Fifty Hikes in Massachusetts: Hikes and Walks from the Top of the Berkshires to the Tip of Cape Cod

Written by two geology professors, this hiking guide takes you from the highest point in Massachusetts--Mount Greylock in the Berkshires--to the great sand dunes of Cape Cod, along the way highlighting the area's flora and fauna, and human and natural history. Part of the popular Fifty Hikes series, the guide points out refreshing swimming holes, smooth sunbathing rocks, and scenic vistas. But authors John Brady and Brian White leave the trail of the standard hiking guide when they describe the massive earth forces that push mountains up and erode valleys down, giving the hiker a whole new respect for the landscape. The book, designed for day hiking, includes the difficulty, mileage, hiking time, maximum elevation, and vertical rise for each of the 50 trails, and generously illustrates each with topographic maps and photographs. This is a valuable Massachusetts hiking companion, for the novice as well as the experienced hiker. --Dolores Kong