The best part of writing a book about Southern Oregon is the chance to feature those wonderful places few people have heard of, let alone visited.

To bring the state’s southern half to life was the goal for Art Bernstein and me when we decided to write “Hiking Southern Oregon,” a just-published Falcon Guide that features everything from high desert mountains of the southeast to redwood forests of the coast (and yes, we drop just a touch into northern California).

To give you an idea of what we’re talking about — and the incredible diversity of this region — here’s our top 10 favorite hikes.

• Red Buttes: The namesake peaks of the Red Buttes Wilderness might be the most antisocial mountains in Southern Oregon and Northern California.

Located almost directly atop the border between the states — and just south of Applegate Reservoir — these brilliant reddish-orange humps of the Siskiyou Range are so remote, they’ve largely escaped local consciousness.

A moderate hike of 5 to 10 miles round-trip brings you into the realm of this peridotite rock, which formed in the ocean floor millions of years ago — you can see fossilized sea shells — on a stunning stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail that also passes Echo Lake and Lily Pad Lake and offers views of Mount Shasta.

• Vulcan Lake: The Star Trek-themed name might well have been inspired by the appearance that this lake inhabits a different planet.

Emerald green and sitting in a phantasmal basin of buff-orange serpentine bedrock, Vulcan Lake is surrounded by a virtual desert of stunted and bizarre trees in one of the most unusual landscapes you’re likely to find.

Located within the Kalmiopsis Wilderness — and still scarred by the 2002 Biscuit Fire — the trailhead sits at the end of a brutal washboard road northeast of Brookings. The hike is a mere 2.8 miles round-trip.

• Mount Scott: The tallest mountain in Crater Lake National Park provides a view almost beyond imagination, taking in the entire sweep of the United States’ deepest lake.

And the hike, despite reaching a summit of 8,929 feet, isn’t bad at 4.4 miles round-trip with 1,245 feet of climb.

Due to the high elevation of the trailhead, the trail often doesn’t open until late July or August.

• Boy Scout Tree: Yes, yes, there’s no arguing that Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park is located squarely in California.

But at less than 30 miles south of the state line — and with easy access via Highway 199 south of Grants Pass and Cave Junction — why not include a collection of trails among the world’s tallest trees?

The best route in this rich old-growth forest is Boy Scout Tree Trail, a 5.5-mile trek of easy to moderate difficulty off Howland Hill Road, which weaves through an almost nonstop collection of trees the size of Saturn rockets.

• Gearhart Mountain: Oddball geology, high-desert features and a stunning cliff-walled meadow make this trail into the heart of Gearhart Mountain Wilderness one of Oregon’s hidden treasures.

The trail, east of Klamath Falls, traverses a forest of sagebrush, pine and aspen, but the rocks are the main attraction. Formations of ancient lava stand in layered towers and odd shapes along a trail that’s good for either a day hike or backpacking trip.

• Mount McLoughlin: The rarefied heights of Southwest Oregon’s tallest mountain is within reach on a trail that goes within striking distance of its 9,495 foot summit.

The hike is strenuous, climbing 3,777 feet, but with six to eight hours many people in good shape can reach the top of Mount McLoughlin.

The trail, which begins just off state Highway 140 between White City and Klamath Falls, climbs within one mile of the summit.

• Seven Lakes Basin: A spectacular tour of the Sky Lakes Wilderness, this loop winds over alpine ridges and down into blue pools of the Seven Lakes Basin.

Best explored in late August and September, this jewel of the Southern Cascades can be explored as a 10-to 14-mile hike or (better yet) backpacking trip.

The wilderness is home to more than 200 small lakes, all tucked between Crater Lake and Mount McLoughlin. This hike can begin at the Seven Lakes Trailhead or Sevenmile Trailhead.

• Devil’s Punchbowl: A cathedral of silver-gray stone encircles a small emerald lake high in the Siskiyou Wilderness in an eerie basin polished almost bare by glaciers.

The scenic highlight of a wilderness area between Grants Pass and Crescent City, California, the journey to Devil’s Punchbowl requires a challenging 9.6 miles round-trip with 2,300 feet of climb (which comes all at once on a series of very steep switchbacks).

• Rogue River Trail: In the depths of the Rogue River canyon, there’s a sense of being swallowed by a place altogether separate from the outside world.

The mountains encase the valley in thousand-foot walls, and the river glides deep and green past wildlife, wildflowers, sandy beaches, deep forest and a civilization of rustic lodges built beginning in the 1930s.

Forty miles one-way from Grave Creek Boat Launch (near Grants Pass) to Foster Bar (near Gold Beach), the trail can be enjoyed via two easy hikes or one epic backpacking adventure.

• Wildhorse Lake: A multicolored basin perched a vertical mile above the Alvord Desert showcases one of the most incredible sights in the Pacific Northwest: Wildhorse Lake.

Located just below Steens Mountain’s 9,734-foot summit in southeastern Oregon, this day hike scrambles down a zig zag trail into a basin filled with wildflowers in this valley, which seems to hang in the sky.

At 2.6 miles round-trip and 1,100 feet of climb, the hike is easy to moderate, but the high elevation, exposure and otherworldly feeling create an experience well beyond the average day-hike experience.

While you’re here, consider a short hike to Steens summit and explore Big Indian, Little Blitzen and Pike Creek canyons (all featured in the book).