Moon Yellowstone & Grand Teton: Including Jackson Hole

Recently, I made a trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. After reviewing several guide books of the region, I settled on this one. By far, I found this to be the most comprehensive and most useful of the lot of recent guidebooks. There are plenty of maps for the major hiking trails in both national parks. Though if you intend to do back country hiking in either park, you might look for a book that specializes in that, rather than this general overview of the area. I found the restaurant reviews to be accurate and very useful, as we planned nights out. Information about flora and fauna, and the history of the area was succinct and presented in an easy to read format. For the traveler who is looking to make an initial trip to this beautiful region, I cannot recommend this book more highly.

If you're planning an extended visit to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, I highly recommend this guidebook. (If you're only going to visit the Parks for three or four days as part of a longer trip, however, it's probably more detail than you would need.) We recently visited the two Parks for a total of twelve days, and I found this Guide extremely helpful. Unusually for a guidebook, I actually read it pretty much straight through before we left. It's an enjoyable read, even aside from the quality of the information it presents. The Moon Guidebooks only seem to have emerged onto the scene within the past several years, and for many readers they are still likely to be less familiar than such old standbys as Fodor's or even Lonely Planet. But I've used several guides from this publisher now and have found them to be uniformly excellent. In terms of the book's coverage, you get 70 pages on Yellowstone Park itself; 64 pages on the Yellowstone Gateway communities; 33 on Grand Tetons National Park; and 91 on the Jackson Hole area. There's also a 33-page "Background" section that provides interesting information about the geography and climate, flora and fauna, and the often controversy-ridden history of both Parks, and a 4-page section on avoiding or dealing with bear attacks. Finally, there's a solid 6-page bibliography with suggestions for other reading. The book includes an abundance of maps - in the sections focused on sightseeing (as opposed to where to stay and eat), you'll typically find at least one map every four pages. There are interesting, even compelling sidebars, such as the one about "Beaver Dick" Leigh, an English immigrant and early resident of Jackson Hole who on Christmas Day 1887 watched his wife Jenny, newborn baby, and four other children all die of smallpox and left a heartbreaking account of the experience, which the author quotes in full (p. 113). This guidebook is thorough, accurate, and useful, but beyond that, I enjoyed the glimpses of the author's personality that he lets come through in his writing. "The Buffalo Bill Museum is a real joy," he tells you, although his assessment of the Cody Firearms Museum is more restrained: "it's interesting even for those of us who consider the proliferation of guns a national menace. . . . All told, this museum houses more implements of destruction and mayhem than you're likely to see at an NRA convention." Or: "For those who love history, Trail Town is an incredible treasure trove without the fancy gift shops and commercial junk that tag along with most such endeavors. This is the real thing, low-key and genuine." He also writes effective descriptions that will help you decide what you may want to see: "Togwotee Pass is one of the most scenic drives imaginable, with Ramshorn Peak peeking down from the north for several miles until the road plunges into dense lodgepole forests (Shoshone National Forest) with lingering glimpses of the Pinnacle Buttes. A

When I'm planning a trip the first thing I do is order a Moon Handbook for the area in which I want to travel. They are invariably well informed because the people who write are passionate about the area and will suggest places that some people may miss out on. The layout is good and the maps are excellent - simple to read and navigate by. We travel pretty extensively in Canada and America and the Moon Travel Handbooks are the only travel books we take with us. I particularly like the suggestions for hiking trails and what you can expect to see as well as the rating for each hike e.g. easy flat walk or moderate walk with some steep ascents. Before you book the suggested accommodation check on tripadvisor to get traveller reviews and make your judgement from those. This book had the usual good tips on where to eat.

Author Don Pitcher has revised the wonderful first edition of his Moon Handbook for Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The new edition packs in even more information than the original. This guide contains detailed driving information for driving through both Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks. The guide also provides helpful tips on highlights in both parks and the areas where you are most likely to see wildlife. The hotel reviews and contact information have been updated, and I found the reviews to be quite accurate. One of the best features of this book is the information included on Jackson, Wyoming, including a detailed block-by-block map of the city which shows the location of each restaurant, museum, art gallery, and store mentioned in the text.I like the Moon Handbook series because of the extensive historical information included in each book. This one is no exception. Using this book will give you a much greater appreciation of the area's fur trappers, early traders, and American Indian influences in addition to the natural beauty of the area.

This book was very imformative and valuable on a recent road trip to the parks with my kids. I provided a consise resource of information and facts in an easily readable form. A valuable addition to your glove box at the start of your trip, or reading material on the flight to Jackson. Highly recommended.