America's National Parks for Dummies [Paperback]

Kurt Repanshek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 29, 2001 | Series: Dummies Travel (Book 48)

America's National Parks For Dummies features 15 of the most popular national parks in the Lower 48, including Great Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone National Parks. Author and self-styled parkie Kurt Repanshek hits all the highlights from the East Coast to the West. He's checked out all the parks' best lodgings and restaurants in person, and offers honest opinions that help you find the choices that suit your tastes and budget. He also gives you the rundown on the most worthwhile activities and tells you which trails to take to discover the parks' natural treasures. The book also includes one-day itineraries for those with limited time and tips on activities for families, photographers, animal-watchers, and sports-minded travelers. Plus, excellent maps ensure that you won't get lost along the way.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Your insider's guide to the best places and prices

Plan the perfect national park vacation From Acadia to Yellowstone to Olympic, America's national Parks are packed with awe-inspiring vistas and fun things to do. How do you plan the perfect trip? Relax! This friendly guide is overflowing with information and tips on the 15 most popular parks.

Discover: Down-to-earth trip-planning advice What you shouldn't miss ? and what you can skip The best hotels and restaurants for every budget Lots of detailed maps

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About the Author

About the Author Kurt Repanshek, a misplaced Easterner, has been roaming the Rocky Mountains since 1985, when he arrived in Wyoming as state correspondent for The Associated Press. A freelance editor and writer based in Park City, Utah since 1993, he has managed to find his way to the top of the Grand Teton; paddled portions of the Green, Colorado, and Middle Fork of the Salmon Rivers as well as Yellowstone's Shoshone Lake; and cross-country skied in the predawn cold to catch sunrise on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, all in the pursuit of stories. He is the author of Hidden Utah (Ulysses Press), and his work has appeared in Sunset, National Geographic Traveler, and Hemispheres, among other publications.

Product Details

• Paperback: 548 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (April 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764562045
• ISBN-13: 978-0764562044
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,184,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thorough and descriptive guide that is worth every penny!, September 13, 2001

By 

D. Reis (New Haven, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America's National Parks for Dummies (Paperback)

This book is a great guide for visiting the most popular national parks in the United States. It provides extensive information on parks such as Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Olympic, Yosemite and Zion. Repanshek details the pros and cons of each park with candor with helpful comments about what to expect from the weather, wildlife and crowds.

Each chapter focuses on a different park. Within each chapter, he covers such topics as: geology, attractions, directions, fees, safety precautions, hikes, ranger programs, lodging, dining options, and other essentials such as post offices, lost and founds, etc. He writes in the first person, and often makes amusing commentaries about his own experiences and expectations. He does a thorough job covering each park - one can sense from reading that not only has he personally visited these places, but that he has returned to each a number of times and writes with the experience that is so valuable to those on a limited time schedule. He acknowledges that while each park could be a vacation of its own, many people can only spend a day or two at each place. To accomodate such travelers, he includes a section in each chapter on what to do if you only have one day to explore the park. This can be an incredibly useful tool if you are on a tight time schedule.

Frequently in travel guides, one gets the sense that the author is either an avid outdoorsman bent on roughing it, or a once-a-year vacationer who would rather die than sleep in a tent. Not so here - Repanshek clearly addresses both groups. He details all the available campsites in a park, along with his opinions on how clean/quiet/developed each site is; but also lists hotels and motels in the surrounding areas, ranging from the cheapest to the swankiest of lodgings. Same goes for the dining options. I personally appreciated this a great deal - my trip was primarily a camping excursion, but every once in a while we decided to splurge on decent hotels and were grateful for his frankness in describing what we could expect for our money.

My only gripe with this book is that it only covers 15 parks. Of course, due to its level of detail, it would be difficult to cover more. My hope is that Kurt Repanshek considers putting together two or more separate guides, for the Eastern and Western National Parks. He has a great eye for detail and leaves no stones unturned in his comprehensive tour of the American parks. I highly recommend this guide!