All 63 US National Parks the Complete Travel Guide: First Edition

I highly recommend this book. For some people who are thinking of visiting the national parks, this is the first book they should get. Who are these people? They are people who have not yet visited many of the parks. Perhaps you are from another country and want to explore some of the national parks in the United States. Perhaps you are recently retired and now have the time to explore more of the national parks. Perhaps you have a young family and are just beginning to spend time in our national parks. The unique thing about Valerie Pontiff's book is that it gives you a great overview of all of the national parks. Should you visit Yellowstone or should you visit Zion? This is the book to help you decide. I should also add that the information about each of the parks is excellent. I know Acadia National Park very well. I live close to the park and visit it at least a half dozen times a year. In a few pages Pontiff gives her readers excellent information on when to visit and where to stay in Acadia. She also provides a five-day schedule on what to do in Acadia. Very highly recommended.

The activities available in each of the National Parks were very well researched and described. Suggested clothing and other items to bring, whether day hiking or camping, I thought was very helpful. Most of us will not be able to visit each of the 63 National Parks, so the rankings 1 through 63 was very informative and only possible due to the extensive research conducted. The parks were also organized geographically to assist the reader in trip planning. Nearly all of the park descriptions contained a section describing the best manner to access the parks and lodging alternatives. Some of the parks provide lodging within the park boundaries, and the reservation process was described. Suggested daily trip itineraries were described for most of the parks, which I found to be helpful for first-time visitors. It was pointed out that many of the National Parks have concessionaire partners that offer guided tours, boat tours, and so forth, to assist the visitor in maximizing their experience. I will definitely be relying on this book for my future vacations.

As someone who has visited only a handful of the National Parks, I found this book to be an incredibly useful overview. This concise guide targets the the newcomer to the US National Parks, and especially useful for a family traveler. The book is written for the traveler who plans to spend one or two days in each of the parks. A highlight of the book -- although some may find this controversial-- is the ranking of the parks. Most of us won't end up visiting all 63 of the country's national parks like the author did, so I appreciated having a ranked bucket list from which to start.

Well-written book that is concise and to the point.

I originally bought this book to research national parks in California, but I've now been inspired to branch out to other regions! The book is well organized by state and has photos, maps, and details that you wouldn't normally expect. For example, the author added bloom times for desert plants in Joshua Tree National Park! She also adds interesting historical tidbits that give the rest of the information context and color. She includes lodging, dining and transportation websites to make it easy. I highly recommend this book!