National Geographic Complete National Parks of the United States: 400+ Parks, Monuments, Battlefields, Historic Sites, Scenic Trails, Recreation Areas, and Seashores

This is a beautiful book for learning the basics about our National Parks. It is not very helpful for those who are planning trips to visit the Parks. We were hoping for itineraries, "must see" suggestions, travel tips. If you're looking for a book that educates you about the Parks, this one has beautiful pictures (of course! It's National Geographic!). If you're looking for a book to use in planning a trip to visit any of the Parks, there are other books that will fit that bill.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with no preview of the book (so I am providing a preview here for you), but I got exactly what I was personally looking for: a description and account of every single National Park unit (that means not just the parks but every monument, battlefield, preserve, etc.). This is NOT a book with itineraries, places to stay, etc. This is a book that is organized by region, then by state, so you can see what is all around you either in your home state or in a state you are planning to visit. This is most helpful for us. Each description provides a history of the unit, as well as other relevant interesting information. Helps us decide if there is a monument, battlefield, etc that is worth driving 20 minutes out of the way to see when on our way to another site. We love all the small sites, too. There is so much rich history and amazing places in our Nation. Some of the unit descriptions do state the best things to see while there. I would highly recommend this book to all, particularly if you are interested in more than just the 63 (as of 2021) big parks. And if you want a book with itineraries, places to stay, best trails to hike, detailed maps, etc for the big parks (only the parks), I highly recommend “Your Guide to the National Parks,” 2nd edition, by Michael Joseph Oswald, also found here on Amazon. Currently on sale for just under $20 (regular $25). It is a thick paperback (704 pgs) with super detailed maps and lots of planning info for visiting each park. (I left a review with a photo-attached preview there, as well.) The only caveat with that book is that the most current edition was published in 2017, so just like it says on the cover, “all 59 parks” are included, meaning the last 4 added since then are not included (New River Gorge, White Sands, Indiana Dunes & Gateway Arch). I am anxiously awaiting a 3rd edition to that book with these last 4 included. Love having BOTH of these books in my collection, and they are well (and heavily) used. Highly recommend this book. Please see the preview, which includes a sample of the actual book pages, as well as the table of contents (again, organized by region and then by state), and the U.S. park location map (front of book) & the national trails map (back of book). There are very nice photos throughout, including some 2-page spreads of specific parks/areas. Awesome book!!

Book is great! However, it was crammed into a box that was too small and the corners were all bent and the discover ripped and bent as well.

This book is amazing. I bought it because my wife and I are planning to take a road trip for a couple months across the United States of America and visit all the National Parks. It has been one of our dreams for a while and this book has helped us with what to expect, when the best times to go are, and the picture are simply stunning.

I bought this as a companion book for a colleague at work for his birthday. He spends a lot of his off time hiking throughout the United States and had just come back from one of the national parks. I figured this would be a great book to get his adventure dreams going full blast. Fantastic photos with great notes about each of the featured national parks included in the book. Great tips on outdoor hikes, plus they rate the hikes from inexperienced to expert.

Great primer on all of the National Parks, but that's just what it is - a primer. I wish it had been more detailed, exploring the background and history of each park, but I suppose this would have turned into a series, rather than a one-off. Also, I suppose it's only natural, but the "stars" of the national park system - such as Yosemite or Yellowstone get more coverage than small, lesser known parks. Too bad, because imo, the "stars" already have enough of the spotlight shone on them through many other media (film, documentaries, park specific books, etc.), whereas the little gems need to be highlighted more so they can receive the appreciation they deserve. Still, if you want to get your feet wet and see which park is worth exploring, this book hopefully, gives enough tantalizing information to make you want to learn more and as the National Parks Service slogan says, "Go Find Your Park".

This is the book we'd been searching for. Initially got it out of the library but then bought one to keep. If you are a fan of the National Park system you know it's often just politics that creates the distinction between National Parks and National Monuments. So a book only about the official National Parks is selling you short on the system. The details and write ups are really thorough for something that you could almost mistake for a small coffee table book. We took it on an RV trip with us and it was super helpful. Highly recommended.

was very useful for my tour of some national parks/monuments, etc, helping with planning where to stay, which visitor centers were best for me, learning about some of the geology and natural forces at work in each area, and specifics as to what to expect when I got there. It was my "go to" book in planning each visit. The US keeps adding new monuments et al so it's best to get the most recent version of this book.

I was very excited to get this book but must admit, it certainly doesn’t have the quality of pictures I would expect from National Geographic. A majority of the pictures are not nearly as colorful and clear as they could be with today’s cameras. If you’re looking for a list of a bunch of parks and general info about them, then this is the book for you. If you’re looking for ideas and things to do once you’re in the park, I recommend purchasing something else.

I bought this for my dad for Christmas 2013 and he loves it. He's very into history, geography, and the National Parks. He likes to open it and dream of all the places he will go. (I also ordered him a U.S. park pass so he doesn't have to just dream.) Every time I go to the house I see it in a different place with bookmarks. He completely loves it. He knows s lot about this beautiful country, but he told me there are so many places and monuments he didn't know about. This was the perfect gift! Very informative and some beautiful photographs.

This is a beautiful book for learning the basics about our National Parks. It is not very helpful for those who are planning trips to visit the Parks. We were hoping for itineraries, "must see" suggestions, travel tips. If you're looking for a book that educates you about the Parks, this one has beautiful pictures (of course! It's National Geographic!). If you're looking for a book to use in planning a trip to visit any of the Parks, there are other books that will fit that bill.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with no preview of the book (so I am providing a preview here for you), but I got exactly what I was personally looking for: a description and account of every single National Park unit (that means not just the parks but every monument, battlefield, preserve, etc.). This is NOT a book with itineraries, places to stay, etc. This is a book that is organized by region, then by state, so you can see what is all around you either in your home state or in a state you are planning to visit. This is most helpful for us. Each description provides a history of the unit, as well as other relevant interesting information. Helps us decide if there is a monument, battlefield, etc that is worth driving 20 minutes out of the way to see when on our way to another site. We love all the small sites, too. There is so much rich history and amazing places in our Nation. Some of the unit descriptions do state the best things to see while there. I would highly recommend this book to all, particularly if you are interested in more than just the 63 (as of 2021) big parks. And if you want a book with itineraries, places to stay, best trails to hike, detailed maps, etc for the big parks (only the parks), I highly recommend “Your Guide to the National Parks,” 2nd edition, by Michael Joseph Oswald, also found here on Amazon. Currently on sale for just under $20 (regular $25). It is a thick paperback (704 pgs) with super detailed maps and lots of planning info for visiting each park. (I left a review with a photo-attached preview there, as well.) The only caveat with that book is that the most current edition was published in 2017, so just like it says on the cover, “all 59 parks” are included, meaning the last 4 added since then are not included (New River Gorge, White Sands, Indiana Dunes & Gateway Arch). I am anxiously awaiting a 3rd edition to that book with these last 4 included. Love having BOTH of these books in my collection, and they are well (and heavily) used. Highly recommend this book. Please see the preview, which includes a sample of the actual book pages, as well as the table of contents (again, organized by region and then by state), and the U.S. park location map (front of book) & the national trails map (back of book). There are very nice photos throughout, including some 2-page spreads of specific parks/areas. Awesome book!!

Book is great! However, it was crammed into a box that was too small and the corners were all bent and the discover ripped and bent as well.

This book is amazing. I bought it because my wife and I are planning to take a road trip for a couple months across the United States of America and visit all the National Parks. It has been one of our dreams for a while and this book has helped us with what to expect, when the best times to go are, and the picture are simply stunning.

I bought this as a companion book for a colleague at work for his birthday. He spends a lot of his off time hiking throughout the United States and had just come back from one of the national parks. I figured this would be a great book to get his adventure dreams going full blast. Fantastic photos with great notes about each of the featured national parks included in the book. Great tips on outdoor hikes, plus they rate the hikes from inexperienced to expert.

Great primer on all of the National Parks, but that's just what it is - a primer. I wish it had been more detailed, exploring the background and history of each park, but I suppose this would have turned into a series, rather than a one-off. Also, I suppose it's only natural, but the "stars" of the national park system - such as Yosemite or Yellowstone get more coverage than small, lesser known parks. Too bad, because imo, the "stars" already have enough of the spotlight shone on them through many other media (film, documentaries, park specific books, etc.), whereas the little gems need to be highlighted more so they can receive the appreciation they deserve. Still, if you want to get your feet wet and see which park is worth exploring, this book hopefully, gives enough tantalizing information to make you want to learn more and as the National Parks Service slogan says, "Go Find Your Park".

This is the book we'd been searching for. Initially got it out of the library but then bought one to keep. If you are a fan of the National Park system you know it's often just politics that creates the distinction between National Parks and National Monuments. So a book only about the official National Parks is selling you short on the system. The details and write ups are really thorough for something that you could almost mistake for a small coffee table book. We took it on an RV trip with us and it was super helpful. Highly recommended.

was very useful for my tour of some national parks/monuments, etc, helping with planning where to stay, which visitor centers were best for me, learning about some of the geology and natural forces at work in each area, and specifics as to what to expect when I got there. It was my "go to" book in planning each visit. The US keeps adding new monuments et al so it's best to get the most recent version of this book.

I was very excited to get this book but must admit, it certainly doesn’t have the quality of pictures I would expect from National Geographic. A majority of the pictures are not nearly as colorful and clear as they could be with today’s cameras. If you’re looking for a list of a bunch of parks and general info about them, then this is the book for you. If you’re looking for ideas and things to do once you’re in the park, I recommend purchasing something else.

I bought this for my dad for Christmas 2013 and he loves it. He's very into history, geography, and the National Parks. He likes to open it and dream of all the places he will go. (I also ordered him a U.S. park pass so he doesn't have to just dream.) Every time I go to the house I see it in a different place with bookmarks. He completely loves it. He knows s lot about this beautiful country, but he told me there are so many places and monuments he didn't know about. This was the perfect gift! Very informative and some beautiful photographs.

Very inclusive, informative, and colorfully illustrated guide to all of the US National Parks (except for the recently added White Sands NP, which I'm sure will be added in a future addition). We enjoy having it for planning our multi-state trips. Good price, fast shipping.

This book lives up to its billing as it covers all properties managed by the National Park service. Of course it is time locked in that sooner or later it will be obsolete. But for now, this is as good a reference book as you will find on this subject. I agree with other reviewers that it is lacking in photographs. Since National Geographic is famous for its photos, a few more pages and a lot more photos would have been nice, but then the cost would be more. However, National Geographic isn't bashful about what it charges for other books they put out so the lack of photos is a bit confusing. But if a picture is worth a thousand words, the lack of pictures forces good descriptive text. Here is where this book shines. The author has written just enough text to give the reader sufficient information about the site. But in most cases that is adequate to determine whether that site appears on one's travel agenda or not. Several of the major national parks have much more coverage, and the accompanying photos that bring those entries to life. These are what makes this book worth the money. One can reader about the park and get detailed information on any driving or hiking tours the site may offer. One could really plan an itinerary from the information provided by this book. So from the obscure (I had never heard of some of the sites listed) to the well known, this book does live up to its title. It is, at least for the time being, the "complete" national parks reference book.

This was a present for my husband, we enjoy traveling to National Parks and finding good hiking trails. While it does mention the trails, I wish it had more information on each one and maybe a map of trails at each park. Other than that it’s a great book that has information on each park, you just need a more detail book if you are looking for hiking trails in a specific park.

We are going on a trip out east and I just looked at this since my husband left it out. WOW, I really like it. Lots of good info on the places we might stop at, and the 400+ listings are a lot to look at. I might have to get one for my daughter-in-law.

This book provides beautiful pictures and great details. I bought this for my parents who are getting ready to RV across America. They loved it, the book made a wonderful gift. In a day and age where everything is on the internet it is still nice to be able to hold something in your hands for reference (especially when you may not have the best internet signal). I would highly recommend this to anyone who is thinking of traveling to all the National Parks!

I ordered this book in hopes that it was mostly about the National Parks. Although it did mention all of the parks, it was mostly about monuments, state parks, points of interest throughout the states. Not at all what I had hoped for. The front cover is very deceiving.

This is the only book I was able to find that had most of the park sites not just the big ones. It has a lot of good basic info on all of them and maps. I use it to plan trips and take it with me.

It's just full of history, facts and etc from wikipedia, not a book will help you to plan a trip or seek more things about national parks. Poorly designed.

After paying more for a hard cover book, I am very disappointed to open my Amazon box today to find a torn and creased book jacket on this book. I am embarrassed to offer this as a gift as I intended to do.

This comprehensive book begs you to get off the couch and begin exploring. I guess I was naive as to how many parks, monuments, battlefields, historic sites and trails we are blessed to have right here in the USA, let alone in our own backyard. I like the way the book is broken down into region and then goes state by state explaining the sites, monuments, battlefields, parks or trails. Concise explanations and beautiful photos make this book a winner.

A lot of park information & many beautiful pictures! Bought this as a gift for a retired gentleman who is ready to travel the parks & he loves it.

Great guide to our National parks! Complete with loads of color photos and maps. It even has a section on the various National Trails.

I love this book. For some of the smaller parks it is definitely just a starting point but that's what I needed. I love looking and dreaming about all my bucket list items.

I am so glad that I got this book. Great book. Has a lot of information and a ton of gorgeous pictures. I am looking forward to getting out there.

I have a really old National Geographic book on national parks. A lot of parks have been added since then. I wanted an updated book to supplement travel information.

I referenced this book a lot while on our trip out west to see what National Parks were in the area and what there was to see there and also historical information about the park. Great reference/informational book. Well worth the money.

This book is great. I loved all the pictures in it any explanation of each Park.

Got this for my daughter for Christmas and she absolutely loved it she plans to do a lot of traveling and she love these books

Can’t wait to explore this book. Gave it as a gift for someone retiring.

I gave this as a gift, and perused it before giving it. It is terrific information, and the recipient, who is planning on visiting the national parks, was very pleased.

Am recently retired, and wife wants to visit as many National Parks as possible, this book should help a lot.

This is a great book for people who love the National Park Service and want to see as much of the US as possible. There are so many places in here I never knew about. I highly recommend this book!

Fantastic book. We used this to navigate around Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Capitol Reef. Great information; a little sparse on some spots, so we used another National Geographic book to supplement.

Discovered some parks I didn’t know about, but there is little information on each of the parks

If you are planning to travel over usa it’s a good book to have with you

I really like this National Parks book. I actually wish it gave more information than it does. I feel like it only has half the information it should. It would be nice to have more info on hikes and more history of each park. Besides that, I have enjoyed reading it.

It's National Geographic, so it is well done. Good start to planning my trips.

Good book showing state and national parks in every state. Good for planning out of state trips.

What can be better than visiting our nations National Parks. Thorough guide

Better than expected. Made a great gift.

A must if you are planning on casual touring or full out excursions into national parks! This is a great resource for planning out trip from must see to hidden gems.

Nice book. A lot of information

Very informative guide.

Has great insider tips. Covers all the bases. Seems to be pretty scholarly.

These books and print are much to small of print for my liking.

We visit NP everywhere we go so this is the perfect book for our addition

We love this book. Great source of info.

good book

Beautiful photography. Great giftable item!

very detailed book for the national parks. But this book contains so much more about great places to visit.

Great book but the book arrived with the front cover torn. There was also a few pages damaged. Not enough damage to want to return the book, but enough where I didn’t want to give as a gift (as originally intended).

love it

Gave this as a gift and they loved it!

Awesome book and photography, we have been to most of the parks, great reminisce of our trips !

It was a present for my dad for Christmas, he loved it. Seeing as we travel to parts quite often it doesn't have all the parks but it's a good breif history along with descriptions of the parks. Highly recommended for anybody that likes to travel

Good quality and photos are great.

Wonderful information and beautiful photos.

I love that this covers, not only the National Parks, but the National Monuments, etc!!

Nice primer before park visits

I bet it is the most informative book of all I have. It contains multiple articles covering the history, geology, nature oа the parks and also some useful tips for travelers. The quality is outstanding.

daughter loved it!

Great book. Good vacation planner

Very thorough. Beautiful pictures.

Love it

My girlfriend loved it great gift for the outdoors / nature person!

I like that it told about all the parks. However, I was disappointed because I wanted to know more about established campgrounds in the parks.

Lots of useful information.

Great gift!

Great book with lots of information that my wife and I can use in the future.

Great book. I had looked at it in a bookstore, and hadn't bought it. I was glad to see a much better price here.

Has National Monuments in addition to National Parks. Great Book.

Look forward about this book

Only had it for a few days . So far it’s AMAZING !!

Not at all what I expected. Very disappointed.

Great resource.

Excellent book

Surprisingly little text and photos because it has all the parks. Yet, it does have many more parks than similiar books.

This book is complete and a good source when planning a vacation! Great photos and information for each park and national monument in each state.

needs updating to include recent national monuments

This is a comprehensive guide with good information, but more pictures would be helpful!

Christmas

fast delivery, beautiful book

Beautiful, lots of pictures. Wife wants to go

Gorgeous book, well researched and informative. Great read as well as a wonderful way to plan a trip to one of our nation's amazing national parks.

It was a gift but said that he loved it

Informative

I like the product because it's very informative and has a lot of pictures hopefully that are current amen

I purchased this book for our honeymoon to Yellowstone National Park. It is very detailed, gives specific sites to see, spots to stop, and excellent maps. It was our go to for our trip! We will use it for years to come as we visit other national parks.

Great book to travel parks

Great book. Great gift...

I ordered this book a week before leaving for a 3 week driving tour. It arrived within three days so in plenty of time for me to take on my trip. Because it contains a description of all the National Parks, as well as Monuments and Sites, I use it as my new National Park Passport to collect stamps. It is organized by region and then by state, so makes a wonderful guide for planning trips.

Book is large and illustrations are clear! Would recommend!

We read this book before going on vacation. Then, we took it with us and used it as a guide to the places we wanted to visit It has a good description of the places, and the addresses for our GPS.

Given as a gift and very much appreciated. I personally would have liked more pictures but seems that this will serve as a great resource for traveling national parks.

A very good presentation of the best national parks and historical sites, with beautiful pictures and comprehensive explanations. Ideas of visits wherever you are in the US!

Nice book

This is not only national parks, but also national monuments, historical sites and all federal park-like attractions. Excellent narrative, beautifully illustrated, a great item for anyone who likes to visit sites in the National Park Service system.

Great book!

Interesting

extremely well written and covered the parks in great detail. Used it on a recent trip to two of our National Parks

great

Very helpful to have a hard copy in hand- great information

Very in depth and informative book, it will be a great asset when we start traveling the parks

Nice book about our National Parks

Perfect condition

Perfect for planning that RV Trip of my husband’s dreams! So much information!

Got this as a gift, and the recipients were very pleased with it. Love the high-quality photos throughout this book.

Good for giving ideas of the next park to hike, not as much detail as needed to plan

Plenty of information!!

great

I love that National Geographic has done a book with all the parks, historic and otherwise. We're looking forward to spending lots of time with this book in our mission to visit as many of the country's national parks as possible.

lots of great info! More than I knew existed.

It is a typical NGS book with lots of tourist info but no info on camping and trailer etc. facilities. I had to purchase another product directly from Good Sam to answer my questions.

Great customer service when 1st order did not meet expectations thank you very much.

Many of the national parks are listed and good info on them. The pics were on the small side, and were limited to one per description of the park. Certainly the book is good enough to inspire travel to see these great parks in person.

This book is a complete description of every American national park. For every park there is a short description at the beginning, the description of some famous trail and some cultural notes. At the end there is a little paragraph with principal information like phone number, web site and address. Furthermore for the biggest there is a little map with parks and visitors Center

Love it.

Good, comprehensive book detailing the national parks

This book has everything you would ever want to know about the National Parks.

Wish I still could still camp & hike. Gives you good insight to our parks &national monuments.

Very beautiful and complete book.

Quite informative and helpful in planning our west tour!

Another part of our RV ROAD TRIP research

Now part of his collection. Thank you.

Great resource. I bought it after my wife and I bought our lifetime passes.

Gave as gifts to host families and relatives in Europe. They really enjoy them! Wish it had more pictures.

A useful Directory of what's out there in the USA in National Parks. Lots more detail at their individual websites, by Googling them, but these brief descriptions give you enough of their flavor to make initial choices as to where to go.

Love this new edition of our National Parks.

The book was bought for a gift by request

Great gift

Didn’t use it much while planning our road trip but it is very colorful and very informative.

Great product at a great price.

This beautiful book, full of illustrations and information, describes our National Parks comprehensively. Every American should have a copy of this book.

Very good book on National parks. Good detail

GREAT book

I gave this as a gift. My friends loved it.

My husband and I like to travel through the national parks. Even though we are not hikers, this book contains some very good information and tips that our other books do not. A good buy!

awesome

Very thorough, but minimal photos. Descriptions are short, but there are many.

A lot of information regarding the parks with good pictures. Purchased mine used. . the only way to go! Environmentally friendly.

Beautiful photos and great info. I purchased one as a gift and after I saw it, I ordered another one for my family.

Everything and more that we wanted! Planning trips already...

A great book to plan for our travels to America's treasures-- our national parks. Beautiful pictures, history, and information. Great tabletop book.

Wonderful gifts for my adult grandchildren who love to be outdoors.

This was a grift and well received. Great reference source

best book yet on all the National Parks

Great buy for the money! Came quickly & just what my daughter wanted!!

very detailed and truly does include ALL national parks. not just the well known ones as other books do. very detailed and informative. not a travel guide

Thinking of all the National Parks for long term trip planning. This helps, in one location, to see what, where and it will be a big help in "clustering the parks" for visits.

Helpful

Purchased this book as a retirement gift and the recipient immediately started reading and planning. The size makes it perfect to carry in the car. This is not a coffee table book due to size and layout but a great National Park planning book.

Excellent for planning trip

Okay!

Given as a gift. Was royally received.

This is a beautiful book! Well worth the money!

Great coffee table book. Good quality

Great book

We gave this as a gift and the person we gave it to loves it! Told us that he and his children both have enjoyed this book.

Book has very good coverage of National parks and Monuments!

Comprehensive information about the parks and great pictures.

Excellent book. My son and I are looking forward to seeing these parks in person.

All the detail I wanted, and more.

Great product, FAST delivery! Just what we needed for RV travel!

The book didn't have as many pictures as I thought it would, but the reviews of the parks are detailed.

OK

It was a gift and she found it usuful for research on her book