Customer Reviews

The Grand Canyon Handbook: An Insider's Guide to the Park: As Related by Ranger Jack

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

 

 

We searched far & wide for info. about the G.C. while planning our trip. There's a lot of info. online, to be sure. But if you want the insider's perspective - skip Fodor's, Frommer's, Let's Go, and the rest of the "mainstream" travel guides. Those "other guides" will only give you the most basic information (which is also readily available on the web).

The Grand Canyon Handbook: an Insider's Guide to the Park will give you just about everything you need to know to make the most of your trip to the G.C.! From, directions, camping, lodging & dining info., tours, a history of the canyon and the park to the best times (& places) to view surise & sunsets, the best time of year to go, and plenty of info. on the flora & fauna, too! As well as many different ways you can see the Grand Canyon: shuttlebus, hiking along the rim, your car/RV, hiking into the canyon, rafting through the canyon, by helicopter or plane, etc. It's written by some REAL insiders - people who know the Park inside & out. We'd definitely reccomend this book to anyone who wants to learn about one of our Nation's greatest natural treasures!

The only things it left out were: how amazing the drive around the canyon from the South to North Rims is, and other area attractions (like The Grand Canyon: West with the Hualapai Indians and Grand Canyon Caverns). But, maybe those will make it into the 2nd edition.

If you're planning a trip to the Grand Canyon (even if you're only stopping by for one day) YOU NEED THIS BOOK!

The way the books of this series work is that they took a guide for new rangers in Yosemite with the 100 or so most frequently asked questions, and wrote their own answers for each park. So in each book the questions are very similar but the answers might be very different.

It's a great format because it makes for easy reading beforehand, but it's also quick as a reference when you're there because they're arranged in an intelligent order. There's also a huge reference section at the end with lists, copies of permit forms, and so forth. So the thing to do is read the FAQ before you leave but bring the book and refer to it once you're there.

Before I went I really wasn't sure how long we'd want to stay or even if there was really anything to do other than look at the canyon. As it turns out there's a ton of things to do - ruins, great hiking, sunsets, stargazing, and we spent a lot more time there than I would have thought. Without this book either I wouldn't have realized this stuff existed (the park service doesn't exactly promote the nearby native ruins, but they're cool) or I would have scheduled way too little time.

The way the books of this series work is that they took a guide for new rangers in Yosemite with the 100 or so most frequently asked questions, and wrote their own answers for each park. So in each book the questions are very similar but the answers might be very different.

It's a great format because it makes for easy reading beforehand, but it's also quick as a reference when you're there because they're arranged in an intelligent order. There's also a huge reference section at the end with lists, copies of permit forms, and so forth. So the thing to do is read the FAQ before you leave but bring the book and refer to it once you're there.

Before I went I really wasn't sure how long we'd want to stay or even if there was really anything to do other than look at the canyon. As it turns out there's a ton of things to do - ruins, great hiking, sunsets, stargazing, and we spent a lot more time there than I would have thought. Without this book either I wouldn't have realized this stuff existed (the park service doesn't exactly promote the nearby native ruins, but they're cool) or I would have scheduled way too little time.

Have a question about your visit to the Grand Canyon? It's probably answered in this book.

I got this book while preparing to author a DVD Hiking Guide to the Grand Canyon (now also available on Amazon Jon's DVD Hiking Guides - Grand Canyon National Park) to make sure that I wouldn't leave essential information out of the DVD.

This book answers just about any question that you might have, and while perusing the questions you are bound to say "Yeah, that is a question I would have before or during my visit."

Very practical and useful; but a few years old, so some of the information is out of date. That's why it gets only 3 stars.

Book is excellent. It's full of great tips and information, and I really liked the format and informal style of the book. I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone thinking of traveling to the Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon Handbook: an Insider's Guide to the Park, was quite helpful. I searched all over the internet for grand canyon tour information, and i must say paradisefoundtours.com was by far the best. I signed up for a grand canyon tour and a hoover dam tour with them. The book and the website went hand in hand. We had a great time!

This guide provides an interesting overview to the Grand Canyon. Parents will find this guide useful in sharing this awesome wonder with their children. However, this guide falls short as a vacation planner.

PLUSSES: Lots of good solid standard government type tourist information.

MINUSES:

1) Maps suck. Really bad. Nearly useless. Drawn in a "cutesy comic book style" that ads nothing and makes the maps nearly useless. NOTE TO AUTHOR: FIX MAPS! we don't need cutesy pictures. GOOD DETAILED maps are essential unless you like to spend a lot of time lost trying to figure out how to get out of a tourist traffic jam. I want to car camp to save money. I may do both rims. There is no map with possible spots mapped out so I can plan my trip around where I'm going to sleep between the rims etc. There are about 10 maps in the book all useless. Bad really bad. I may end up shelling out money just for a decent map for the whole state! I need details.

2) Not really an insider handbook. The book is geared toward standard tourists with money to burn who eat at restaurants and stay in motels.

It's OK for those people. It does give you info on mule trips etc but not much you couldn't find at the center of the tourist village.

It also warns you to take water when you hike down into the canyon. DUH! SEVERAL TIMES! Take a hat. DUH! (My advice: take an UMBRELLA, for rain AND Sun. Better than a hat! You'll thank me later.) But it doesn't tell you where there is water on the trails! No map! No info about springs or streams etc. Again no maps of where to sleep in the canyon. No recommendations of where to sleep. Lots of info only a total amateur wouldn't think of. Anyone with extensive car camping or backpacking experience or even trailering will need more info.

What I wanted was an insider view of what was essential for someone more intrepid. I found a good book before my trip to Maui last year that warned that Maui's not so hot for bicycle touring, where the best diving is, etc. That book recommended the natural food co-op buffet for food which saved me a lot of money eating in crappy restaurants. It kept me from getting caught up in tourist traps. I spent 95% of my time on what was really cool in Maui. I made only one mistake hiking down into the crater and then... back up, ugh! If it was a perfect trip I would have left my car waiting at a lower entrance, found a way to the top, and then only hiked down and then more down and out to my car. Didn't figure that out until I was at the bottom of the crater with time running out, needing to hike back up. But it was otherwise a nearly perfect trip on the cheap, and that book saved my butt.

If you visited my home town I could tell you were the secret swimming hole was that all the locals know about but no tourists ever find. Where the cool car camping spots are. Like in the Sequoia National Forest everyone ends up car camping at Lodgepole which is an asphalt jungle when Dorst Creek right down the road is a peaceful garden.

I want to know how to save money on my trip. Where the last cheap gas is. Where the cheap food is. What is over priced, what's a bargain. Which trails are the best. Which trails are less traveled but wonderful.

For me this was a start. An overview. Luckily I previewed a library copy. But my time there is going to be limited and I want to squeeze out as much of the really great stuff as I can so I'm still going to be looking for something with a little more insider knowledge. I'd rather do a little reading than a lot of useless driving around in circles when I get there.

There is nothing worse on a trip than shelling out big bucks for a crappy tour or an overpriced tourist trap, or getting caught with no place to stay or in a traffic jam. It can just bum you out and ruin what should be a glorious trip.