Walkable Westchester: An amazing guide from the NY-NJ Trail Conference (we’re so jealous!)

NYNJ Trail Conference Walkable WestchesterI was thrilled when I learned of this book, which was just published by the NY-NJ Trail conference. It’s an incredible resource for people looking to get out and do some walking and hiking in Westchester County. People like us!

Written by Jane and Walt Daniels — Westchester residents since 1968 and NY-NJ Trail Conference volunteers since 1979 — it’s jam-packed with trails, directions, descriptions as well as clear and concise maps, and references to other organizations in the area.

The book is divided up into sections based on the length of trails in a park, as opposed to their geographical location, which makes choosing a place to go for a walk a bit easier as you can base it on how much time you have available. It also has an icon system that allows one to easily identify what’s allowable, like cross-country skiing or dogs, or if it’s handicap-accessible. A great feature!

Minor pet-peeves:

1) I would love to be able to take a map with me and leave the book at home. It’s a bit too big and bulky to take on a walk. Maybe if they posted their maps online so you could print them…
2) An asset to the book would be an area map listing all parks, with corresponding page numbers.
3) The trail maps don’t have topographic lines. A bit picky, I know, but I like to be able to see an overview of the topography.

You can purchase the book at the NY-NJ Trail Conference online store. More information about the book is located online at http://westchester.nynjtc.org.

On a personal note, I realize that both Walkable Westchester and Woodlandwalks.org are very similar in purpose, though the scope of the book is hands down miles ahead of the website (and their writing is way better).

My intention when creating the website, back in December of ’08, was to offer people of Westchester County interested in getting out in nature a resource they could turn to for maps, directions, and a personal perspective on the parks in the area, as well as reviews of things related, via the Blog. Something I wasn’t able to find previously. I think this makes it a compliment to the book, as opposed to a competitor.

So, go buy the book, but check back here, too.