| Title | : | Off the Beaten Path: A Travel Guide to More Than 1000 Scenic and Interesting Places Still Uncrowded and Inviting |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0762107944 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780762107940 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 384 |
| Publication | : | First published March 31, 1987 |
The best-selling Reader's Digest travel book has 40% new content including over 200 new sites, over 200 new full-color photographs, and all-new, up-to- date maps.
Off the Beaten Path: A Travel Guide to More Than 1000 Scenic and Interesting Places Still Uncrowded and Inviting Reviews
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Thinking of road trip in states? Please get this book. We discovered so many hidden places to travel using this book in our road trip. Some places like national bison range, 1800 preserved cities in montana like Nevada city and Virginia city. Very useful if you have the adventure gene.
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Off the Beaten Path – Newly Revised & Updated: A Travel Guide to More Than 1000 Scenic and Interesting Places Still Uncrowded and Inviting ( ISBN: 978-0762107940, Reader’s Digest) by the Editors of Reader’s Digest is a visual vacation all by itself. This gorgeous illustrated guide to some of the most photogenic and breathtakingly beautiful well kept secrets in the United States deserves to ride up front. For any vacationer taking a well earned break from the rat race, Off The Beaten Path could be your best road trip companion.
This travel guide is big, and I mean big. Weighing in over 4 pounds and with dimensions of 10.5 x 10 x 1.4 inches, Off The Beaten Path isn’t something you could stick in your back pocket. It’s well worth making space for in your backpack though and could easily become indispensable when you’re planning or preparing for a trip. Off the Beaten Path is designed for those who want to look beyond the usual tourist traps and find places that are rich in historic and/or scenic value, yet relatively undiscovered by the masses.
If you’re not interested in being amongst crowds and want to discover the real beauty of the US and its roots, look no farther than within Off The Beaten Path. This is the definitive guide that you’ve always wanted. Even just browsing the stunning photography gives you itchy feet.
The 384 page volume is packed solid with useful information. All states are listed in alphabetical order, each with their own chapter and color coded for easy reference. Within those state listings are these hidden gems’ details.
Let’s look at Arkansas for example. Want to visit a historic Southern cotton plantation? Lakeport Plantation, lovingly restored and now a museum and educational center, “once covered more than 4,000 acres”, we are told. “The house, built in the late 1850s, is the only remaining Mississippi River plantation home in Arkansas”. The book contains a beautiful picture of that home.
Would you prefer something more hands-on? Then you will love digging for real diamonds at the Crater of Diamonds State Park, south of Murfreesboro. As Off the Beaten Path explains “Here’s a unique chance to combine fun and profit by prospecting in the only significant diamond deposit in North America. Plus, you get to keep any stones you find.” I don’t know about you, but I’d love to do that!
The description goes on to tantalizingly tell us that “many of the diamonds are industrial quality, but every year visitors turn up hundreds of gems of significant quality and value, and some lucky prospectors carry away diamonds ranging from 2 to 5 carats. ”
A colorful Did You Know? also caught my eye. These little boxes are scattered along the way, serving up a snippet of trivia about an attraction on the page. This one announces that “The largest diamond ever found at the Crater of Diamonds site was 40.23 carats and as named the Uncle Sam.” Wow! I’m packed and in the car already.
It’s abundantly clear from the first few pages that this is not a book for fans of open-around-the-clock malls and theme parks. The places are perfect for campers, hikers, adventurers and road trip fans. Reader’s Digest has been considerate enough to include an icon guide at the bottom of each description shaped with these groups, amongst others, in mind.
These 16 icons provide the reader with at-a-glance key information on what that particular spot offers. Categories include Accessible Features, Pet Friendly, Camping/Tenting, Camping/RV Camping, Picnicking, plus all kinds of activities such as Fishing or Sight-Seeing/Bird-Watching. Even Wi-fi Access is conveniently listed for those who can’t stray too far without their laptop coming along for the ride.
Each detailed description begins with the full address, has the descriptive element in the middle and closes with the location’s opening hours, their website address where available, and a contact telephone number. All the information you could possibly need on the venue is in one compact, informative and orderly place.
This weighty volume also contains up-to-date state maps highlighting each location. As if the full color photos aren’t enough to entice you to pack a suitcase, the chapters also each have their own State Seasonal Events calendar. This tells you when and where local festivals are being held and shares a brief description of what’s on offer at them.
Overflowing with the superior quality, precision and minute attention to detail we’ve come to expect from Reader’s Digest publications, Off the Beaten Path covers over 1000 destinations including state parks, wildlife centers, historic towns, scenic rivers, lighthouses, museums and much more.
If this large volume doesn’t bring out the wanderlust in you, I don’t know what will. It’s absolutely beautiful, with over 400 photographs to guide you on your travels and help you select your next destination. Nature and history lovers especially will adore where Off The Beaten Path takes them. Don’t hit the road without it.
(Disclosure: I received this book for free for review purposes from the book's publicists. This arrangement doesn't influence my reviews.) -
If you can find it, and if you're planning a long road trip into unknown territory, this could be a great aid to planning your route. It's full of interesting and relatively unknown locations worth visiting (The National Bison Range in Montana, for example.)I know I'll be using this to plan my next road trip to the east coast.
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A regularly-updated guide that is a great addition for road-trips! We have used it a couple times to make last-minute little visits on our vacations when we notice that a sight of interest is off the highway we're on
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This was originally published in 1987 & I had that book. I upgraded in 2009, which is the last time this book was updated.
Basically, a group of editors takes each state & lists destinations that aren't necessarily popular, but are interesting. Of course, the smaller states have less places, the larger have up to 27 sites. Museums, battlefields, state parks, national parks, ect.
Most inspiring is the Mark Twain quote in the beginning of the book : " Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did do. so throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.....Explore. Dream. Discover." -
Always another place
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917.30
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Awesome! Recommended. The "updated" version i read was published 2009 but i thought it was brand new. Stands the test of time lol
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Great ideas for vacations... Will return to this book upon planning other vacations.
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In preparation for an upcoming cross-country road trip, I've been looking at many travel books. This one stands out. Like the title suggests, the books tells you about more obscure attractions, thus avoiding the usual tourist traps. A good resource to find out where you can visit to avoid crowds. For popular places, I've realized that it's best to avoid the peak seasons. A smaller crowd makes the driving easier and finding lodging more easily, especially the cheaper accommodations. And allows you to enjoy the scenery in peace. The layout of the book is pleasant, with clear map references of the attractions. And there are nice pictures too.
The only downside is that it is a big and heavy coffee table book, but that shouldn't be a problem if you're traveling in a car.
Highly recommended. -
A spectacular look at interesting places around the country that are "off the beaten path".
This book is arranged alphabetically by state. There is a detailed state map (including a legend) that shows numbers in red. The numbers correspond with descriptions of places to see in the state. Each description provides a brief location along with a website and phone number to contact for more information.
At the end of each state is a column providing a listing of random seasonal events for the state.
This book also has lots of colorful photographs! -
I consult this book very often since I first purchased it, because the USA is my yearly vacation destination.
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Fun places across the U.S. We've been to most of the Caifornia sites, but will use this book to plan future road trips.
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Beautiful coffee table book full of pictures & detailed information on places to visit in each state. Even includes icons for information such as "pet friendly", "wi-fi Access", "fishing" etc.
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Sometimes you just want a big book to lay in your lap. This one had a lot of interesting places to visit with pictures.
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Great book if you want to do more than just the popular vacations or sight seeing.
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it's amazing book for finding out trip
