Update: June 15, 2018: Great  Hiking Trails of the World just won the gold in the nature category in Foreword Magazine’s 2017 Indie Awards  competition. The competition is judged by booksellers, librarians, and book industry pros. I’m honored that they chose this book, which joins America’s Great Hiking Trails (winner of the same organization’ 2014 Adventure Awards, as well as a Lowell Thomas gold). 

We keep hearing walking is the best exercise, right?  Some years ago, I wrote for a Family Circle magazine called Walk Off the Weight.  I noticed you could not pick up a women’s magazine without some cover title slug saying something about how walking is the dieter’s silver bullet.

So why not a walking vacation? Hiking has become THE number one adventure activity for travelers, according to Travel and Leisure. And really, you have to believe them, right? I mean, they’d much prefer to send their readers to luxury shopping streets and boutique spas.

My newest book, Great Hiking Trails of the World, (Rizzoli, 2017) will get you dreaming, I promise. And maybe walking, too. It’s a gorgeous coffee-table book (great for a gift!) that explores the essence of hiking trails worldwide. Whether you are interested in hiking for half a day or a month (or more), these trails offer opportunities to explore the world on your own two feet. Hiking provides an intimate experience of a landscape, and it helps burn off the extra calories we take inevitably seem to take in when we are traveling.

I was honored that Bill McKibben agreed to write the foreword. And of course, the design and editing team at Rizzoli is unparalleled. Nearly 60 photographers (including me) from all over the world contributed to the book, which contains hundreds of photos about dozens of trails, along with my essays about pilgrimage, historic hikes, alpinism, wilderness, natural diversity, and  long-distance foot-travel.

This might just be my favorite of my 17 books (although that’s a little like a mom saying which kid she loves best).

And if you haven’t already, please check out my previous book for Rizzoli, America’s Great Hiking Trails, (Rizzoli, 2014), which celebrates our national scenic trails. It won several awards, including the Lowell Thomas Award for best travel book, and it made it onto the New York Times best sellers list in travel books.