25 Best Books about the National Parks

National Park books — Buy a good book about the National Parks for yourself or your loved ones. credit: Catherine Parker

Explore a National Park and discover a majestic landscape. Or wander through a National Park to learn about the people of the past. Whatever your reasons, a book can help you with your journey. The U.S. offers 63 national parks along with over 400 NPS sites that protect areas of significance. That’s a lot of territory. A National Park book can help you plan a once-in-a-lifetime trip, from where to stay to what to do. If you, or some one you love, is a National Park enthusiast then here’s the perfect gift.. Find National Park books for the weekend adventurer, the full-time RVer, the history buff, and even the kids. Here’s a list of the best books about the National Parks.

Table of Contents

Best National Park Books for Trip Planning

National Parks offer amazing experiences that most will remember for a lifetime. Though the data coverge is really bad, like non-existant in most cases. Researching ahead of your trip is important as well as taking a good, packable guide with you on your trip.

Moon Best of Zion & Bryce: Make the Most of One to Three Days in the Parks by Judy Jewell and W. C. McRae

Moon Guides are favorites for a reason. Each provide comprehensive information to plan your trip with lots of easily digestible information in a small book format. It is their guides that get valuable space in the backpack for trips. So many times the remote National Park locations lack adquate data coverage for on-the-go research. A hard copy guide is essential. Remember, visitor centers usually close at 5 p.m. daily.

The Best of Zion and Bryce divide each park into sections on best hikes, best views and best scenic drives. Travelers get background information about the people of the area along with details about the geologic features. A Moon Guide wouldn’t be complete with detailed information about acitivities, lodging, camping and where to eat during your stay.

Moon USA National Parks: The Complete Guide to All 62 Parks (Travel Guide)

After using Moon Guides for years I appreciate the common sense tips along with up-to-date information covering everything from what to do to where to stay. In addition to the must have information, Moon Guides give you insight to why a place is worth visiting.

Here’s an updated guide covering all 62 National Parks. Find it packed with information for your next National Park getaway. Along with individual write-ups for the parks, find lots of general parks facts and tips in the front. And the photos are inspiring.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in partnership/collaboration with Moon Travel Guides.

National Geographic Road Atlas 2021: Adventure Edition with United States, Canada, Mexico

Forget about socks and underwear for National Park travelers and adventures. They need maps. I’ve used this atlas on the road for years and mine has notes in the margins along with ripped out pages. When I’m at home, it sits on my desks for trip planning. This atlas is focused on the National Parks.

Moon USA State by State: The Best Things to Do in Every State for Your Travel Bucket List

Rarely do road trippers just see National Parks on a trip, so the Moon USA State by State is a great companion guide for a National Park road trip. The book is divided into geographical sections, like the West Coast, Rocky Mountains and the New England.

Moon USA State by State opens with a section dedicated to the Best of the USA. You will find sections like the best natural wonders, best museums and cultural centers and of course eating your way through the USA.

Each state section opens with highlight section followed by a map, then information about what to see and do on your road trip. Moon USA State by State offers a concise guide of the must-do experiences for each state.

National Park Travelogues

National Park books are always on my bedside table. I read to learn National Park Service history and more information for my next National Park trip. Though I like to read for fun as well. And if you don’t have time to read, then many of the following books are available as audio books as well. It’s a great way to enjoy books while doing mundane tasks.

Dories, Ho! by Matt and Karen Smith

For fans of Matt and Karen Smith, they’re out in the national parks again. This time the duo take a multi-day white water rafting trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. They tell their story like you were sitting next to them on the raft and afterwards at the nightly camp fire.

Dear Bob and Sue by Matt and Karen Smith

A pair of young retirees, Karen and Matt Smith, take off and hit the road to see all the national parks. In a series of emails to Bob and Sue, the friends they left back home, get a park-by-park account.

A must for anyone gearing up to explore the U.S. with their spouse in tow. Get truthful accounts of the popular tours and trails. And find tips for sneaking beer into lodges along with the best pizza joints near the parks in this humorous read.

And the near plane crash in Alaska explains why I’m leery of small planes.

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

Grab a walking stick and set out to walk from Georgia to Maine with your favorite bearded travel writer, Bill Bryson. A pair of middle-aged dad bods are pushed to the limits and packed down with junk food as they try to ford streams in the middle of the wilderness along the AT, or Appalachian Trail. Equal parts funny and informative and possibly Bryson’s best book.

Books for the Traveler and Adventurer

Be ready for adventure and pack a map. Since WiFi and data coverage are sketchy in the remote backcountry, maps are a necessity, along with a water bottle.

Lonely Planet USA’s National Parks

I have a shelf full of Lonely Planet guides. This guides provides an overview of the parks. Buy the individual guides for detailed information for specific parks.

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Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park by Lee Whittlesey

Get a detailed account of how to die in Yellowstone National Park. Should be required reading for volunteers and contract workers spending their first summer in the park. Through the seasons and over the years, learn about how the weather, the animals and the skirmishes can be deadly. Not suitable for sensitive readers or young kids.

Books for the National Parks History Buff

If you need a gift for the history buff, here’s several books I’ve read to learn more about the National Park Service.

Creating the National Park Service: The Missing Years by Horace Albright

An interesting account from the beginning days of the National Park Service written by the second Director of the National Park Service. He started at the NPS under the first Director, Stephen Mather.

Learn about the how the national parks were protected from private interest and government oversight in an engaging account written by Horace Albright with the her of his daughter, Marian Albright Schenck. It is a fascinating read for the National Park and history lover.

National Parks and the Woman’s Voice: A History by Polly Welts Kaufman

Get the history of women in the National Park Service from the earliest interpreters and park wives to next gerneration of superintendents. It’s a detailed account of early issues from sub-par housing to how career advancement was different for women in the NPS.

Additionally learn about the female activitists and the organizations they run that worked in tandem with the NPS to protect natural areas from developement. This chronological account is a must for a most inclusive look at the history of the National Park Service.

Prophets and Moguls, Rangers and Rogues, Bison and Bears: 100 Years of the National Park Service

An easy-to-read book packed with interesting facts and stories from the first 100 years of the NPS. Learn the history, the politics and the characters surrounding the legendary U.S. parks.

National Geographic The National Parks: An Illustrated History

Let the photographers at National Geographic show you the most beautiful spots. Great for the traveler or the photography lover on your list.

Camping and Tramping with Roosevelt by John Burroughs

Relive the early days of conservation in the U.S. as told by Borroughs. He accompanied President Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir during a pivotal camping trip in the Sierra Mountains. A small book that makes a good stocking stuffer.

The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America by Douglas Brinkley

For serious student of the national parks, Brinkley offers over 800 pages of history into the complex president who shaped the National Parks. It’s an engaging and thoughtful analysis from a historian.

The Vagabonds: The Story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison’s Ten-Year Road Trip by Jeff Guinn

Learn about 20th century pioneers that paved the way for the Great American Road Trip. In Ford’s cars see how Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone and John Burroughs traveled in the 1920s.

The Wisdom of John Muir: 100+ Selections from the Letters, Journals, and Essays of the Great Naturalist

Get the best of John Muir’s lyrical writings in this collection. Pulled from his books, articles and even personal letters, Rowthorn offers insight into the thoughts of Muir.

National Park Gifts

If your loved one is not a big reader then here’s some gift ideas for you.

National Park Mugs and Glassware by Well Told

For the National Park enthusiast that’s not a reader, a mug or water bottle with an engraved topographical map might be the best gift. Well Told offers a full line of drinkware along with insulated items and make great usable gifts.

Pursuit of History

The Pursuit of History Print

In the style of the WPA Federal One program that used artists to create promotional posters celebrating the National Park during the Great Depression, the Pursuit of History is honoring that legacy. With two limited edition releases (along with a new location in 2022), the Fort Ticonderoga and Gettysburg Civil War Battlefield prints are offered as a limited run of 200 and sure to sell out.

Pendleton Women’s 3-pack National Park Gift Box, Medium, Glacier/Crater Lake/Rainier Stripes

Every one needs socks.

Where to Stay if You Don’t Camp

The National Parks are for everyone but camping isn’t. Here’s a few books dedicated to the historic lodges and inns of the National Park Service.

Great Lodges of the National Parks: The Companion Book to the PBS Television Series

This book is the gold standard though more a reference book than a guidebook for your trip. PBS made a series exploring the architecture of the NPS too. It’s a must for architecture fans too.

Great Lodges of the National Parks, Volume Two

So many historic lodges to explore, Great Lodges of the National Parks offers another volume.

Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges

Offering a packable size, this guide covers all the national park lodges in the National Park Service. This book is more of a travel guide provides information for trips.

National Park Books for Kids

Since I have three kids, I’m always picking up books on our adventures. I especially like children’s books with rich and detailed illustrations.

Seek and Find National Parks by Jorrien Peterson

Can’t tell you what I love better–mazes or the national parks. If you are or know a maze kid, here’s the book. Learn about the uniqueness of the U.S. and Canadian national parks, from Branff to Crater Lake to the U.S. Virgin Islands to Yellowstone. Work the maze and get to know the park. This book even includes a glossary.

Stamp Your Way Through the U.S.A. – Pacific Northwest & Alaskan Region National Parks Guidebook

A charming series of five books divided by region, like Western region and the Rocky Mountain Region. Kids learn about individual parks, like the geological features and the animals of the park.

Then kids can fill out a page to document their visit, including space for park cancellation stamps. Makes for an excellent companion for national park road trips.

This is a Book for People Who Love the National Parks by Matt Garczyski

I loved the portable size of this handbook. It features a short introduction into the National Park Service. Then read two page summeries of the more popular parks across the U.S. The illustrations are charming as well.

After reading, I really wanted to see the last of my remaining parks, like Voyageurs National Park and Dry Tortugas National Park.

The National Parks: Discover all 62 National Parks of the United States!

Here’s your book to cover all 62 National Parks for kids. Packed with information in kid-sized bites.

America’s National Parks (Lonely Planet Kids)

In a guide with charming illustrations, kids can explore the big book of national parks. Starts with nifty things to know about visiting National Parks, then learn about the parks in ABC order. So this is a great reference guide for kids. Or get them excited about a national parks road trip.

John Muir: Candlewick Biographies: America’s First Environmentalist

A great read-aloud book to learn more about conservation and the Father of the National Parks.

How We Crossed The West: The Adventures Of Lewis And Clark

Kids engage with the historical characters so learn about the legendary duo that trekked from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean. There are several national park sites dedicated to Lewis and Clark sprinkled across the U.S.

Journey Around Our National Parks by Martha Day Zschock

Take a virtual trip through the national parks, or get excited for an upcoming trip. Offers charming illustrations for kids.

Who Pooped in the Park? Yellowstone National Park: Scat and Tracks for Kids

Don’t underestimate the power of poop. Kids dig it. Find a book from your favorite national park and they’re a hit with kids in the lower grades.

More Books

Best Books by Women about Women

Best Books for Dads

Ernest Hemingway Books

Best Books to Inspire Kids to Travel

Best Books set in France

Nine Nonprofits that Support the National Parks

Best Travelogues

Disclosure

This post contains affiliate links. Some books received for review purposes.

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