Steve Evans certainly gets out in the outdoors. Since moving to Northern California from the Mojave Desert, he has become an environmental activist, a hike leader for the Sierra Club and, most recently, the conservation director for Friends of the River.

More to the point here, though, is his authorship of "Top Trails: Sacramento" (Wilderness Press, $16.95, 361 pages).

In it, Evans describes 43 trails, which he spent three years hiking and researching; they're in the Sacramento Valley, along the coast, in the foothills and in the Sierra Nevada.

Each hike is accompanied by a map and is broken down this way: an introduction, the best time of year to be on the trail, how to get to the trailhead, the logistics of navigating the trail, a trail description and milestones to look for along the trail, plus degrees of difficulty and pertinent phone numbers and Web sites. This is one of the most straightforward collection of hikes we've seen in awhile.

Evans will make five appearances for his book:

• 7:30 p.m. Friday at Avid Reader, 617 Second St., Davis; (530) 758-4040.

• 1 p.m. Feb. 10 at Avid Reader at Tower, 1600 Broadway; (916) 441-4400.

• 7 p.m. March 6 at REI, 2425 Iron Point Road, Folsom; (916) 817-8944.

• 7 p.m. March 12 at REI, 1790 Expo Parkway; (916) 924-8900.

• 7 p.m. April 8 at REI, 1148 Galleria Blvd., Roseville; (916) 724-6750.