If you’re like me, you might be dreaming about travel at this point in the winter. I’ve been thinking about some favorite vacation destinations for our family: national parks. They have scenery, wildlife, history, and outdoor adventure—all things we enjoy. The variety of settings is refreshing. I’ve enjoyed the urban settings of parks like Gateway Arch National Park and the remoteness of Great Basin National Park in the Nevada desert. Whatever your preference, there are 63 national parks and many other historic sites, memorials, battlefields, seashores, and other lands managed by the National Park Service. An annual pass is $80 and gets you access to all federal fee areas for a year. If you are 62 or over, an annual pass is $20 or a lifetime pass is $80.
Here are some books about national parks you might enjoy, whether you are planning a visit or not:
- Accessible Vacations: An Insider's Guide to 10 National Parks by Simon Hayhoe. Helps readers with access needs visit national parks and visitor centers.
- Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park by Conor Knighton. The Emmy-winning CBS Sunday Morning correspondent chronicles his year traveling to every one of our national parks, discovering the most beautiful places and interesting people America has to offer.
- Open Road: A Midlife Memoir of Travel Through the National Parks by Toby Neal. A road trip traveling through the national parks was just what this couple needed to enjoy their passions of writing and photography.
- The Art of the National Parks by Fifty-Nine Parks. Some of the world's foremost contemporary artists and designers created original posters that celebrate the unique beauty of the U.S. National Park system. Each poster is a contemporary take on the W.P.A. posters of the 1930s.
- Subpar Parks: America's Most Extraordinary National Parks & Their Least Impressed Visitors by Amber Share. Enjoy beautiful artwork along with hilarious one-star reviews of our national parks combined to make travel posters with a twist.
For some kitchen table travel, you may want to try:
- Trekking the National Parks: The Board Game by Underdog Games. Up to six players compete in a cross-country race to visit the national parks and collect the most points by being the first to reach each park.
Did you know the National Park Service has its own library system? Many national parks have libraries on-site and full research libraries with professional librarians are located at Glacier, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite National Parks. National parks and libraries share common goals and philosophies when you think about it. We welcome everyone, and we connect people with treasures we hope will inspire them and fill them with wonder.
Library tip of the month: You’ll find printed travel guides in our collection, but to lighten your load while you travel, we also have guides in eBook format through OverDrive, which can be accessed using the Libby app, and through Gale eBooks. Find them here.
Janet Alder is Marketing and Communications Coordinator with Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries, which has 15 locations in Clark, Skamania, Klickitat, and Cowlitz Counties. Call 360-906-5000 or visit the library district website for more information.
A version of this column first appeared in The Messenger, February 2023.
Find more book columns in our Off the Shelf blog.
