Customer Reviews

Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler's Companion to the National Park

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Of all the travel books I've ever used for sightseeing, this is by far the best of them all. All other travel books, especially the consistently mediocre Frommers and Fodors could learn a lot by Chapple's layout and content. We had several books with us for Yellowstone, but this was the only one we needed - every leg of Yellowstone is clearly laid out with mile markers regardless of which direction you are traveling, which is only one of the things that separates this book from the competition. It also covers surrounding areas (entrance cities) of the park, as well as maps, the animals, geography, geology and history, all in a compact fashion. It is extremely thorough and well written. Buy this book for your Yellowstone trip - you won't regret it.

This is a handy and detailed guide to Yellowstone with descriptions of the Park's features arranged by the five main roadway entrances: West, South, East, Northeast, and North, plus the Bechler Region.

For each approach there is a full color map with icons symbolizing the main attractions, facilities, trails and so forth. The guide then takes you mile by fraction of mile with a description of the historical, geological and natural features you will encounter. There is also a historical chronology, a discussion of the wildlife, an chapter on the 1998 fires, and a lot of useful travel phone numbers and tips.

The inset maps, pictures, and sidebar stories are wonderfully presented-- when you look at this book you will be drooling to visit the Park! It is beautiful, and the solid fund of information makes it a good buy at only twenty bucks. The geologic explanations are particularly neat.

This is a guide that will suit educated visitors (and daydream wanderers) who have want to know the story behind the major and minor sights. You may need a more tourist oriented guide if you want detailed info on in-park and near-park lodgings and places to eat. Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park by Lee H. Whittlesey would make a fine counterpart to Yellowstone Treasures.

This book will take you through the park and list each (hundreds of) potentially interesting items with a clear description of where they are found. I would recommend reading this book prior to visiting Yellowstone and highlighting those items that you would like to see. Then having your passenger follow along with the book as you drive, alerting you when you approach one of the items that you have highlighted.

"Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler's Companion to the National Park" by Janet Chapple is a magnificent catalogued resource to the full enjoyment of a huge national park and area known as Yellowstone. The author has extensive knowledge and experience in exploring the beauties of the area. She says, "I hiked on all the trails I recommend, some of them several times... they are ways to get away from crowds and enjoy the Yellowstone that not everyone sees." Also contributing to the geological history chapter as well as the many informative geological sidebars of "Yellowstone Treasures" is Bruno Giletti, Professor Emeritus of Geological Sciences at Brown University, and also Chapple's spouse. "Yellowstone Treasures" is divided into road logs and destinations by six sections: the Northwest Section (containing the famous geyser Old Faithful), the Bechler region, the Southern Section, the Eastern Section, the Northeastern Section, and the Northern Section. Each chapter has large and clearly illustrated colored maps, as well as copious color photographs of stunning sites. In addition there follows follow chapters on Natural and Human History in Yellowstone, with a Chronology of Yellowstone since 1800, and Living Things: a Yellowstone Sampler. Chapple helps the reader contemplate the enormous task of navigating the logistics of the park, a staggeringly huge area, by recommending 58 short walks, listing facilities in Yellowstone, campgrounds, and recommended Yellowstone books and maps.

Altogether, Yellowstone Treasures fills an ongoing need for new generations of park explorers and appreciators. She has spent much of her life becoming better acquainted with the riches of the area and she is generously sharing her knowledge with this beautiful guidebook. It is not to be missed.

Nancy Lorraine
Reviewer

Yellowstone Treasures, by Janet Chapple, is the key to appreciating this beautiful park. Because the book is organized into Road Logs, wherever you are you read about what's coming up next: geological phenomena, animals, trees, flowers, trail heads, lakes and human history are all included. The maps are clear, plentiful, accurate and useful. Each section is amply expanded with information boxes about things such as how geysers work, how terraces are built, how the names of places were chosen, petrified trees, geological mysteries, etc. The chapters on geological phenomena, human history, flora and fauna are a gold mine of information. Take the book with you, but look at the website http://www.yellowstonetreasures.com/ well beforehand, because it is also a treasure. We were never without this book during our visit.

In its third edition, Yellowstone Treasures is a comprehensive guide to Yellowstone National Park, written by Janet Chapple. Janet's father worked in Old Faithful Inn for four summers, giving his daughter a lifelong love of the park.

That love has translated into this guidebook.

I purchased the book in anticipation of a trip to Yellowstone, and on our recent trip to the west, my friends and I quickly discovered this book was illuminating, enlightening, and above all, essential to our travels.

My friend's daughter needed a bathroom, and quickly? Janet's system of describing everything along the roads of the park, down to mileposts, allowed me to easily tell them exactly where we were, and exactly how far it was to the nearest toilet. What's the name of that mountain? A quick look at the mileposts, drawing and maps almost always told us the answer.

In addition to the comprehensive and painstaking detail on the sights at each mile of the road, Janet provides opinions on the best things to see, cross references things by subjects, and provides a lot of the background on the park in asides in the book.

I found myself, as we were traveling along, reading aloud on subjects that Janet mentions. Where did the Firehole River get its name? Just who was Norris that Norris Geyser Basin is named for? Which of the sights in Mammoth are worth stopping to take a look at?

I had purchased an additional guide to Yellowstone, but everything my traveling companions and I could want to know or need to know about the area within Yellowstone was within the nearly 400 pages of this book. The next time my friends and I go back to the park, we certainly will be making use of Ms. Chapple's work.

If you are planning to visit Yellowstone National Park, I strongly advise you to get a copy of this book beforehand yourself and keep it on hand as you traverse the park. You will be extremely glad that you did.

This is the way to write a travel book on a National Park.

Highly Recommended.

I just took this book to Yellowstone and found it indispensible! We quickly gave up using the official park guides to the various geyser basins and relied on this book to tell us all about the different geysers and their histories. The book is packed with information about the history of Yellowstone. It even has a flora and fauna guide! Included are lists of suggested sights to see, hikes to take, driving distances, road maps (but no topo maps), discussions about how geysers work, the Yellowstone caldera, the 1988 fires, where to stay, etc. The book is printed on nice paper and the photos are in full color. This is really an indispensible book to bring along on your next visit to Yellowstone!

This book is fabulous. I've traveled to Yellowstone twice and just bought this book after returning home. I bought it because it was sugessted on a travel web site, and I have enjoyed reading it almost daily. I am currently using it as a nice review of places I have been and as a resource to plan a trip for 2010. It has everything:history,geology, maps, an endless array of photos,travel suggestions, brief narratives of the geysers and hot springs, and even information about the wildlife you are sure to see in the area. I especially like the the way the book is broken down into regional areas with small maps and descriptions of individual places. I took 2 books with me on my last trip which lacked alot of useful information which this book includes. Next year, this will be the only book I plan to take on my trip back to Yellowstone. For the price you pay, this book is priceless. Kudos to the author, Janet Chapple, for writing such an informative travel book.

We used this book in combination with a quick road guide (the National Geographic Road Guide) for a full-featured tour of Yellowstone National Park. This book is FULL of easy-to-read and detailed tidbits about every feature of the Park you'd want to know about. It includes things about geothermal features, wildlife, history, fires, hiking trails, and so much more!
It was fun to come across something in the Park, flip open this book, and be able to read more about what we were seeing. Very interesting and educational! We bought other guides, but THIS IS THE ONE WE USED.

We recently returned from our first trip to YNP and this book not only helped in the planning process but was also a wonderful companion during our time in the park.

The road logs and maps are terrific. You don't just get a map of the whole park, you get maps of every leg of the roads that take you through the park as well as maps of the major stops like the Old Faithful area, all the geyser basins, Mammoth Hot Springs, etc. detailing each spring, pool, and geyser you will see on your walks. The road logs take you point by point through the park pointing out various sights of interest so you don't miss a thing.

The author also includes bits of history and science so you can learn more about the park and the features as you go. She highlights some of the not to be missed features and has a couple pages listing the shorter hikes/walks in the park which is helpful if your time in the park is limited.

Yellowstone is a very large park with more things to see than you could possibly fit into one visit, no matter how long it is. It's important to plan your trip before you go, have an idea of what you are interested in seeing so you can focus your time appropriately. Whether you are interested in seeing the geysers and thermal features, wildlife, short hikes or long hikes, this book will help you plan the trip of a lifetime.