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“Off the Beaten Path: A Travel Guide to the More Than 1,000 Scenic and Interesting Places Still Uncrowded and Inviting” ($30, Reader’s Digest) offers tremendous value — 50 states’ worth of cool, quirky, often lesser-known sites to explore, in coffee-table format, with color photographs and full-color maps in this third, updated edition.
In addition to a short, informative narrative, each entry offers contact info, as well as icons for basics such as handicapped-accessible, if camping, picnicking, hiking or other activities are available, and whether it is pet-friendly or has Wi-Fi access. A list of seasonal events is posted for each state by month, and “fun facts” are interspersed throughout. Kyle Wagner
