Our first book, published in 1995.
Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. - John Muir quoted by Samuel Hall Young in Alaska Days with John Muir.
Australian cattle dog Syd, was the inspiration for the Spotted Dog Press name and logo.
Wynne Benti and geologist Andy Zdon pictured with stoic Syd, the inspiration for the Spotted Dog Press name and logo, and K.D., the lean mean hiking machine in the Arroyo Seco, San Gabriel Mountain foothills. Both were adopted from the City of Los Angeles East Valley Animal Shelter.
Welcome to Spotted Dog Press
in beautiful Bishop, California!
Spotted Dog Press was started in 1995 by publisher Wynne Benti. Before hiking routes were published online, she drove several hours from Los Angeles, with her two dogs, K.D. and Syd, to hike in the San Jacinto mountains near Idyllwild. A quarter mile up the trail they were greeted by a No Dogs Allowed sign. Wynne decided to write a trail guide for canines and their people, Favorite Dog Hikes In and Around Los Angeles. By 2000, over 100,000 copies of the book had been sold.
In 1992, Wynne met La Siesta Press publisher, Walt Wheelock. Walt, nearing eighty, asked Wynne if she would be interested in republishing the La Siesta Press book, Climbing Mt. Whitney, an amalgamation of input from many contributors over a half-century, and Norman Clyde’s book, Close Ups of the High Sierra. Spotted Dog Press continued publishing several of La Siesta’s books, including Out From Las Vegas and Grand Canyon Treks. The gems of La Siesta Press, Desert Peaks Guide 1 and 2, were the inspiration for Andy Zdon’s book Desert Summits, A Climbing and Hiking Guide to California and Southern Nevada.
Because we love being mostly outdoors, we publish a very small catalog of local and regional books on subjects dear to our hearts.