Customer Reviews

Utah's National Parks: Hiking and Vacationing in Utah's Canyon Country

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

 

 

We have just returned from hiking & camping in Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches And Canyonlands (Island in the Sky area), and found this book to be one of the best of any guide book we have used (over 30 years of hiking). The hike descriptions were so interesting I read them again after doing the hike! The description of how one gets to the trailhead in in a separate section titled "driving to the trailheads", which may cause problems for individuals who don't read scan through the chapters first before deciding on a hike. We found the descriptions of the trees and plantlife on each trail very useful and I would not hesitate to buy another of Ron Atkinson's guide books, they are obviously very well researched.

Just back from a 9 day backpacking trip in Utah, using both this book and Adkison's book on Escalante. It left me with poor trail descriptions, (scarily) poor or wholly incorrect maps, and an "interesting" (read: madman-style insane) style of giving directions to trailheads. I am by no means new to the outdoors, nor to getting to remote trailheads, routefinding, etc; I can say with a degree of confidence that this is the poorest guidebook I have ever purchased. The second star is given for his "reccomended" hikes, which were, on the whole, generally right on.

This was a decent guide book, but it really tried to cover too many parks at once. It seems like it covers more family type day hikes and not a lot of backcountry and backpacking trails. We used it to plan hikes in Zion National park and Canyonlands - Needles District. The book recommended a hike in Canyonlands National park that did turn out to be awesome (Chesler Park/Elephant Canyon to Druid Arch).

We also used it to plan a hike to the Subway in Zion. In this case, I wish it had given more detail, as we ended up a little over our heads on this hike. The water was a LOT higher than we expected based on the pics we had seen and information we had. Apparently, the water levels tend to be higher in April due to snow runoff. If the book had given more information, we probably would have never attempted the hike at that time of year to begin with. Oh well, I guess you live and learn, right?

In conclusion, I would recommend this to anyone who is planning to visit one or more of the parks for a short period and wants to hit the hightlights. If you want a more in depth hiking trip to one of the parks, I would recommend getting a more detailed guide book specific to that park.

Many people think that the best way to experience the unique landscapes of canyon lands parks is to drive through them. But you will have no sense of these places unless you get out of your car and take a walk. You don't have to be a backpacker to experience these places on foot. This is a great book for learning about the opportunities for short, medium and long hikes and for finding the hike that is best for you and your physical condition in Utah's great canyon country parks.

My wife and I just got back from 6 days in Arches, Canyonlands and Capital Reef. This book was invaluable. With limited time it helps you pick the right hike. Every hike is improved by providing additional quidance on the trail and it points outs features of the hike that you don't get from maps or Park Service guides. My wife kept raving it was the best hiking book we ever bought.

Used this on recent trip through southern Utah. Great Resource for anyone looking to see the National Parks in this wonderful State. We kept it on the dashboard all trip. Great insight on what to see and what not to see and how to see it. Loved the side trips / hikes recommended by this book

This book is very usefull for a foreigner travelling throughout USA especially as it's almost impossible to find such a book (in France) that focuses on one US state.
The book contains detailed informations concerning Utah's National Parks. Hikers should appreciate it.
I recommand it with pleasure.

I purchased this book thinking it was very up to date but found most of the text had been written years ago. With only B&W pics it seemed a little dull.
The good part is if you want info on trails in the parks this is very descriptive but they really missed the boat by not illustrating the trails and parks with some good maps. There are topos in the back of the book which are not much use for planning a drive hike type trip like I am going on. Bottom line is you cannot use this book alone to plan a good trip.

if you're planning to go anywhere in Utah, i think this is the book you're looking for.
it contains pretty detailed information about the parks, including history and etc...
it also gives you information where you can stay or reserve some kind of arrangements that you want.

This book is a fantastic resource. Colorful pictures and accurate maps are included. "Inside" information is given to allow a new park visitor to plan a trip without missing out on the little extras that make the trip so worthwhile. Event times and costs are included along with other travel indformation.