Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks

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

 

 

If I had to pick a single book for planning a trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons, I'd recommend this one. It has enough information to get you started about any activity you like: backpacking, biking, boating, camping, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, mountaineering and rock climbing, and winter sports. You'll want another book for the more involved of these activities--especially backpacking, mountaineering and rock climbing--but you probably already knew that.

If you're on a family vacation, the book is near indispensable. There is good coverage of a nice range of day hikes. It's also exhaustive in telling you the other opportunities available that you might not have thought of by yourself. Rafting down the Snake or biking on the valley floor of Jackson Hole are two good family activities.

There's also plenty of information here about regulations, places to stay and eat, and suggestions for other excursions in the area. The written material (but not the maps, alas) is organized very effectively into regions that really do follow the natural organization of these parks. Once you sketch out an itinerary, the information you want is grouped together and the information you don't need is elsewhere.

Despite these strengths, I find the organization of the book a little odd and I found that it took a while to get used to using it effectively. For example, the last three chapters are on Greater Yellowstone History, Geology, and Ecosystem. You might think that this information belongs earlier in the book as part of your orientation to the area. The book has a nice collection of maps, but they are in a weird location in the middle of the book that forces you to flip back and forth to use them as trip planners for hotels, activities, and hiking trails. These might go more naturally at the very front or back of the book. There are some nice full-color pictures scattered throughout the book (mostly in the front), but none of them go with the text that surrounds them.

A big thank you to Mr. Mayhew and his compadres for putting this very useful book together. I got several books to help prepare for my family's Yellowstone and Teton trip. This one, along with the Falcon Guides on hiking and the Trails Illustrated map proved the most helpful. That said, this Lonely Planet guide was probably the one book I relied on the most.

Some tips of my own:

Make the hike to Fairy Falls. Especially in the early morning fog, the other side of Midway Geyser Basin (the side NOT on a tourist-tastic boardwalk) is majestic and wonderful. Fairy Falls is the most beautiful of the many falls I saw in the park.

Get the beans at the Roosevelt Lodge. They are the ONLY beans I've ever had that I'd gladly part with $3 for. (Corresponding tip: the beans elsewhere are $3 also--but you can buy your own can of Busch's for half that).

Don't be frightened off by all the Bear talk. The only Bear I saw was halfway up a mountain and about the size of a quarter from where I stood. The Elk on the other hand...

Going to the Tetons will explain the line "Purple Mountains Majesty." Hiking in the Shadow of Moran or the Grand Teton = instant perspective on life.

Driving through the Big Horn Mountains on the way to Yellowstone is every bit as breathtaking as anything I saw in either park. Its "wow" factor led me to even buy a hat as a souvenir.

Wyoming has to have the highest concentration per square mile of what Patrick McManus calls "Old Men" in his classic A Fine and Pleasant Misery story The Theory and Application of Old Men. This was great for my son. I enjoyed it too.

Probably my biggest tip:

Go to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. (If you're coming the way I came, Badlands NP is well worth it too).

My second biggest tip:

Get this book for all the tips it contains. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Our family just returned from Yellowstone and Grand Teton and this book was an integral part of our trip. You'll find the maps are very accurate and informative. Everything you need to know about Yellowstone is in this book- from Campgrounds to places to raft, eat, hike, wildlife view and lounge. DO NOT LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THIS BOOK!

If it's your first time in Yellow Stone or the Grand Tetons this'll be your bible .. the hikes listed in both places are well presented and with the maps included will help you plan you time in this wonderful part of the world .. The information on where you are likely to spot animals is really useful - Elk, Bison, Moose and Bear ... all accurate! The highlights and intineraries suggested helped with planning the trip .. but in addition to the traditional 'must sees' the book also suggests some wonderful off the beaten track experiences as well. Has info on where to stay and eat ..I stayed outside the park and would recommend either Teton Village or Jackson Hole as a good base with lots of top class accomodation. For European travellers Jackson Hole was the only place that I could get a mobile phone signal!

Before my Yellowstone trip, I had purchased many books and maps and visited websites-you know the drill. This book helped with many insider tips-when talking with other visitors, they had consistently asked me how I knew these things, and I told them-the Lonely Planet guide. Even two park rangers wanted to know how I knew these lesser known tips-and they were impressed with the information. My favorites: how to get the best view of the Grand Prismatic pool (I'm not going to give that one away) and how to avoid bears on trails-which I'll let out of the bag-sing show tunes! Yes that sounds ridiculous-but when I saw a bear about 150 ft ahead of me on a trail and started singing Ethel Merman, well, bears are smart enough not to stick around for the encore!

My hats off to you Bradley Mayhew in writing this great book on what to see and where to go in Yellowstone & the Grand Teton National Parks. A book that you just can't leave home without if you really want to enjoy the parks, where to camp, where to hike where to do just about anything a person can do in the park if you don't know already. The parks are just to great to miss anything because you just didn't know it was there or what you could do when you got there. A must take with you and review it over and over don't miss any details.

Larry Hobson- Author- The Day Of The Rose

Maybe it's because the author admits that he ventured off to complete this project only a couple days after getting married, leaving his bride behind. Perhaps a publishing deadline loomed large. I'm not sure what Lonely Planet's excuse is, but this book is the most thrown together, unhelpful guide I've ever seen in their repertoire! I've appreciated their "secret" tips and organized guides for many of my world adventures, and this one is just way below par. Abyssmal on any scale.

I did tons better researching on the internet on my own, which might be the best approach to these parks anyway, so that you're sure to get up to date information. This guide doesn't even mention the great guest ranch outside the park at which I snagged six nights a few months before my visit, how to make sure that you get tickets for special ranger-led, half-day back-country adventure hikes with 15 person limits, or that there are boat and kayak rentals/tours in Yellowstone from concessionaires.

The book literally gives you a headache, trying to figure out how to make sense of the vast amount of listings presented. A menage of maps and thrown-together tidbits are pretty meaningless without the necessary organization to figure out an orderly travel plan. It would have been a lot better if the book took you around each of Yellowstone's loops and through Grand Teton in a more logical format.

I alos found much of the information to be grossly outdated and inaccurate, and so many basic outdoor activities weren't explored in depth, and no real useful information or how-tos were given. I was thoroughly disappointed with my selection. With the vast amount of knowledge that I've accumulated through my own research, I could certainly re-write this guide myself!

For one contemplating a trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons this book will be a fine handbook and guide.It is very detailed in regards to information about the parks and offers the reader a fine source of information for things to do on your visit.

I had no problems, but I sent the book as a gift and really don't know what it looks like.

For general planning of our trip, this book provided some useful information but the book does not give enough detail for a day to day planner.