50 Hikes with Kids Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio

 

50 Hikes with Kids Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio is an engaging, accessible, and very useful guide to family friendly local hikes all along the central states of the midwestern USA. Due out 9th July 2024 from Hachette on their Timber Press imprint, it's 284 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

This handbook is full of ideas for planning family hiking and finding opportunities to experience nature together. It's specifically aimed at kid friendly areas with practical suggestions for planning, choosing, and executing trips. All the hikes are under 5 miles in length and the authors have included fun activities like scavenger hunts along the way. The general introductory chapters contain numbered key tables with both names and features of each hike. Readers can look for general locations, plan an itinerary, or choose destinations based on geographical or historical features.

The hikes are arranged roughly geographically by state: Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Each trip guide includes maps, points of interest, length (important!), elevation gain, difficulty, seasons of interest (many are year-round), directions, fees, facilities, extra treats and features, and contact information for the sites. 

The book is beautifully illustrated throughout, with topographical and local maps, color photography, and line drawn illustrations. There are beautiful clear photos of local nature and wildlife as well.

This is a valuable guide. It is part of a series of hike/destination planners for different areas of the USA from the same publisher. It would be a great choice for home use as well as library acquisition. 

Five stars. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.