Hills in the Western U.P. in an outdoors magazine. Eric, who lives in Milwaukee, combines the been-there trail notes with the perspective of someone widely familiar with what the Upper Great Lakes has to offer hikers.
   
   The actual book chapters I read completely lived up to my expectations. Now, alas, I've mislaid my copy and must write my review from memory. My husband and I do a very wide-ranging guide to U.P. points of interest and history - www.hunts-upguide.com. We are always looking for good books that do certain subjects on a deeper level. Thank you, Eric, for taking the time to explore our beautiful, out-of-the-way corner of the world.



3. Didn't refer to the book a whole lot, but what we did try was successful. Information was timely and our experience was better for it.



4. I met Eric randomnly while on a camping trip with some friends. We came upon him while he was fishing and he just struck right up about hiking and camping and ended up giving us a suggestion for finishing up our day in the area, casually mentioning later on that he had written a guide about hiking the UP. A girl and I took him up on the idea and it was easily one of the most magical things I have ever done. Don't know as if it's in the book or not, but as it turned out my mom had bought it that same day by coincidence. Just wanted to say thanks to Eric (and I'm going on the other trip too) and tell all you people out there that he really knows what he's talking about!!!



5. I used Eric's book Memorial Day weekend 2007 to plan a series of day hikes in the U.P. The hikes he chose to highlight are indeed spectacular. The trail descriptions are helpful and accurate, to the point where I took one of the Norwich Bluff alternative routes and found the suggested, little traveled side trail with no problems. I also used this book for some route planning in the Porkies a year or so ago. Thanks for the great guide!

5 comments about Paddling Michigan.

1. This book, Paddling Michigan, and Canoeing Michigan Rivers by Jerry Dennis and Craig Date were both purchased by our Scout Troop to aid in the planning and execution of our Scouting Outing Canoe trips. Both books are great, but the boys preferred the Canoeing Michigan Rivers over this book Paddling Michigan, although both books are being used by the Scouts.

   This book has it all to plan an outing, the maps, river description, challenge, a "standard time factor" and excellent commentary on the expectation of the canoe trip. The Senior Patrol Leader Council, the event planning committee of Boy Scouts aged 14-17, was able to take this book and properly plan, organize and execute several canoe trips. It had all the information needed to make the proper decisions without having to go visit the river first, or rely on comments from someone who knows someone who said that access to the river was available from County Road 48.

   The Scout Troop now uses this book as a first resourse for planning canoe trips in Michigan and has greatly aided the exploration of the rivers of Michigan with confidence!




2. Although I have not had a chance to read this book cover to cover, I skimmed through much of it and found that it has an overwhelming amount of great information for the Michigan Paddler. I have searched the internet for months trying to find information like this without success. This is by far the most comprehensive list of places to paddle along with detailed information on routes, access, skill level, rapids, camping choices, optimal time to travel, distances, travel time in hours, etc...I cant wait to put this book to good use!!



3. This is the best reference I have found for Michigan waters. There is a good mix of evaluations from rivers through populated areas to remote trips. From an easy family paddle to sea kayaking trips. As a bonus it evaluates the fishing oportunities on most of the waters, camping areas, and real world suggestions for your trip. The only thing I could ask for is more of the same on more rivers. Great book.



4. Great companion book to "Canoeing Michigan Rivers". I liked that the book covers lakes, too. The maps were very good as were the descriptions of portages. The size of the book was a bit large. I liked the size of the aforementioned book better.



5. This is pretty good book. My only complaint is that it makes no reference to the stretch of the Muskegon river through Big Rapids on which I live.

5 comments about Isle Royale National Park: Foot Trails & Water Routes (3rd edition).

1. I used this book to plan my last trip to Isle Royale and found the author's descriptions to be very complete and accurate. I am planning to return to a different part of the island this year and have little doubt that this book will be right on the mark again.



2. I have never been to Isle Royale and this book did a fantastic job talking not only about the trails at the park, but also the history too. The author goes into detail about the 3 main trails and gives good descriptions about what you'll experience while hiking. He also rates the trails for difficulty which helped me in planning my trip.
   
   This is a great book to pick up if you've never been there as it has a wealth of good information for you to plan your initial visit to Isle Royale. I know I can't wait!!!



3. This book helped me prepare for my first backpacking experience at Isle Royale. I was able to plan my routes and camping areas and knew what to expect as far as climate conditions, wildlife, and overall options of the park. It gave me realistic expectations and advice that definitely helped me to enjoy my Isle Royale experience.



4. I am planning a trip to Isle Royale and couldn't find much information searching the web. My friend and I are debating whether to make the trip a hiking trip, a canoe trip, or a packraft trip. Whatever we choose, this book provides enough information to make any of these trips will be successful. One thing is for sure, the book inspires you to plan multiple trips.



5. A must have for everyone going to Isle Royale. Of course, it is the best book until I write one.

3 comments about 50 Hikes in Michigan: The Best Walks, Hikes, and Backpacks in the Lower Peninsula.

1. If you are new to Michigan or new to hiking, hiking guru Jim Dufresne's "50 Hikes in Michigan" is required reading.

   From the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to the Ohio state line, "50 hikes" lists the wildest but easiest to find, easiest to hike trails.

   "Wild" usually discourages the novice, however, rest assured these are all well traversed trails and usually well marked.

   This is my second copy, and I bring it with me in the field. Having hiked nearly all of the trails in his book (including all of the North Country Trail segments, and all the others not in the book), I have learned to take this book with me on my hike.

   A tip: keep it in a zip lock bag. Those of you who are familiar with Michigan's weather know--it may be sunny, but wait a few minutes, it could rain!




2. I recently had a friend of my wife comment on how I knew all the good and "secret" places to go in Michigan. This is not true, but I do often wonder at how people know of some of the truly great places to go in my home state.

   Any knowledge that I might have comes from owning several books written by Jim Dufresne. Dufresne is among a handful of what I consider the best writers out there when it comes to the outdoors/travel. Happily, he lives in and writes about my home state.

   I not only own this 50 hikes book, but I have books written by Dufresne on hiking with children in Michigan, Michigan's State Parks, the Porcupine Mountains, and the best campgrounds in Michigan. With the exception of the Porcupine Mountains book (which is of a narrower interest) all of these books are indispensable.

   50 hikes in Michigan (there are actually 60 hikes listed) really does contain most of the best hikes in the lower peninsula of Michigan. From this book I learned of the Algonquin trail in beautiful and semi-remote Negwegon State Park (you won't find any brown signs on the main roads leading you there). This hike alone is worth the price of the book.

   But why stop there?

   You can also explore such places as the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the Manistee River Trail and the plethora of shorter trails in Waterloo State Recreation area. These hikes and the others listed in this well-written and engaging book are some of the best to be found anywhere. I only wish there were an Upper Peninsula edition.

   Jim Dufresne himself, though not homegrown, is one of Michigan's great treasures. I recommend this book and others by him.

   Get a copy today.




3. This is a very good guide to some of the most scenic hikes in Michigan. If you want to find some good advice about finding beatiful places to hike, but don't need a huge atlas that lists every trail, this book is for you. It is a managable size and has good directions, and the trails are really well-selected. You won't be disappointed by any of them. The book is quite inexpensive. If you want a huge book that gives you every trail in Michigan, choose "Michigan Trail Atlas" by Hansen instead, but it is very big and kind of costly.

5 comments about Michigan Atlas & Gazetteer.

1. the delorme gazeteer series is perfect for people who want to wander off of the main roads. my wife and i like to point the car as whim sees fit. the map has backroads with enought detail to let us find our wish and our way back. essential for indirect travel. also has marked 4wd trails to unknown wonders, as well as a smattering of known wonders (waterfalls, museums, fishing, camping...). not a replacement for usgs quads, but will make the travel to your hike more fun. if you are interested in exploring a state, or some portion thereof, the gazetteer series is an invaluable tool.



2. Just fine. No problems at all. Easy to read; clear print



3. The maps in this atlas are clear and up-to-date. You'll find it hard to get lost, but easy to discover interesting new sights and sites.
   
   It's also much cheaper than your average GPS!



4. I have been using DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteers for many states for many years. I have always found them very useful for travelling over the back roads and secondary highways as they give one detail not found on the usual road maps. They also list parks, historic sites, recreaton areas, etc. which are also very valuable when travelling in unfamiliar areas.
   
   While I also own a GPS system for my automobile, it doesn't give you topographic detail or large area views due to the limitatons of the small GPS screen. However, I find using both the DeLorme Maps and the GPS system to make for very efficient trip planning.



5. I spend a lot of time off the beaten path. This map is great for getting there and back. Very useful. This is my third one, as I keep wearing them out.

5 comments about Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure.

1. I, like the author, have been seduced by India.
   The self-deprecating charm with which she reveals her gradual awakening to the wonders of India, and her interactions with the people around her, are amusing and heartfelt.
   I loved this book, and I loved her.



2. Great book gives insight to the lifestyle and philosophies within the Indian culture. The book is about one woman's experience living in India. Well written, an easy page turner.



3. What else would you come to expect from a hippie who views India as a cesspool of drugs and other ways to get high?
   The sad part is, its morons like this author who use India as an emotional dumping ground and have the gall to complain about a culture that is rich. Ofcourse, we have our own challenges of corruption, greed, crime, by that arguement which country doesn't have? But to be stereotypical of this is not right, as it can have unintentional repurcussions.
   For example: I remember watching the movie 'Midnight Express' and thankfully i had some turkish friends who set right my understanding and the inherent flaws the movie had about life over there.
   
   This book comes of at best as a silly representation of what life is over in India. Yes, there were some chapters and situations that were amusing, but the simple part is, make an attempt at better research of understanding our culture.
   not surprised that this person is australian.
   
   Garbage: 2 stars.



4. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sarah has a quirky sense of humor that explores India in all its contrasts and contradictions. Like Sarah, I also have a background in psychology and I appreciated her interest in trying to understand why people are the way they are. For instance, through personal exploration she tries to discover why people are attracted to various religions and the role these practices and beliefs play in their lives.



5. I've re-read this book about 5 or 6 times and each time found something different to enjoy. Ms. MacDonald is an engaging writer and her journey of understanding India (and Indians) will keep you reading until the last pages.