Top Trails Yellowstone & Grand Tetons: Must-do Hikes for Everyone [Paperback]

Andrew Dean Nystrom (Author), Morgan Konn (Photographer), Tim Cahill (Reader)

Book Description

Series: Top Trails | Publication Date: July 15, 2009

With trips from Mammoth Hot Springs to Old Faithful, from the Absarokas to the Gallatin Range, and from Jackson Hole to the Teton Crest Trail, Top Trails Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks has all visitors need to enjoy the ultimate in natural and geothermal wonders--tranquil backcountry lakes, panoramic summits, glacier-carved canyons, steaming geyser basins, vast meadows teeming with wildlife, and much more. Award-winning author Andrew Dean Nystrom has selected the 45 best trips in the area, ranging in length from a half-mile stroll by some of the park's most colorful hot springs to a 30-mile trek past intriguing thermal features and wildlife galore.

The second edition features expanded coverage of the new Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve addition to Grand Teton National Park, family and kid-friendly hikes, legally soakable hot springs (with ratings) in both parks, moonlight hiking, and how to secure hard-to-get in-park lodging and campsite reservations.

• Winner of a National Outdoor Book Award for best adventure guidebook in 2005, and a best-selling Wilderness Press title.
• At-a-glance information shows which trips have the best hiking, mountain biking, trail running, horseback riding, and more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A guidebook with a lot of moxie...Nystrom has done a splendid job of researching and writing about the trails." -- Winner 2005 National Outdoor Book Awards: Best Outdoor Adventure Guidebook

"In addition to the book's smart design, introductory charts help you identify suitable trails. -- Winner 2005 National Outdoor Book Awards: Best Outdoor Adventure Guidebook

"Nystrom does a thorough job of packaging information between the front and back covers of the book." – Kurt Repanshek -- National Parks Traveler Weblog, August 18, 2006

"Nystrom serves up an accessible guide to best day hikes and overnight backcountry trips in Yellowstone and the Teton Range." -- Longitude Books - longitudebooks.com

"The National Outdoor Book Awards winner breaks new ground...lets all calibers of hikers size up trails at a glance." -- The Oregonian, February 12, 2006 - The ARMCHAIR TRAVELER by Terry Richard

"There are several very good guidebooks to the trails of Yellowstone. This one is great." – Tim Cahill -- – Tim Cahill, author of Lost in My Own Backyard: A Walk in Yellowstone Park, Jaguars Ripped My Flesh, and Hold the Enlightenment

"Top Trails are top notched guidebooks...exceedingly well organized...the maps are uncluttered and easy to use." -- Winner 2005 National Outdoor Book Awards: Best Outdoor Adventure Guidebook

Nystrom's Lonely Planet Yellowstone and Grand Teton guidebook: "A lively, well-written, comprehensive guide to the best place on earth...." -- Tim Cahill, author of Hold the Enlightenment and founding editor of Outside magazine --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

When Wilderness Press published Sierra North in 1967, no other trail guide like it existed for the Sierra backcountry. The first run of 2800 copies sold out in less than two months and its success heralded the beginning of Wilderness Press. In the past 35 years, we have expanded our territories to cover California, Alaska, Hawaii, the U.S. Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, New England, Canada, and Baja California.

Wilderness Press continues to publish comprehensive, accurate, and readable outdoor books. Hikers, backpackers, kayakers, skiers, snowshoers, climbers, cyclists, and trail runners rely on Wilderness Press for accurate outdoor adventure information.

In its Top Trails series, Wilderness Press has paid special attention to organization so that you can find the perfect hike each and every time. Whether you’re looking for a steep trail to test yourself on or a walk in the park, a romantic waterfall or a city view, Top Trails will lead you there.

Each Top Trails guide contains trails for everyone. The trails selected provide a sampling of the best that the region has to offer. These are the "must-do" hikes, walks, runs and bike rides, with every feature of the area represented.

Every book in the Top Trails series offers:
• Maps and permit details
• Easy-to-follow trail notes
• Distances and approximate times
• Ratings and rankings for each trail
• The Wilderness Press commitment to accuracy and reliability

All books in the affordable and easy-to-use Top Trails series feature elevation profiles, detailed maps, driving directions, and "don’t get lost" trail milestones. Innovative trail-feature charts give at-a-glance information on which trails are child-friendly, which allow horses, where to catch a glimpse of bison, elk, or a grizzly, where to see wildflowers and autumn colors, which trips have the best photo opportunities, and which have camping opportunities. Each park receives more than 3 million visitors annually. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Wilderness Press; 2,Revised & enlarged edition (July 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0899975003
• ISBN-13: 978-0899975009
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Wyoming
  • #85 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Hiking & Camping > Excursion Guides

More About the Author

For the past dozen years, I've worked full-time as a freelance writer, editor, photojournalist, bicycle messenger and adventure travel planning consultant.

I've contributed text and images to two dozen Fodor's and Lonely Planet travel guidebooks, and my writing has been translated into a dozen languages. For 2+ years, I was a regular contributor to the syndicated newspaper column, Travels with Lonely Planet. My main area of interest and expertise is adventure and responsible/sustainable travel with a purpose in the Americas.

I graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a BA in Geography and Education. Prior to launching my freelance writing career, I was the senior writer/producer of the Webby Award-winning travel site LonelyPlanet.com.

If I'm not scribbling or shooting photos, I'm probably out scouting new hiking trails, biking to a farmers' market, hunting sublime tacos, cooking up a storm or foraging for wild edibles.

When not out rambling, I advise the National Geographic Society's Sustainable Tourism Initiative and edit and produce the Los Angeles Times Travel website (http://travel.latimes.com), for Tribune Co. and Los Angeles Times Interactive.

I'm based just the other side of Dodger Stadium from Downtown LA, where I garden and inhabit a wild urban pocket with my wife and young son.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect book for the LOCAL Idaho/Montana/Wyoming Regular, June 6, 2006

By 

R. Morris "Rob & Matt Morris" (Idaho Falls, ID USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Top Trails Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone (Top Trails: Must-Do Hikes) (Paperback)

I live about 90 miles from Jackson and 100 from West Yellowstone, so I go to both parks a lot. As a teacher, I have my summers to go camp and hike from time to time, and I just got back from a trip today. While at Lake Hotel, I chanced on this book, and bought it. This was yesterday. The book has 45 different trails in it to hike in Yellowstone and the Tetons (though most are in Yellowstone). I went ahead and hiked one yesterday (Elephant Back) and got a great view of Yellowstone Lake. The directions were very clear and there were guide-points along the route in the book so I knew just where I was. The book even mentioned this is Grizzly habitat in the spring/early summer, and sure enough, when I got down from the hike, there was a bear. This kind of information could be a lifesaver to the inexperienced Yellowstone or Teton hiker. Today, I hiked two more hikes in the book, one short one at West Thumb and a longer one at Biscuit Basin up to a waterfall and overlook. This book is very easy to use, has great maps, grades the difficulty of each hike, and has a variety from hikes under a mile to hikes of over twenty that take several days. My goal, using this excellent book, is to hike them all in a year or so. Great photos, durable cover, great maps. This is the perfect book for locals or for tourists who come often or who are planning a two to three week stay. I would not think it would be good for someone visiting for a day or two, as you could not scratch the surface of this gold mine of information. Two thumbs up!

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The very best trail guide for Yellowstone & the Teton Range, July 13, 2005

By 

Ramblin' Bob (Jackson, WY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Top Trails Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone (Top Trails: Must-Do Hikes) (Paperback)

Yep, there are lots of hiking guides out there for Yellowstone and the Tetons. Too many, in fact. Most of them seem to be focused on quantity, not quality. They simply list trail after trail, but lack detail and advice about how to choose a great hike that matches your tastes and fitness level. After comparing this Wilderness Press guide to the Falcon book and others, I found it to be the most useful and compact. And my on-trail testing this summer has proved my hunch true. It's very specific about which hikes are the best during which seasons, and which trails are the best for avoiding crowds and seeing wildlife. There are good individual maps for each hike, many quality b&w photos, plus lots of background and historical information. For a serious visit, I'd still recommend picking up a guidebook like the Lonely Planet, as well, but for hiking and backpacking, take it from Ramblin' Bob, this is the most up-to-date and best darn guide to Yellowstone and the Tetons available.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Very Best Yellowstone Book, June 21, 2005

By 

Joseph K. Konn "joekonn" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Top Trails Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone (Top Trails: Must-Do Hikes) (Paperback)

If you are headed to Yellowstone and/or the Grand Tetons, and you plan getting out of your car, then this is the book you want.

It is current, the information is correct and complete. Nystrom, a veteran writer (Lonely Planet Guides), writes clearly and with the authority that only a seasoned outdoorsman can bring to the pages of a book. His book is the result of careful research and time in the field. So, get your gear together, buy this book and head to Yellowstone ot the Tetons.