Coast to Cactus: The Canyoneer Trail Guide to San Diego Outdoors is much more than a hiking guide. It is a field guide too. Written by citizen scientists trained by the San Diego Natural History Museum Canyoneers, it is the new bible for really getting to know and appreciate the county's biodiversity while exploring firsthand. The guide has 245 hikes and an additional 73 hike options making 318 exploring opportunities. Each hike has its own map and symbols indicating the habits found on a trail, a full hike description with mileage, elevation gain/loss, difficulty rating, directions to the trail-head with GPS, trail use, and special features of a hike. There are 525 species of plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates that are described in detail. Each hike has a focus on a species or natural/cultural history feature associated with that hike. This book is a learning tool designed to teach the reader what is special about San Diego outdoors. This book is published in cooperation with California State Parks, San Diego County Department of Parks and Recreation, Mission Trails Regional Park (City of San Diego), San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority, and The San Diego River Foundation. This book is like having a Virtual Canyoneer on the hike with you - a trained San Diego Natural History Museum naturalist with you who will teach you what is special about each trail. Purchase of this book supports the mission and programs of the San Diego Natural History Museum. I am the visionary and lead editor of this book that is a compilation of articles written by 60 Canyoneers from the San Diego Natural History Museum. I am also a major contributor to the book. My role as lead editor was to bring all articles together in one voice with major editing and corrections of facts in the book. Note my name in many of the book endorsements listed below. In every sense of the word, this is my book: "Diana has done it again! Like all of her books, this one also raises the bar on the subject. San Diegans and anyone visiting the region's wilder side will greatly benefit from her latest work. The book shares her wide-ranging knowledge about hundreds of our most notable trails in a style that is both interesting and easy to reference. I plan to own several copies: one to hold, one to go, and at least one to give." --John D. Mead, President, Adventure 16 "Diana Lindsay and her team of authors/Canyoneers have compiled the finest collection of San Diego County hikes, along with the regional habitats, plants and animals ever put together in one guidebook. What an accomplishment!" —Mark Jorgensen, Retired Superintendent, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park "This book is truly indispensable to anyone hoping to gain the most out of their back-country adventures! Diana Lindsay's guide is sure to become the essential "pocket naturalist" for all San Diego trail explorers striving to get more out of their outdoor experiences!" —Davin Widgerow, Chair, Steering Committee, Sierra Club San Diego "The title of this book as a Trail Guide belies the mind-bendingly comprehensive content within. Diana Lindsay and her team have crafted a beautifully written introduction to the natural history of San Diego County as well as a trail guide. The authors describe in detail the marvelous geology, plants, birds, large and small mammals and invertebrates that make their homes or migrate through San Diego’s habitats from the coastal marshes through the low Colorado Desert habitat of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. If you are generally interested in nature, you will find this book fascinating and useful whether or not you plan to set foot on a single hiking trail. It is hard to imagine, though, that the beguiling descriptions of the nature in our own back yards would not lure you to head outdoors and explore some of these wonders for yourself." —Terry Weiner, Conservation and Projects Coordinator, Desert Protective Council "This trail guide is a wonderful resource to help people explore our local wilderness and discover its unique treasures. It's replete with trail information and different habitat descriptions definitely a key to finding the right hike and the right place to enjoy and learn from San Diego's remarkable natural diversity. "--Duncan McFetridge, Director, Cleveland National Forest Foundation "This is a book that should be owned by all who enjoy getting out into nature in San Diego County. The descriptions of the plants, birds, and other features encountered on each walk should deepen ones awareness of the beauty and diversity of our county's environmentally rich areas." --David Kimball, President, San Diego Audubon Society CANYONEERS are volunteer citizen scientists trained by the San Diego Natural History Museum to lead free public walks throughout the county. Participants on these public walks are encouraged to look at the surroundings to see what makes it special―to stop, look, listen, touch, smell, and exami