New England's Roadside Ecology: Explore 30 of the Region's Unique Natural Areas

by Tom Wessels

Step Out of Your Car and Right into Nature!

New England’s Roadside Ecology guides you through 30 spectacular natural sites, all within an easy walk from the road. The sites include the forests, wetlands, alpines, dunes, and geologic ecosystems that make up New England.

Author Tom Wessels is the perfect guide. Each entry starts with the brief description of the hike's level of difficulty—all are gentle to moderate and cover no more than two miles. Entries also include turn-by-turn directions and clear descriptions of the flora, fauna, and fungi you are likely to encounter along the way. New England’s Roadside Ecology is a must-have guide for outdoor enthusiasts, hikers, and tourists in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction

236 pages, Paperback

Published September 14, 2021

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful informative and well written book on New England's native trees and plants.

[Comfort Me With Nature · Rating 4 out of 5]

Attention hikers of all skill levels! Have you ever wondered about the landscape and plant life you see around you? What stories would they share if you could read their messages?

If you live in New England or plan to visit, Thomas Wessels offers an indispensable guide that deciphers those messages. Wessels has identified 30 short hikes (no longer than 4 hours) each with distinctive flora and features. You will learn, for example:
* how to recognize a pillow and cradle;
* where to find one of the largest bearberry patches in New England;
* where the Fibonacci sequence is hidden in nature;
* where to find a krummholz;
* what a border tree is;
* where to find the cave that inspired Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.

Several of these hikes are not typically highlighted in other guidebooks. Furthermore, they represent fragile or unique landscapes within the region. As such, Wessels gently reminds the reader to stay on the prescribed paths. Bravo!

New England’s Roadside Ecology is likely to become a perennial reference for years to come, as long as we don’t destroy the very attractions we seek.

Why you should not miss this one:
* Who knew there was so much ecological diversity in New England?
* The many captioned photos enrich the stories even if not hiking.
* If you already have Reading the Forested Landscape and Forest Forensics, both by Tom Wessels, this book seems to complete a trilogy.

Thanks to NetGalley, Timber Press, and the author, Thomas Wessels, for the opportunity to read a digital copy in exchange for this review.

#NetGalley #NewEnglandsRoadsideEcology

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

New England's Roadside Ecology is a travel book highlighting 30 accessible nature areas in New England curated and presented by Thomas Wessels. Due out 14th Sept 2021 from Timber Press, it's 236 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a really handy and useful book full of nature walks and natural attractions each beginning at a roadside stop. Given the difficulties of traveling the last couple years, this book will be useful for nature lovers in the area and also travelers from other areas looking for outdoor attractions which can be enjoyed far away from crowds. Trail lengths for the highlighted walks range from .5 to 4 miles (most are in the 1-2 mile range). Alongside the individual trail guides, the author provides some general info on things to look for along the trail as well as trees, plants, flowers, general trail features, man-made changes, and (importantly) a little about trail etiquette and conservation.

The hikes themselves are arranged in chapters grouped together geographically: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The number of destinations varies by state from 2 (Rhode Island) to 7 (New Hampshire & Massachusetts) for a total of 30. Each walk covers several pages and includes a title, special features, location, details, difficulty, length, and many photos with captions showing plant life to keep an eye out for and interesting sights along the way.

Four stars.The author is clearly knowledgeable and keenly interested in the subject and he does a good job of bringing these walks to a wider public.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous collection of hikes and walks, some of them old beloved favorites, the rest now on my list to explore! It's like a guided version of his book "Reading the Forested Landscape" and reminded me of my grad school classes of traipsing through some of these trails with his disciple and my classmates.

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this could have been a little more thorough, but it is still a worthwhile companion for field trips throughout New England.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is excellent for what it is; a handy book which will give a very quick overview of one of several trails in NE from a (terrestrial) ecology perspective. By very quick, I mean 4 -6 pages. The focus is mostly on trees and their history (Tom Wessel's primary interest it seems), but does include other features noteworthy for the trail from geology and botany and includes relevant pieces of very significant history such as Hurricane Gloria/strong storms.

I would have liked a broader ecological view - fungi, birds, mammals, hydrology, more geology and soils - but this is, after all, a focused and concise little book that is nice to keep in your car while you drive around NE. It is not a complete naturalists description of a trail and would lose its portability and perhaps some of its audience if it went that route.

It includes level of difficulty of the trail and information on parking. Each chapter has a brief headline about the most prominent feature of the trails and something like a list of keywords after, describing other interesting aspects (eg pillows and cradles, old growth, ...)

I am using it to plan trips around NE that are focused on natural features. It is perfect for that. Would recommend.

[Erin Cho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas Wessels is a master naturalist and writer, a true New England treasure. This book did not disappoint. When I have time (and I will force myself to make time, hopefully dragging a fellow nature lover along), I look forward to going on some of these easily accessible nature tours. In the meantime, I will be looking much more closely at the nature I commune with daily.

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really learned a lot about New England forest ecology. The idea for this book is short, easy hikes with a lot of plant diversity along the way. The directions for the hike are intermixed with descriptions of the woods around you. I thought the book would be better with a map of each hike instead of being distracted by “turn here, turn there” directions in the narrative.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well presented guide focused features of natural areas to explore in New England. Photographs complement narrative.

[Annie Oosterwyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would love to take a walk with these folks! I learned a lot from this book.

[Bette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marked walks to checkout in NE

[Valerie Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting factoids about reading the history of an area through its bushes, trees, and rocks. Lots of great pictures and names of things I didn't know. The locations he suggests seem well curated, but I wish he had included even a small trail map for each recommendation.