Lonely Planet Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks

by Bradley Mayhew, Bradley Mayhew, Carolyn McCarthy

Lonely Planet’s Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Paddle alpine lakes, watch wildlife, and ski at Big Sky; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Yellowstone & Grand Teton and begin your journey now!   Inside the Lonely Planet’s Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks Travel   Up-to-date information - all businesses were rechecked before publication to ensure they are still open after 2020’s COVID-19 outbreak User-friendly highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices, emergency information, park seasonality, hiking trail junctions, viewpoints, landscapes, elevations, distances, difficulty levels, and durations Focused on the best – hikes, drives, and cycling tours Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, camping, sightseeing, going out, shopping, summer and winter activities, and hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Contextual insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - history, geology, wildlife, and conservation Over 45 full-color trail and park maps and full-color images throughout  Useful features - Travel with Children, Clothing and Equipment , and  Day and Overnight Hikes Covers Yellowstone National Park area, Mammoth Country, Roosevelt Country, Canyon Country, Lake Country, Norris, Geyser Country, Bechler Region, Grand Teton National Park area, Jackson

The Perfect Lonely Planet’s Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks , our most comprehensive guide to these US national parks, is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less traveled.    Looking for more extensive coverage? Check out Lonely Planet’s USA for a comprehensive look at all the country has to offer.    Looking to visit more North American national parks? Check out USA's National Parks , a new full-color guide that covers all 59 of the USA's national parks.   Just looking for inspiration? Check out Lonely Planet’s National Parks of America , a beautifully illustrated introduction to each of the USA's 59 national parks.   About Lonely Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveler since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and phrasebooks for 120 languages, and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travelers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, videos, 14 languages, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more, enabling you to explore every day.    'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' – New York Times   'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveler's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' – Fairfax Media (Australia)

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference, Outdoors, Ebooks, Nature, The United States Of America

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have it on my Kindle. Definitely considering putting in in my backpack for Yellowstone. Detailed hikes and evaluations of trails, venues and alternatives.

If you are only interested in a "tour" this book is probably not the one.

[Becky]

Full disclosure, I skipped over the Tetons.

[Kaitlyn Foy]

just getting prepared!

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great guide to accompany a trip to both Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons National Parks.

The number of sites and hikes to see in Yellowstone is almost overwhelming. This book can help you see some of the highlights or visit less-trafficked areas of the park. I also enjoyed some of the well-written (and quirky) descriptive passages.

[Lianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lonely Planet has done it again. I had a few extra hours in the parks and this book told me the best spot for photos, wildlife, what to skip, even the best mud pots in Yellowstone. I would have missed 80% of the good stuff without it.

[Ashleigh Mattern · Rating 4 out of 5]

At its essence, a travel guide is a package of information about where you're planning to go, but this travel guide manages to entertain as well as inform. All of the information is well organized and well labelled, so that I was able to whip it out of my backpack at any given moment on my trip and quickly find the details about the trail or area we were exploring. Reading it at home before the trip, I enjoyed the friendly, casual writing style of the two writers of the book, as well as the tidbits of historical information they shared. The guide really does feel like you're getting inside information about the parks, and I went to Yellowstone feeling as though I was armed with secrets that would improve my visit.

[Patrick Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly well put together book that was super valuable for a trip to Big Sky and Yellowstone. The trail locations were well described and the "what to do"s were super helpful in picking what to do in our brief stay in the Park. I highly recommend using another source for open trail information (many we wanted to do were under construction.) but the non-hiking info was spot on. The history and information section in the back of the book was really interesting too!

The only problem from my perspective was the use of different regions and chopping up activities and regions in odd ways. Not a huge issue because the book is very straightforward about how the regions are separated.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well organized, great pictures, and very informative. These suggestions on which takes to do, and things to see were spot on. My only disappointment was that even though I bought the newest addition, there were some restaurants (like the one at the top of the aerial tram at Jackson hole mountain resort) and suggestions they were no longer in business. Great book, great trip!!

[Kandis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of information, great starting place and reference guide. Planing a longer trip and found myself needing additional resources for more practical information vs the fun facts and blurbs; would have like better maps and guides for getting around.

[Jennifer Grunbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used this during our planning and trip to both parks, great information!

[Mateusz Kwapich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful for deciding which places to visit in Yellowstone

[Jaq · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great introduction to a park I cannot wait to see.

[Tyler Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helped me plan our family’s trip to Yellowstone!!

[Amy Hotto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chock full of information. Sometimes a little too tightly put together! Very helpful info on trails and maps were very useful in planning.

[Jim Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was bought in anticipation of a visit to Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons. It's a really good book that gives you clear guidance as to what to do, where to go, what the see, and where to stay if you're visiting the Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone National Park.

Some small books that cover a small area like Yellowstone can sometimes be too narrowly drawn and miss something that lies just outside the "zone of interest" of the book (an example id the Lonely Planet guide to the Grand Canyon, which doesn't mention Monument Valley despite it being a logical place to visit if you're in the ara). This book is different. I've been to Yellowstone a number of times, and don't think that this book misses anything, if you're going to the area under consideration.

[Sabrina Hofkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading Lonely Planet's travel books. This book was just released with updated information. Although I liked the narrative and description of the hikes, I felt the book lacked a good map to show where some of the hikes were that they described. I wish they would include a large map to show the entire park with all the hikes on it. I know Yellowstone National Park is huge and has many geysers and bubbling pots, but I felt disoriented because they would describe them and then not show you where they were on any map.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the planning chapter as it gave lots of helpful hints to where/what/how to accomplish the things you should do before heading to Yellowstone. This book is jammed packed with useful information on the historical facts of the sites and what to skip during the busy season. Once we 'use' the book out in Yellowstone I'll add more to this review as to how much the book actually helps guide us through our journey into and around Yellowstone.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best travel books I've seen. Easy to follow and cross reference, great tips, and better maps than you get locally at the parks. We never would have known to look for the Firehole Canyon swimming hole without it for example -a very memorable part of the trip. Wish Lonely Planet did more travel books than the few I've seen!

[Ellis Atwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great to have this resource while off the grid. Some entertaining sections on the history, geology, and wildlife. Docking a few stars because sometimes it was hard to find what I need (the index doesn’t seem to be comprehensive of all the hikes, places, etc?), and also sometimes I wanted more details, like a Rick Steve’s walking tour style narrative on specific trails.

[Reagan Carosino · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hated the organization of this book and found it difficult to use. Info was accurate and up to date, recommendations were solid, but navigating the sections was unweildy. Better off downloading the GyPSy traveler app in the parks and getting Frommers Montana and Wyoming. Overall would not recommend.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid guide that gets an extra star for including several possible itineraries, which many guidebooks have inexplicably dropped. I don't follow itineraries in books slavishly, but they're helpful in figuring out timing for your own.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admittedly I am biased, but this book was superb the first few years after it was researched. It's still useful, but now a bit dates.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the various guides I have (so I don't miss anything) this is the one I keep coming back to and continue to carry with me on my trips.

[Keith Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had a number of guidebooks--all good in their own way. This was probably the best of them overall.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great info on what to see in Yellowstone & how to optimize your time, as well as great list of hikes in Tetons. Very useful for my recent trip.

[Sarahlynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the writing style.

[Kaye Dewar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great guide book for on of my favorite places.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent guide book with so many tips beyond the usual!

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent guide book and it was our constant reference on our recent trip to these two national parks.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little disappointing because I found it hard to find the information or suggestions I was hoping for. Just a lot of prose about how great the park is. And other things to visit.