Wyman's excellent guidebook sections out chunks of Northern California (as far south as Fresno, near Yosemite, and as far north as Eureka, near the Oregon border.) and guides you through these areas to genuine delights.
Some travel books are narratives of the author's adventures in some locale and are interesting reads mostly for the story they have to tell. This is not such a book. This book's value is in it's informative and clear descriptions of (and directions to) the treats in store for the traveller with a taste for the beautiful but unheraled, a sense of adventure and an independent mode of transportation.
Wyman starts his descriptions of each area with a brief and surprisingly interesting recounting of the geological and historical background to the current condition of the environ, then describes routes to particularly memorable attractions therein - goldminer ghost towns, forrested valleys, mountaintop overlooks and the like.
Mention must be made of the many photographs in the book. They are of museum quality and bring an element of visual delight to the read one associates more with a travel magazine than with a book. In fact, they are so numerous as to comprise as much of the volume of the book as does the text and the maps.
So if a California vacation is in your future, and the crowded and expensive tourist spots are not your scene, get a copy of this fine book and be inspired to travel off the beaten path and onto some glorious experiences. And don't forget to take your camera!
With the longest mountain range in the U.S., the world's largest trees, an enormous river delta, and part of a vast desert, Northern California has a lot to offer tourists and residents alike.
"Backroads of Northern California" is a pictorial guide to the winding backroads of the Golden State's spectacular Northern half. As only a native Californian can, David M. Wyman covers not only the routes themselves, but the geology, geography, and history that have shaped the region. Plus, you'll find unique sites and characters, and historical sidebars. The text is accented by stunning photographs, including some historical images.
The book covers backroads roughly north from Santa Cruz on the Pacific coast across the state to Yosemite National Park and the Great Basin Desert on the Nevada border. By dividing Northern California into regions--the Coast Ranges, the Klamath Mountains, the Central Valley, the Delta, the Cascades, the Great Basin, and the Sierra Nevada--this book makes it easy to explore the area.
Also recommended: "Backroads of Colorado" and "Ghost Towns of Colorado."