Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This book is a great guide for visiting the most popular national parks in the United States. It provides extensive information on parks such as Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Olympic, Yosemite and Zion. Repanshek details the pros and cons of each park with candor with helpful comments about what to expect from the weather, wildlife and crowds.
Each chapter focuses on a different park. Within each chapter, he covers such topics as: geology, attractions, directions, fees, safety precautions, hikes, ranger programs, lodging, dining options, and other essentials such as post offices, lost and founds, etc. He writes in the first person, and often makes amusing commentaries about his own experiences and expectations. He does a thorough job covering each park - one can sense from reading that not only has he personally visited these places, but that he has returned to each a number of times and writes with the experience that is so valuable to those on a limited time schedule. He acknowledges that while each park could be a vacation of its own, many people can only spend a day or two at each place. To accomodate such travelers, he includes a section in each chapter on what to do if you only have one day to explore the park. This can be an incredibly useful tool if you are on a tight time schedule.
Frequently in travel guides, one gets the sense that the author is either an avid outdoorsman bent on roughing it, or a once-a-year vacationer who would rather die than sleep in a tent. Not so here - Repanshek clearly addresses both groups. He details all the available campsites in a park, along with his opinions on how clean/quiet/developed each site is; but also lists hotels and motels in the surrounding areas, ranging from the cheapest to the swankiest of lodgings. Same goes for the dining options. I personally appreciated this a great deal - my trip was primarily a camping excursion, but every once in a while we decided to splurge on decent hotels and were grateful for his frankness in describing what we could expect for our money.
My only gripe with this book is that it only covers 15 parks. Of course, due to its level of detail, it would be difficult to cover more. My hope is that Kurt Repanshek considers putting together two or more separate guides, for the Eastern and Western National Parks. He has a great eye for detail and leaves no stones unturned in his comprehensive tour of the American parks. I highly recommend this guide!
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What makes a trip to a national park so wonderful? For starters, America's national park system is more diverse than any park system in the world. You can stroll the seashore at Olympic National Park in Washington or Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts, climb craggy mountains in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, or go underground into the world's largest cave system at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. You can marvel at the largest canyon on Earth (Grand Canyon National Park), hike among the planet's largest collection or rock arches (Arches National Park), explore the lowest and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere (Death Valley National Park), or wander a realm of forests and misty mountains (Great Smoky Mountains National Park).
And these are just a few of your park options.
America's National Parks For Dummies gives you guidance to decide which park is for you, when to go, and what to see when you reach your destination. This guide will help you plan the best trip imagina ble, whether you are
An inexperienced traveler looking for guidance in determining whether to take a trip to a national park and how to plan for it
An experienced traveler who has yet to explore the national park system and wants expert advice when you finally get a chance to enjoy one
Any traveler who doesn't like big, thick travel guides that list every single hotel, restaurant, or attraction, but instead looks for a book that focuses on the places that will provide the best or most unique park experience
America's National Parks For Dummies is user-friendly and organized in a logical fashion. Each park is broken down in a chapter that delves into the nitty-gritty of trip planning and highlights, including tips for
Planning your trip by touching on the diversity of the park system, explaining some of your vacation options, and telling you when parks are the most (and least) crowded
Ironing out the details by describing how you get to the parks and how to find your way around after you arrive
Exploring America's national parks by giving you the lowdown on 15 of the best parks, detailing things like each park's wild kingdom, the best spots for memorable photographs, and a few safety issues
The pages of this book resemble a great long-distance hike – you never know what's around the next bend in the trail. So throw on a backpack, take a swig of water, and get ready to explore the national parks!
Buy cheap America's National Parks for Dummies, Second Edition now.
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