31 Best National Park Books 2023 [Must Reads]
Are you trying to find the best national park books to add to your reading list or as a gift for your loved one?
This comprehensive list of 31 best national park books includes guidebooks, coffee table books, memoirs, fiction books, and children’s books.
These national park books come highly recommended by hundreds of avid national park lovers and are the perfect way to spend time between trips to nature.
We included our favorites, so read through this list and find the perfect book for you.
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Overall Best National Park Books
No time to read the entire list? Here are our top picks:
- Best National Parks Guide book: Your Guide to the National Parks: The Complete Guide to all 63 National Parks
- Best National Parks Coffee Table Book: Treasured Lands
- Best National Parks History Book: That Wild Country
- Best National Parks Book – Memoir: Leave Only Footprints
- Best National Parks Book for Kids: The Campground Kids: National Park Adventures Book Series
Best National Parks Guide Books
1. Your Guide to the National Parks
This National Parks guidebook is a cumulation of thousands of trips and years of onsite research by experienced travel writer Michael Joseph Oswald.
The book offers detailed information for all types of explorers, from car campers to extreme white water rafters.
This is one of the best books on national parks that we highly recommend, as well as thousands of other national park lovers.
2. Moon USA National Parks: The Complete Guide to All 62 Parks
This detailed national park guidebook offers valuable information, tips, and itineraries that are perfect for outdoorsy people ranging from road trippers to hardcore backcountry hikers.
This guide was written by the former park and guide Becky Lomax, which means you will get expert advice on the ins and outs of national parks.
This is a great option if you’re looking for the best book about national parks to help you plan your trip.
3. 63 National Park Adventure Guide
This adventure guide doubles as a travel journal where you can keep track of the parks you’ve visited and take notes about each trip.
The things to see and do section is a great way to ensure you’ve made the most out of your journey.
This great national park bucket list book is also a perfect gift for any national park lover.
4. National Geographic Secrets of the National Parks
This National Geographic guidebook is excellent for those who want to take the less traveled roads when exploring the national parks.
It includes insider information on lesser-known gems, places that don’t attract crowds, and other secrets only local park rangers and guides know about.
5. Rand McNally 2022 Road Atlas & National Park Guide
This atlas and guide provide highlights and the must-know basics of every national park.
This includes everything from trail information to drives to lodges and museums.
Rand McNally has been making these atlases since 1924, and they are still used today for navigating a national park trip.
This guide really comes in handy when there is no cell reception in the park.
You’ll find hundreds of fantastic photos, updated maps, road construction information, and a mileage chart.
Best National Parks Coffee Table Books
6. National Geographic Atlas of the National Parks
This stunning coffee table book captures the National Parks’ past, present, and future with high-resolution photography and detailed maps.
This National Geographic Atlas offers stunning photography of 61 National Parks and includes guidebook-style information for 33 of these bucket list destinations.
Digging into this book’s photography is enough to inspire you to start planning your next trip to one of America’s most beautiful National Parks.
You will be able to geek out on all the topographical maps and historical artwork included in the book that will paint a picture of these national treasures’ heritage and natural history.
7. Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America’s National Parks
Treasured Lands is an award-winning national park coffee table book that showcases all 63 national parks encapsulated in 492 pages, including more than 600 breathtaking photographs.
What makes Treasured Lands stand out is that it combines a complete look of the national parks while still including location notes.
QT Luong, a prolific photographer, takes you along on his odyssey that took more than a quarter-century and 300 visits to complete.
This book will undoubtedly encourage many people to explore the parks to re-create these stunning images.
8. National Geographic 100 Parks, 5,000 Ideas
This coffee table book is the ideal blend of inspiring trip ideas and breathtaking photography.
You’ll never run out of ideas for a trip once you start reading this 100 Parks, 5,000 Ideas guidebook by National Geographic.
It’s brimming with excellent information, first-hand experiences, park information, insider knowledge, and detailed travel advice for exploring these parks.
The information here is not as in-depth as in other national park guidebooks, but your bucket list is definitely going to get longer after reading this. This book makes a perfect travel gift.
9. The National Parks: America’s Best Idea
This national park book takes you on a journey through the history of the national parks system.
America’s Best Idea has everything, from mythmaking to intense political battles around the park system and how it grew into 400 sites and 84 million acres.
You’ll be able to read about essential characters such as John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ansel Adams.
Since the main focus of this book is the history of national parks, photos are printed on thin matte paper, with only a few high-quality color photos included.
10. Roaming America: Exploring All the National Parks
This stunning book is written through the lenses and perspectives of two professional travel photographers as they embarked on a seven-month journey to the national parks in America.
Roaming America includes suggested road trip itineraries, round-up lists, recommendations, tips, and planning advice.
The authors also share their personal experiences, giving this book a more personal touch.
However, this book only covers 59 national parks, and photos are printed on matte paper.
This book is more like a travel diary, so it’s not the best resource for in-depth information and expert tips about the parks.
Best National Parks History Books
11. That Wild Country
This book on national parks’ history tackles the controversies around America’s public land system, with nature writer and outdoorsman Mark Kenyon sharing his reflections on the history and future of these debates.
Both a memoir and historical examination, That Wild Country is an introduction if you’re just starting to foray into this great debate of whether it’s best to develop the valuable resources in these lands or conserve them.
This book is written from the author’s perspective rather than a thorough commentary from a historian, so this might not be a good read for those searching for the latter.
12. Death, Daring & Disaster
If you’re up for a thrilling read, this book shares 375 stories from the nearly 150,000 search and rescue missions by the National Park Service.
You’ll find recounts of these situations inside the National Parks, from heroic missions to tragic mishaps.
Not only is Death, Daring, & Disaster a gripping book that’s hard to put down, but it also contains valuable lessons that will teach you how to survive and avoid these unfortunate incidents.
This book is written from the perspective of a former park ranger and includes a detailed collection of reports and commentary on these search-and-rescue missions.
13. Prophets and Moguls, Rangers and Rogues, Bison and Bears
This book is an engaging and comprehensive resource on the past, present, and future of the National Park Service.
Prophets and Moguls, Rangers and Rogues, Bison and Bears is a great book that pays tribute to the 100 years of the National Park Service.
This book is written from the perspective of journalist Heather Hansen and her personal experiences visiting these national parks.
It also includes extensive research and interviews with Park Service employees.
This is a great and well-designed book about national parks’ history with incredible photos, which makes it an engaging and easy read for everyone.
14. Death in Yellowstone
Both thrilling and engaging, this book chronicles the tragic ends of the people who underestimated the dangers that could happen inside these parks.
Death in Yellowstone is filled with tragic recounts of deaths and cautionary tales about avoiding and surviving these calamities.
These stories include deaths caused by unforeseen disasters and also those caused by lapses in judgment that could’ve been prevented.
This book will be a great way to pass the time and provide essential information about the deaths that occur inside these national parks and valuable lessons to be learned from them.
Best National Park Books: Memoirs
15. Leave Only Footprints
This New York Times bestseller is a behind-the-scenes recollection of CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Conor Knighton’s experience visiting all of the national parks in the country.
Filled with informative and downright hilarious stories, Leave Only Footprints is a remarkable memoir that chronicles one man’s longing for a change of scenery after getting his heart broken.
This book includes amusing anecdotes and emotional musings packaged in witty and well-written prose.
His trip ended up with him changing his views on life, which might be the catalyst that will urge you to go on your own adventure as well.
16. Ranger Confidential
This book is an excellent memoir by Andrea Lankford about her unique and extraordinary career as a former National Park Service ranger.
Working as an NPS ranger has pros and cons, and Andrea shares the highlights of her 12-year career in Ranger Confidential.
From near-death experiences to protecting baby sea turtles as they make their way to the ocean, you’ll certainly be kept at the edge of your seat.
This is an excellent read about the story of a park ranger dealing with death, danger, and disillusionment while working and living in these iconic parks.
17. Dear Bob & Sue
The first book in a three-part series is a fun memoir filled with hilarious and quirky stories and observations from a couple’s point of view.
Dear Bob & Sue is a series of e-mails written by Matt and Karen Smith to their friends, Bob and Sue, as they share their observations about their journey to all 59 national parks.
This lighthearted collection of their cheeky and sarcastic remarks will undoubtedly make you laugh out loud. This book contains adult language and jokes, so this is definitely not for kids.
18. Wild Rescues
This book is a thrilling recollection of search-and-rescue operations by paramedics inside the national parks.
If reading about real-life heroic tales captivates you, Wild Rescues is an excellent book that will give you firsthand experience of what it’s like to work as a paramedic.
The riveting book shows the beauty of these parks and the wild dangers that lurk from within.
This remarkable book will give you a glimpse of the crazy risks these paramedics take just to save other people’s lives.
19. The Wilderness Warrior
This book is New York Times bestselling historian Douglas Brinkley’s epic memoir and historical commentary on the pioneering environmental policies of President Theodore Roosevelt.
If you’re looking for a great book that chronicles the life and efforts of Theodore Roosevelt, The Wilderness Warrior is one of the best you can find.
Brinkley writes about Roosevelt’s actions and how he was able to save iconic parks such as the Grand Canyon and the Petrified Forest.
This can be quite a laborious read, but if you’re interested in Theodore Roosevelt’s contributions to the national park system, it’s definitely well worth the read.
20. Bear in the Back Seat
Relive this wildlife ranger’s experiences of dealing with bears, elk, boar, wolves, skunks, and clueless tourists in this heartwarming and funny memoir.
What would you do if a sedated wild black bear suddenly wakes up unexpectedly in the back seat of a helicopter in mid-flight or inside your car?
Bear in the Back Seat is filled with these real-life crazy stories wildlife rangers consider just another typical day at work.
This is a recount of Kim DeLozier’s 33 years in the field, protecting millions of visitors from wild black bears and protecting these bears from humans as well.
21. Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America’s National Parks
This heartfelt memoir tells the story of a man rediscovering his love for the outdoors and making the most of his time with his mother.
Lassoing the Sun is a memoir written by columnist Mark Woods as he starts to reconnect with the great outdoors and rekindles his love for the national parks while dealing with his mother’s cancer diagnosis.
This diagnosis turns his journey into a story about family bonds and dealing with goodbyes while appreciating the beauty of these national parks.
This a beautifully written book from a son in memory of his mother.
22. Desert Solitaire
Moving and deeply poetic, this autobiographical book written by Edward Abbey will tug at your heartstrings as he shares his passion for the southwestern wilderness.
Park ranger and conservationist Edward Abbey recounts his experience working in this isolated and lonely desert.
Desert Solitaire is written in Abbey’s own style, with philosophical musings and poetic reflections on the beauty of the desert and how cruel it can be.
This incredible and thought-provoking memoir will make you laugh and fill your soul with the profoundness of life in the southwestern wilderness.
This is a good book to read for national park lovers as it will resonate well with them.
23. The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks
Born out of the author’s love and concern for America’s national parks, this book is a great read that encompasses the importance of these beautiful sanctuaries to society.
The Hour of Land, an insightful book by Terry Tempest Williams, is an excellent read if you love the outdoors, even if you’ve never visited a single national park before.
The author talks about her love for these national parks and what people must do to care for them.
Inspiring and passionate, this book is a great travel companion that will educate and inspire you to give importance to these amazing parks.
Best National Parks Fiction Books
24. Track of the Cat (Anna Pigeon Mysteries)
This book is about the mysterious events that park ranger Anna Pigeon experiences that will keep you on your toes until the end.
Part of the award-winning Anna Pigeon Mysteries book series, Track of the Cat is your introduction to this protagonist who finds her colleague murdered in the wilderness.
Join her as she tries to save the mountain lions from being the scapegoats of this murder and looks for the real culprit.
If you’re looking for a fun murder-mystery book series, grab a copy of this book and prepare to be completely engrossed from start to finish.
This is one of the best books for national park lovers who are looking for an engaging book to read.
25. The Road to Paradise: A Vintage National Parks Novel
This book is a great one to pick up if you’re looking for a heartwarming story of a protagonist who will do what it takes to protect her beloved Mount Rainier National Park.
The Road to Paradise is a three-part series that chronicles Margaret Lane’s life as an avid naturalist and the struggles she has to deal with.
Follow her journey as she stands up for this great sanctuary while finding love in the process.
This book gives importance to the protection and preservation of the national park and will draw you in with unforgettable characters and a page-turning storyline.
Best National Park Books for Kids
26. National Geographic Junior Ranger Activity Book
This kid’s national parks book is jam-packed with great information, fun trivia, and activities inspired by the National Parks’ outdoor-based Junior Ranger Program.
This Junior Ranger Activity Book contains games, trivia, jokes, fun facts, and more information your kids will love.
This is an excellent way for them to learn about these national parks, discover their importance, and cultivate their love for the great outdoors.
The only downside to this book is it’s not updated and only covers 59 national parks. However, it’s still an excellent read for kids that will educate and entertain them at the same time.
- Age Level: 8-12
27. National Parks of the USA
Perfect for the budding naturalist, this book is filled with facts about the beautiful plants, flowers, maps, and scenery you’ll find inside 21 of the national parks.
Not only is this book filled with fun and fascinating information about 21 national parks, but there are beautiful illustrations of nature and wildlife inside.
This National Parks of the USA book also shows how important they are and why we should preserve them. The only downside is that it only features 21 national parks and not all 63.
- Age Level: 2-9
28. Our Great Big Backyard
Written by former First Lady Laura Bush and her daughter Jenna Bush Hager, this picture book tells a captivating story of the importance of connecting with nature.
Our Great Big Backyard is the perfect summer read for kids who would benefit from some inspiring reading and time away from their devices.
As her family road trip goes on, Jane gets captivated by the beauty of these national parks, which sparks her love for the outdoors.
Just like how her family’s road trip changed her perspective, this book is also a great way to spark your kids’ interest and love for the great outdoors.
- Age Level: 3-8
29. Grand Teton Stampede
One of the best national parks books for kids, this book is the first installment of The Campground Kids: National Park Adventures book series.
Grand Teton Stampede is the story of how this twelve-year-old protagonist Isaiah Rawlings stumbled upon a mysterious incident while camping with his family on the grounds of Grand Teton National Park.
This is an excellent read for young readers as it will take them on a journey filled with mystery and challenges, with the beautiful park as the story’s backdrop.
- Age Level: 8-12
30. The Adventures of Bubba Jones
This entertaining book will take them on a journey with Tommy “Bubba Jones” and his sister Jenny “Hug-a-Bug” as they explore the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
Time Traveling Through the Great Smoky Mountains is the first book of The Adventures of Bubba Jones.
But this is not just any other adventure book, as Bubba Jones and his family have time-traveling powers that make their adventure more interesting.
It’s a great way of teaching kids the history of national parks while including adventure and mystery.
- Age Level: 2-9
31. Mystery in Rocky Mountain National Park
This book takes place in the Rocky Mountain National Park and is filled with hidden clues, lost landmarks, and secret codes that you and your kid will enjoy.
This is the first installment of the National Park Mystery Series and is a way to introduce your kids to the national parks system.
Mystery In Rocky Mountain National Park is a great book filled with suspense, mysterious codes, riddles, and plot twists that will captivate even the most reluctant young readers.
This is also great if you’re looking for a fun bedtime story to read to your kids.
- Age Level: 8-11
Wrap-Up: Best Books on National Parks
- Best National Parks Guide book: Your Guide to the National Parks: The Complete Guide to all 63 National Parks
- Best National Parks Coffee Table Book: Treasured Lands
- Best National Parks History Book: That Wild Country
- Best National Parks Book – Memoir: Leave Only Footprints
- Best National Parks Book for Kids: The Campground Kids: National Park Adventures Book Series
This list of the best national park books includes a lot of fantastic choices for readers who love to read just as much as they love exploring the great outdoors.
Choose among the books and this carefully curated list, and start your adventure right in the comforts of your home.
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