* Hiking, camping, and picnicking in the best parts of Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau * Detailed information on each trail This thorough guidebook takes hikers to the southern part of the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee where they'll find trails through deep, narrow gorges, numerous waterfalls, scenic overlooks, and lush forests. There are complete trail descriptions of 40 trails, along with information about the region's history, plants, animals, and geology. This rewarding trail collection covers such areas as the South Cumberland Recreation Area, Fall Creek Falls State Park, Prentice Cooper State Forest, and Virgin Falls Pocket Wilderness. BR>BR>

Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau played host to some of the most dramatic military maneuvering of the Civil War. As Federal forces sought to capitalize on the capture of Nashville, they moved into a region split by the most vicious guerrilla warfare outside Missouri. The bitter conflict affected thousands of ordinary men and women struggling to survive in the face of a remorseless war of attrition, and its legacy continues to be felt today.

All the trails of the Big South Fork plus adjacent national forests and parks. Great for hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders.

Located in Tennessee and Kentucky, the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area boasts a diverse and dramatic landscape ideal for all types of outdoor activities. This newly updated guide includes information on the area's geology, history, and wildlife, plus horseback riding, whitewater paddling, and backpacking. There's also advice about accommodations and services, activities for children, universally accessible campgrounds and trails, and exploration by car.

* 75 trails and 70 scenic overlooks in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park* Guidebook includes maps and hiking descriptionsShenandoah National Park lies along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains of northeast Virginia, encompassing 196,000 acres, including 80,000 acres of federally designated wilderness. The trails in this thorough guidebook will take hikers along the peaks of the Blue Ridge, past waterfalls, and down into lush canyons. In addition to the detailed trail descriptions, you'll find information about park history, plants and animals, geology, and human history, plus some highlights of the 105-mile Skyline Drive.

* If you're heading to the Smokies, you'll need this guidebook! * All the trails, camping information, and best attractions for visitors of Great Smoky Mountain National Park This guidebook offers a mix of day hikes and overnight backpacking trails, and expanded natural history and background information on the Smoky Mountains, making it the most complete guidebook to the region. Divided into sections covering Tennessee and North Carolina, the guide is arranged so that all of the Tennessee trails can be done with a link, via the Newfound Gap Road, to the North Carolina trails and vice versa. All trails are grouped by access point, and each hiking description includes mileage, elevation change, difficulty rating, camping information, cautions, links to other trails, and attractions. Special lists cover the best waterfalls, stands of old-growth forest, historic structures, wildflower spots, and mountain views. Additional chapters feature information on geology, flora and fauna, park history, and more.

This timely set invites readers to celebrate the most beautiful and environmentally important places in the United States. Each of the United States boasts numerous special places that are significant for their biodiversity, ecology, habitats for rare and endangered species, or other qualities that make them unique and worthy of preservation. These sites range from nature preserves to state and national parks, wildlife areas, ecosystems that provide a home to diverse flora and fauna, and even scenic vistas. The five volumes of America's Natural Places examine over 200 of the most spectacular and important of these places, with each entry describing the importance of the area, the flora and fauna that it supports, threats to the survival of the region, and what is being done to protect it. Organized by state within regional volumes, this encyclopedia both informs the reader about the wide variety of natural areas across the country and identifies places nearby that demonstrate that preserving such treasurers is of immediate importance to every U.S. citizen.