Glen Ellen author pens new guidebook
Tracy Salcedo, local award-winning guidebook author, recently released a new guide titled Best Rail Trails Northern California. “Rail trails are ingenious,” Salcedo said. “They are the ultimate in recycling, transforming unused railroad rights-of-way into recreational opportunities. They are remote dirt tracks exploring wild places, and paved paths linking home to school or work. They are as long or as short as you want or need, perfect for family outings and solo strolls.” This new book marks the third guide Salcedo has written about California’s rail trails, the first two encompassing routes throughout the state. This time, she focused on the north state, describing tracks from Humboldt County to Monterey County, and from the Pacific coastline to the Sierra Nevada.
“The classics still deliver, like the Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail out of Susanville and the Truckee River Trail near Lake Tahoe,” said Salcedo. “But there are new options out there as well, including evolving rail trails along the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) line, which traverse more urban landscapes.” The guide features 37 “main line” trails and 12 “bonus tracks,” plus short historical descriptions and recommendations for nearby trail options. Trail descriptions include directions to trailheads, recommended uses, maps, and narratives detailing what you’ll see along the route.
Salcedo, author of more than 25 FalconGuides to locations throughout Northern California and Colorado, won the National Outdoor Book Award for Outdoor Adventure Guidebooks in 2020 for the third edition of Hiking Lassen Volcanic National Park. She has also written books of essays focused on national parks throughout the West, including Historic Yosemite National Park, Historic Denali National Park and Preserve, Death in Mount Rainier National Park, and Search and Rescue Alaska. She is currently at work on the sixth edition of her best-selling Best Easy Day Hikes Lake Tahoe and Walking with Wildfire: Exploring Impacts of the Dixie Fire in Lassen Volcanic National Park. She lives and works in Sonoma’s Wine Country. For more information, visit the author’s website at laughingwaterink.com, and see interview in the Sun:https://sonomasun.com/2021/10/03/under-the-sun-tracy-salcedo-writer-editor-librarian/
