Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from book stores across Colorado. This week, the staff from Out West Books in Grand Junction recommends books to get you ready for springtime exploration.
Colorado’s Hot Springs
By Deborah Frazier
Westwinds Press
$22.99
October 2014
Purchase
From the publisher: “Colorado’s Hot Springs” is an entertaining, comprehensive guide to the state’s sweet soaking sites and their histories. The photographs capture each spring’s unique character and beauty. Each chapter blends descriptions of the warm water wonders with stories about the unique characters, events, and ancient use by Native Americans. The springs are Colorado’s warm water ocean and Debbie visited each one. This all new, up-to-date guide profiles 44 hot springs, providing descriptions, contact information, directions, maps, photographs, and historical notes.
From Marya Johnston, owner: There is a bookseller here at the store who plans her vacations around hot springs. Until I met her, I’d never really thought of elevating all our wonderful hot springs to a destination rather than a place you stopped in on your way to somewhere else. This book has been around for a while, and for good reason. Not only does Deborah recount the history of each spring, including Native American uses, her detailed directions and maps can be really helpful for those lesser known springs. She is a fifth generation Coloradoan and knows a thing or two about our state. I am just disappointed that she reveals the locations of a couple of springs I was certain only I knew the locations of (wink)!
Hiking Colorado’s Western Slope
By Bill Haggerty
Falcon Guides
$24.95
June 2017
Purchase
From the publisher: On Colorado’s Western Slope, stunning geological features and awe-inspiring scenery create a unique hiking experience unlike any other. “Hiking Colorado’s Western Slope” provides firsthand descriptions and detailed maps for over 50 of the state’s finest trails west of the Great Divide. Veteran hiker Bill Haggerty recommends his favorite routes—from short day walks to backcountry treks through the Western Slope’s spectacular landscape, including hikes near Aspen, Vail, the Flat Tops Wilderness, Steamboat Springs, Crested Butte and Gunnison, Ouray, Telluride, Grand Junction, and more. The guide features hikes suited to every ability, GPS-compatible trail maps and route profiles, mile-by-mile directional cues, difficulty ratings, average hiking times, best hiking seasons, and more.
From Marya Johnston, owner: Bill Haggerty used to write a hiking column for the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel and this book is a compilation of those treks. The hikes in this book cover an area from far northwestern Colorado to the Four Corners region and east to the Continental Divide. It’s handy to have so much in one guide. There is a hike in this book I’ve wanted to do for a long time; Mee Canyon has one of the largest alcoves in the United States, and is full of arches, spires and windows. Here’s a word of warning, though: Bill uses the word “scary” in that hike’s description. Twice. Because I have done other hikes from this book that I considered tough going (river crossing at Juanita Arch!) that he does not define as “scary,” I would strongly recommend guide users to take him at his word!
50 Hikes with Kids: Colorado
By Wendy Gorton and Kristin Tillack
Timber Press
$24.99
September 2023
Purchase
From the publisher: Discover the 50 most kid-friendly hikes in Colorado with this book featuring maps and scavenger hunts of items to find along each trail—plus fun extras that will foster a curiosity about the region’s flora, fauna, and geology!
Handcrafted for caregivers who want to spark a love of nature, these hikes are perfect for little legs—they are all under five miles and have an elevation gain of 900 feet or less. Some are even accessible by stroller. Every entry includes the essential details: easy-to-read, trustworthy directions; a detailed map; hike length and elevation gain; natural history factoids to keep kids engaged. Full-color photographs show scavenger hunt items kids are guaranteed to see along the trail.
From Marya Johnston, owner: The hikes and landscapes are so varied in this book…and all under 5 miles! It’s a must for anyone with children. And I don’t mean it’s only for those who are new to the state. There are hikes in here that you have forgotten about since your childhood. I promise. The scavenger hunts for each hike set this guide apart from the others. There are great photographs and descriptions of the flora, fauna, geology and archaeology that prompt kids to try to see beyond the trail. “This is a chokecherry, can you find one on this trail?” “There’s a beaver lodge somewhere near here. Do you see it? What about a piñon pine cone or some quartzite?” If I had young kids again, I’d want this book. In fact, I am going to set it aside right now for my 1-year-old granddaughter!
As part of The Colorado Sun’s literature section — SunLit — we’re featuring staff picks from book stores across the state. Read more.