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National Park Books
Below you’ll find our pick of the best books that cover most or all of the national parks in the United States. We own all of these books and find them to be fantastic at serving their purpose, whether its general information or beautiful photography. If you’re looking for maps, specifically National Geographic’s large collection of excellent trail maps, try National Park Maps.
National Geographic Complete National Parks of the United States, 2nd Edition
This book is an amazingly complete guide to every unit of the National Park Service. Along with the 59 (at publication date, 62 now) national parks, nearly 350 other national monuments, memorials, preserves, historic sites, battlefields, cemeteries, parkways, trails, and seashores are covered as well. At 544 pages, the coverage is obviously not extensive, but there’s no better book for getting an idea of every single NPS area. We use it all the time.
Purchase from: AmazonAtlas of the National Parks
This book, released by National Geographic in November of 2019, is what you’d expect from them. It’s big, it’s heavy, and it’s full of stunning photography. This is a coffee-table sized book meant to page through, not to plan a trip. Highly recommended.
Purchase from: AmazonNational Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States, 8th Edition
This is National Geographic’s guide to the national parks only, unlike the guide above. As a result, more detailed coverage is possible. As with any National Geographic publication, there are some great photos, along with the usual information. We own several editions of this book and can recommend it.
Purchase from: AmazonYour Guide to the National Parks
This is an exhaustive book of the national parks, loaded with practical information. It can be a bit overwhelming at times, but anything you might want to know is probably in this book – somewhere.
Purchase from: AmazonTreasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America’s National Parks
This is perhaps the finest photo book of the national parks produced to date. It features the photography of QT Luong. It is not cheap, but is worth every cent. A stunning portrayal of every national park.
Purchase from: AmazonThe National Parks: Our American Landscape
This is another photo book of the national parks of the United States. Most of the photographs in this paperback book are simply stunning. It is another great choice for those looking for a photo book of the parks. It is available in both hardback and paperback versions.
Purchase from: AmazonBooks on specific national parks
- Acadia
- American Samoa
- Arches
- Badlands
- Big Bend
- Biscayne
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison
- Bryce Canyon
- Canyonlands
- Capitol Reef
- Carlsbad Caverns
- Channel Islands
- Crater Lake
- Cuyahoga Valley
- Death Valley
- Denali
- Dry Tortugas
- Everglades
- Gates of the Arctic
- Gateway Arch
- Glacier
- Glacier Bay
- Grand Canyon
- Grand Teton
- Great Basin
- Great Sand Dunes
- Great Smoky Mountains
- Guadalupe Mountains
- Haleakala
- Hawaii Volcanoes
- Hot Springs
- Indiana Dunes
- Isle Royale
- Joshua Tree
- Kenai Fjords
- Kings Canyon
- Lassen Volcanic
- Mammoth Cave
- Mesa Verde
- Mount Rainier
- North Cascades
- Olympic
- Petrified Forest
- Pinnacles
- Redwood
- Rocky Mountain
- Saguaro
- Sequoia
- Shenandoah
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Virgin Islands
- Voyageurs
- White Sands
- Wind Cave
- Wrangell-St. Elias
- Yellowstone
- Yosemite
- Zion
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Last Updated on May 23, 2020