Legends of the National Parks Guide Book

by Anderson Design Group, Joel Anderson

The artists of Anderson Design Group have spent years documenting the wilderness and wonder of America’s National Parks. During our adventures in the parks, we’ve run across scary, bizarre, and fantastic legends of mythical creatures reported to have inhabited many of the parks and surrounding areas. We began to collect creepy accounts of strange creatures—like Bigfoot, the Jackalope, the Wednigo, or visitors from outer space. We collected tall tales of unexplainable events, ancient myths, and stories passed down by Indigenous Peoples, colonial settlers, and park visitors over the last two centuries. Many legends are based on Native American folklore, and we have been careful to indicate which tribes were associated with each story, being respectful of sacred traditions and Indigenous beliefs. We have interpreted the creatures featured in the legends of the National Parks, rendering images of fantastic beings, using historical reference and some artistic license. We have created a repository of cryptid information, pinpointing the various National Parks where each legend originated. Maps, captions, facts, and info-graphics bring these mysterious creatures to life in this handy, pocket-sized guide book. The legends are retold and amplified with info about the powers and characteristics of each creature, along with plausible natural explanations for how each mystery may have come to be. This book is ideal for anyone who is a fan of the National Parks, mythical creatures, and creepy, unexplained phenomena. In addition to featuring 32 Legends of the National Parks, there is a bonus section highlighting 19 other mythical creatures from around the world. Printed on quality paper with a sturdy metal wiro-binding, the dimensions of this handy book are 5" wide x 7" tall. Each year, we donate a portion of our profits to the National Park Foundation. Your purchase helps to protect America's National Parks!

112 pages, Spiral-bound

Published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Robert Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is basically a beautifully illustrated collection of cryptids, creatures, or monsters reputed to live in a variety of the National Parks. It doesn’t cover all of the parks and does venture off into some international offerings in the last few pages, but it does include 32 cryptids from the American National Parks as well as 19 from all around the world.

Each entry features a delightful full-page illustration opposite a short description of the creature, its appearance, habitat, behaviors, and so forth. They even include a short description of possible natural explanations for each cryptid to please the skeptics in the audience.

All of that makes this a charming and somewhat unusual guidebook to the National Parks as well as just a fun read for those who are interested in cryptids or monsters. It’s admittedly a little squatch-heavy, featuring a few different variations on Bigfoot-like creatures. But on the other hand, it also includes a few cryptids that even I—dyed in the wool connoisseur of cryptids as I am—didn’t know about before reading the book.

[Alec Biron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful collection of illustrations featuring cryptids and mythological creatures from national parks across the United States, with a handful of legends from around the world. Giving it 3 out of 5 stars because:

The booklet includes only a short paragraph of history for each creature, and could really use more detail—unless it’s meant solely for children or teens.

Bigfoot/Yeti shows up maybe 5–7 times throughout, which felt repetitive. There were also a few errors, like Romania and Finland being swapped on the global map near the end. I was also surprised the author didn’t focus more on U.S. national parks, instead highlighting global legends like mermaids, vampires, and the Loch Ness monster.

Still, it’s a fun little read for hikes—but I’m not sure it was worth the $35 price tag. That said, the illustrations truly are stunning.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed in a few things:
1 - there were, like, 6 of the parks whose creature was Bigfoot, and for many of them they just copy/pasted the same verbiage.
2 - this isn't storytelling, including tales and legends. Rather it has little blurbs like "this is what this park's supposed creature is".
3 - it tries to debunk every single one. Why not just let us live a little and keep our campfire stories?

To summarize. Zero whimsy, zero creativity, zero intrigue, lovely art posters.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun guidebook for legends around the world. Amazing how many cultures throughout modern history have an ape-humanoid type creature roaming around their surroundings. Really makes you question the Big Foot ‘myth’. (No, no conspiracy theories, just really something to chew on - with large canines and perhaps ape like jaw strength).

[Rob Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son loves this book!

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awesome art! Fascinating how ancient some of the legends are, as well as their similarities world wide. Everyone seems to have a Bigfoot of some sort.