Field Guide to the Northeast Alpine Summits (Paperback)

Presenting the fascinating natural world above treeline on the Northeast’s highest peaks

Above the treeline in the northeastern United States lies a beautiful and challenging environment, famous for its panoramic views, extreme weather, and alpine species. This revised and updated field guide book celebrates the flowers, mosses, lichens, insects, birds, and mammals that survive and thrive in difficult climate and terrain in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Featuring 350 stunning photographs and detailed accounts of 200 mountain species, including globally rare and true arctic species, this is the first field guide to unite all major northeastern alpine areas in a single, comprehensive volume. Naturalists, hikers, climbers, and other visitors to the high peaks in the Adirondacks, Green Mountains, White Mountains, and Katahdin will journey through northern hardwood, spruce-fir and krummholz forests before emerging into the fascinating world on the alpine summits in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York.

Concise and informative, this guide includes updated scientific and common names, flowering times, habitat and range notes, and an easy-to-use flowering chart for quick reference on the trail. Chapters explore geology, weather, and plant communities, while also addressing urgent conservation concerns, from climate change and invasive species to the impacts of summit development. Compact enough to carry and beautiful enough to enjoy at home, this essential companion fosters a deeper commitment to protecting the Northeast’s extraordinary high places.

ALLISON W. BELL is a naturalist, designer and photographer who has been exploring Northeast mountains since 1971. Her books include 85 Acres, Field Guide to New England Alpine Summits, Adirondack Alpine Summits, and Glorious Mountain Days. NANCY G. SLACK (1930–2022) was professor emerita of biology at Russell Sage College. In 2014, she received the Guy Waterman Alpine Steward Award for her lifetime achievement in alpine ecology and conservation work. Together, they authored several field guides to alpine ecosystems, published through the Adirondack Mountain Club and the Appalachian Mountain Club.