National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, 5th Ed. (National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States) [Paperback]

National Geographic Society (Author)

Book Description

Series: National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States | Publication Date: February 21, 2006

Featuring 80 all new maps and more than 350 photos, this guide is the most comprehensive, up-to-the-minute book of its kind on the market today. A perennial favorite with almost a million copies sold in previous editions, it reflects National Geographic's century-long association with America's national parks system and its peerless reputation for travel expertise and cartographic excellence.


The book opens with an essay by Yellowstone authority Paul Schullery, and an introduction to the guide with a locator map showing all 58 of these American treasures (including the newest, South Carolina's Congree National Park). Next, the parks are presented alphabetically region-by-region, with individual maps and geographical profiles of each. These colorfully illustrated descriptions offer tours tailored to the time available, whether it's an hour or a week, and tell visitors the best spots to enjoy hikes, spectacular vistas, wildlife and more. Itineraries and directions, special activities and advisories, and suggestions of hotels and campgrounds are provided, along with scores of ideas for excursions to nearby wildlife refuges, monuments, and other nature areas of exceptional interest—140 in all.


From planning a trip to making the most of every minute, here's all the information anyone could want on the scenic national parks plus invaluable recommendations and advice from the National Geographic writers who know them well.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic; 5 edition (February 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792253221
• ISBN-13: 978-0792253228
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #542,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A handy reference to supplement (or start) Web research, July 27, 2006

By 

V. C. Wald (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, 5th Ed. (National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States) (Paperback)

I just bought the 2006 version of this useful resource to replace my trusty 1989 (!!) original. The new one includes up-to-date content (e.g., Joshua Tree is now a National Park, no longer a National Monument tucked away in the "Excursions" section) but I have two major gripes:

#1. I was surprised that so many of the photos haven't changed since 1989 (and who knows how long they were taken before that) except for some that are actually worse. One example is the frontispiece photo for the Yellowstone section. In the 2006 volume it is an under-exposed, super-contrasty shot of the terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs. Disappointingly (given the incredible opportunities to portray the visual variety that is Yellowstone) there is a second quite similar photo 6 pages later of another section of Mammoth. In my old book, the Yellowstone frontispiece is a lovely shot of the lower falls of the Yellowstone River completely missing from 2006. The other photos, in this section at least, are unchanged. So what's wrong with that? They're OLD. The colors are overly-saturated in the traditional National Geographic style, some with the contrast hiked so high that the details are lost. I admit this is perhaps a matter of taste. It's just a missed opportunity to improve the illustrations, and good ones are always very useful!

#2. There is a dearth of Web information. Each park's URL is listed, but not those of the associated excursion locations such as near-by wildlife refuges and national forests, all of which do have Web pages, nor for the lodging concessionaires.

Having said all that, I find this book to be a particularly useful jumping off point for Web research. It's well-organized, though due to the volume of material, understandably, none of the descriptions contains great detail. But most of what I want to know is there: what's the best time to visit? what are the gateway communities and in-park accommodations options? The maps are readable and sufficient for planning purposes. I particularly like the Excursions sections describing what other interesting areas are in proximity to the parks.

The book is compact, dense and heavy, easy to navigate, with a much-improved index so you no longer have to know what region a park is assigned to find it.

I definitely do recommend the National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States to help make decisions and plans for travel to our parks and surrounds.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars National Geographic Guide, March 8, 2007

By 

Deb C - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, 5th Ed. (National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States) (Paperback)

This is a great reference book. We had been purchasing hiking books for the National Parks we visit and decided on a whim to also purchase this book, partly to get the free shipping. It was a wonderful idea. It gives you a look into all the wonderful National Parks our great country has to offer. Makes you want to visit them all. Pictures are great...and is organized in regions, so you easily see all the National Parks in the area. Great buy to give you ideas if you haven't visited parks, or just to look at to learn more about what is out there. I'm sure we will visit some now that we never would have because of this book.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Awesome!, August 25, 2006

By 

penguin "penguin" (Olympia, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, 5th Ed. (National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States) (Paperback)

This is the best book I have ever seen on the National Parks. The photography alone is worth the price. It gives very comprehensive advice on each park, and you can tell by the way it is written that these people have actually been to, and spent time, in each park. I love the way it breaks down each park into suggested amounts of time so that you can better plan your trip. There are maps for each park, and in the maps is my only complaint. Most of the maps cover more than one page and because there is very little page border down the center, it can make it difficult to see the center of the maps. Other than that, it truly is an awesome book, whether you actually get to travel to the parks or not.