Customer Reviews

Grand Canyon, The Complete Guide: Grand Canyon National Park

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I recently bought this guide along with two other guides for my trip to the Grand Canyon. This one was so good that I literally threw out my other two guides three days into my trip. (Actually I gave them away to other vacationers to reuse and recycle but terminology aside, I still ended up getting rid of them to lessen the load in my backpack because they were nowhere near as thorough as The Complete Guide). Other books can't compare to the glossy color photographs, maps, trail recommendations, park background, flora and fauna highlights to look for and most importantly the insider's tips provided in this guide. It actually felt like the other two guides that I bought for my trip (and to be nice I won't name names but they were from big travel book publishers) were written by people sitting behind a computer in an office who hadn't been to the Grand Canyon in years, while this guide reads like the author is sitting on a rock perched over the Colorado River sharing his insight to friends. I loved this guide and can't recommend it enough. Besides a good backpack, hiking shoes and some food, it's all that you need for a great trip to the Grand Canyon. Buy this one book, skip everything else that's out there, and you'll be all set.

The Grand Canyon is universally acclaimed as one of the great natural wonders of the world. Now in a fully updated and beautifully illustrated third edition, James Kaiser's "Grand Canyon: The Complete Guide" is the ideal guide for novice visitors and a superbly informative reference for the seasoned visitor as well. A complete and 'user friendly' travel guide and planner for visiting the Grand Canyon, this ideal reference includes the Havasu Falls, topography maps, trail descriptions for both day trips and overnight hikes, mule rides, scenic flights, Colorado river trips, public campgrounds, historic lodges, the canyon's geology, native wildlife, history, and a great deal more. Compact and easily portable, "Grand Canyon: The Complete Guide" truly lives up to its title and is an invaluable addition to personal and community library travel guide collections -- as well as the supplemental reading lists of the armchair explorer!

Great guide! I got this book after my husband and I used James Kaiser's Joshua Tree book for our anniversary vacation there and had an amazing trip. We had been to the Grand Canyon once years ago and paid $72 for a guided "geography hike." This time we just used this guidebook and got twice as much information. We did three of the lesser-known trails recommended in the book and found some incredible views away from the crowds. We ended up planning most of our week there based on the author's suggestions, and it was a perfect trip. If you're going to the park for any length of time, I recommend this book 100%!

The Complete Guide to the Grand Canyon by Destination Press really covers all aspects of the Park. I found the guide very "useable" as it brings you through the trails easily. There is no confusion about how to hike the canyon. The photos are spectacular as is the writing. A must for either the serious hiker/trekker or the casual visitor.

Out of all the Grand Canyon guides I bought, this one was my favorite.
The color photos are amazing, and the background info about the
canyon's history, geology and wildlife is fascinating. If you're going
to Grand Canyon I would definitely recommend buying this book.

I love the fact that this book includes so many color photos, something usually lacking in travel guides. After all, how can you decide where to go if you have no idea what it looks like first? The information in this book is overall very helpful, though in comparison to non-photo travel guides it is somewhat lacking in detail. But the 4th edition of the book (published in 2011) has one major and inexcusable flaw: Pages 110-111 consist of a two-page map of the South Rim, with labels for more specific regions that are addressed later in the book. Each such section has a two-page blow-up map to show more detail for the respective region. So far, so good. Pages 122-123 are supposed to be a two-page map of Grand Canyon Village region, one of the most important parts of the park to have a map for. But when you turn to pages 122-123 you'll find the exact same map of the South Rim that appears on pages 110-111. There is no blow-up of the Grand Canyon Village region anywhere in the book. Obviously the publisher screwed up. This is an inexcusable mistake that drastically reduces the usefulness of the book, because the missing map is supposed to have numbers that correspond with descriptions of specific locations in the section on Grand Canyon Village. As a result, you can read all about those places but you will have no idea where they are because of the missing map. This is a huge disappointment.

One of the best Grand Canyon guide books I've seen. Useful for the first-time visitor as well as the experienced hiker.

James Kaiser's guide is by far the best I have ever used on a trip to the Grand Canyon. From the amazing photos to the comprehensive maps and interesting anecdotes, the book truly made my trip an unforgettable one. Do not visit the Grand Canyon without this guide.

The best travel companion money can buy. My wife and I had 10 days in the GC and this book covers all the attractions from every angle. We used this book to create unique day-trips every morning. Some days we would go out spotting plant and animal life, others we would make treks that retraced history, but most often, this books knows where and when to see the wide vistas and hidden nooks that make the Grand Canyon such a sublime place to visit. But for all the information it packs, I love this book for how easy it is to thumb through, and how fun it actually is to read. I'm an avid traveler and have been using the standard guides for years, which are certainly adequate enough, but finding this book has made me seek out other independent guides for my future trips. A great find.

It was my third trip to the Grand Canyon and I thought I had seen it all, but my buddy, Larry Motts, told me to pickup this book and see the real Grand Canyon. The amazing photos alone made me want to jump right in and rediscover the majesty that is the Grand Canyon. And it's not only the obvious attractions but the small things that this book wont let you miss; the hidden trails, the charming anecdotes of history, and the all round essence of romance. You know the author, James Kaiser, adores this place because his book embodies all that there is to love about the Grand Canyon. Buy this book and buy it now!