The magical allure of the Maine coast draws this hiker to its wild and secretive places again and again, ever in search of new and different vistas and what’s hidden around the next bend. I’m always happy, too, to revisit the many beautiful locales that are, after all these years, just like spending quality time with old friends.

Nine years ago, I was thrilled to introduce the Appalachian Mountain Club’s brand new guide book, “Best Day Hikes Along the Maine Coast.” I’m now even more excited to tell you about the second edition, which appeared in print this summer after a solid year of hiking up and down the Maine coast with all the associated research, writing and editing.

AMC’s “Best Day Hikes Along the Maine Coast” is designed to take hikers on a journey of discovery over a geographic expanse extending some 230 miles from Kittery to Calais, as the crow flies, but an incredible 3,500 miles when every nook and cranny and several thousand islands are accounted for between New Hampshire and New Brunswick.

Maine’s coastal topography is as varied as could be, a natural museum of sandy beaches and rocky headlands, bold ocean cliffs and blueberry barrens, wildlife-rich salt marshes and estuaries, finger-like peninsulas and deep-water coves, spruce-studded islands and wide bays, pristine ponds and streams, rolling hills and granite mountain peaks.

Hundreds of miles of coastal footpaths offer the opportunity for countless hours and days of exploration among a wealth of protected properties, from state parks and public lands, federal wildlife refuges, a national park and an estuarine research reserve to private land trust and conservation organization lands of every shape, size and character.

Celebrate the foresight and determination of the preservationists who have worked over the last five decades to increase the amount of land conserved in Maine, from just one percent of the state’s land area to a whopping 22.4 percent – or 4.43 million acres – either owned outright or held in conservation easements. Bravo, folks!

For the second edition, I re-hiked every trail, re-measured every mile and took new photographs. All the trail maps were updated. I also added 10 noteworthy new hikes to the guide, sprinkling them into the mix along with 40 originals. Tackle all 50 from York County, the Casco Bay region and the Midcoast to Acadia National Park and Downeast Maine and you’ll have hiked 194 miles.

New hikes include the wonders of Wonder Brook in Kennebunk, meandering Mill Brook in Westbrook, the Labyrinth in the Woods at Crystal Spring Farm in Brunswick, the glorious forest and shore of Orr’s Island at Schiller Coastal Studies Center, and the colorful history of Vaughan Woods not far from downtown Hallowell.

Wander along a river and a brook at Riverbrook Preserve in Waldoboro, and visit undeveloped (for now, anyway) Sears Island in Penobscot Bay. Enjoy bountiful beauty at Little Long Ponds Natural Lands abutting Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, soar with eagles atop the cliffs of Eagle Bluff in Clifton and revel in international views at Devil’s Head in Calais.

Adding four new nature and history essays to the revised book – for a total of 14 – was good fun. I think you’ll enjoy the reading about Maine’s Route 9 – affectionately called the Airline Road – which extends from Brewer almost to Calais. And did you know there were once 25 skis areas along the Maine coast, but only three remain (can you name them?).

Get the scoop on the origin of some of Maine’s unorganized township names, alphanumeric head-scratchers like T4 R8 WELS, T10 SD and T3 R4 BKP WKR. And learn about Maine’s 66 iconic lighthouses, those beacons for mariners and landlubbers alike, which dot the coastline from the Isle of Shoals to Penobscot Bay to West Quoddy Head.

Welcome, then, to Maine’s incomparable coast! Stash some gear in your rucksack, pack your camera, lace up your walking shoes, grab a copy of the latest edition of “Best Day Hikes Along the Maine Coast” and join me for some adventurous hiking. What you’ll see and experience – from the Piscataqua River to Penobscot Bay to Passamaquoddy Bay – I promise will please and very likely amaze you and your trail companions. Enjoy!

Carey Kish of Mount Desert Island is the author of AMC’s Best Day Hikes Along the Maine Coast, Beer Hiking New England and the AMC Maine Mountain Guide. Follow more of Carey’s outdoor adventures on Facebook and on Instagram @careykish.