More than 250,000 (one-quarter million!) copies of Leonard's books have been sold!!
Leonard M. Adkins-The Habitual Hiker

Everything you would ever want to know or would expect to encounter on the Appalachian Trail. Nature of the Appalachian Trail: Your Guide to Wildlife, Plants, and Geology provides a quick overview of the history of the trail and a concise description of how the Appalachian Mountains came into being and why they look the way they do today. Individual chapters cover the trees, flowers, mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians found along the trail.

In easy to understand writing, Leonard provides bits of information on how a plant reproduces, where it lives, why it looks the way it does, etc. The chapters on mammals, birds and reptiles not only give an identification description of each animal, but also how it goes about its daily life and what signs to look for to see if it has been in the area recently.

Walks in the woods will be greatly enhanced after looking through TNature of the Appalachian Trail: Your Guide to Wildlife, Plants, and Geology.

The first eidtion of the book was a winner of the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation's Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award.

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From the rugged summits of the Allegheny Mountains to the soft shores of the Chesapeake Bay, the northern half of Virginia has some of the most varied and best hiking terrain in the Middle Atlantic states. This book highlights both well-known sites and hidden gems that are lightly visited.

"It could not be better organized or more interestingly composed and will serve every level of hiker."
Roanoke Times


A new hiking guide to the enormous variety of terrain to be found in southern Virginia—coastal plain, tidewater, piedmont, mountains, and river valleys. Leonard Adkins is your guide to the incredible variety of terrain to be found in southern Virginia, from sea level on the Atlantic Coast to the highest peak in the western mountains. Here you'll find hikes on sandy beaches, into dark swamps, beside rushing rivers, through open meadows, to historic sites and Civil War battlefields, and to alpine zones, mountain crests, and hidden valleys. Adkins covers the most popular hiking destinations in the region, but also leads you to little-known, out-of-the-way trails where crowds are at a minimum. An overview chart provides information on the trips at a glance and makes it easy to pick a hike. Each hike description includes a topographic map, information on distance, difficulty, and rise, and a detailed route description. Adkins also provides information on the human and natural history you will encounter on the trail, with details and insights into the lives of the state's plants and animals.

“In the ever-expanding pantheon of guidebook writers, Leonard Adkins reigns supreme. Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains is his latest regal effort.” Charleston Gazette

“This book is a tribute to the author’s kinship with nature. It truly demonstrates his passion for the colorful treasures of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains." Butch Kelly, former natural history interpreter on the Blue Ridge Parkway.




Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail
If you are tired of identification guides with small photos and dull, boring descriptions, pick up Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail. Sharp, stunning photos, entertaining text, and precise locations as to where to find them turns flower identification into an activity of joy, discovery, and wonderment.

Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award, ForeWord's Book of the Year, and a Virginia Literary Award nomination.