There is a tremendous amount of great information that you can find when searching the Internet (like this blog!), but I often find myself doing a lot of my research with books. Perhaps I’m old fashioned (or, just old), but I like to start looking for information about where to hike, and what I might find there, with a good book.
Here are some of the books that have served me well. I have used all of these, and highly recommend them.
Note that for product links to Amazon from this page, as an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. These commissions help cover a portion of my expenses for running this website. And, again, I use everything that I list here.
Wildflowers in California
Wildflowers of Table Mountain is THE definitive book on the North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve. Tons of wonderful information about the flowers found there, as well as the history and geology of the Reserve.
Tahoe’s Spectacular Wildflower Trails is an amazing book for wildflower lovers visiting Lake Tahoe. Many of my hike articles are based on this excellent book.
Mount Shasta Wildflowers has great details on trails on Mount Shasta, in Northern California. It also has wonderful illustrations.
Wildflowers of California has details on when to visit spots all over California, organized by month. Very useful
Wildflowers of Nevada and Placer Counties, California is a very detailed book on wildflowers, specific to Nevada and Placer counties in California.
Wayside Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest: An interesting book with great photos, best source for info on Oregon and Washington wildflowers, although it coves northern California as well.
Wildflowers of the Sierra Nevada and the Central Valley: A focus on the Sierra Nevada, plus some coverage of the central valley. A worthwhile reference if you are tooling about in those areas (as I do).
Wildflowers of Northern California’s Wine Country & North Coast Ranges: A photographic guide to wildflowers of four of the west coast’s most beautiful counties: Marin, Sonoma, Napa, and Mendocino. Wildflower hotspot maps.
Tahoe Wildflowers – a Month-by-Month Guide: This is a helpful book specific to the Lake Tahoe area, with some guidance on which month you can find them. A more specific version of the California-wide book by the same author.
Hiking
60 Hikes Within 60 Miles- San Francisco: A great book by an author who really knows the San Francisco Bay Area. Great hikes!
Hiking Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks: Glacier National Park is a amazing place for wildflowers, and this book has great info on the trails. I’ve not (yet) had the opportunity to hike in Waterton Lakes.
Hiking Yosemite National Park: What can I say – Yosemite is one of the most amazing places in the world! This hiking guide is very helpful if you aren’t familiar with the park.
Wildflower Wonders by Bob Gibbons is an amazing book. Although it isn’t a typical “wildflower guide”, it is one of my favorite books. Bob Gibbons traveled all around the world exploring fantastic locations for wildflowers and natural history, and this book gives you a wonderful overview of what you can find throughout the world. Several of the hikes I’ve written about were inspired by this book. I also was fortunate to have accompanied Bob on several tours (Greece, Italy, Estonia, France) before he passed away. We miss you, Bob!
Take a look at my page on equipment I use for some recommendations on the items I use in my hikes and photography.