Frommer's National Parks of the American West (Park Guides)

• With full coverage of Western national parks: Arches, Badlands, Big Bend, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, the Black Hills (including Mount Rushmore), Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Carlsbad Caverns, Channel Islands, Crater Lake, Death Valley, Devils Tower, Glacier National/Waterton Lakes, the Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Great Basin, Great Sand Dunes, Guadalupe Mountains, Joshua Tree, Lassen Volcanic Park, Mesa Verde and the Four Corners, Mount Rainier, North Cascades, Olympic, Petrified Forest, Point Reyes, Redwood, Rocky Mountain, Saguaro, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Theodore Roosevelt, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion.
• According to the National Park Service, as of June 2009, 127.7 million visits were made to national parks in the first six months of the year, an increase of about 4.5 million over the same period in 2008.
• More than 900,000 people visited Yellowstone National Park in July, 2009, an all-time record for monthly visits and a jump of 94,000 visits over 2008. The First Family visited Yellowstone in August, 2009.

Frommer's explains their intent in the introduction: "Our authors have talked to the rangers, hiked the trails, and taken the tours, all the while asking, 'How can our readers avoid the crowds?' In each of following chapters you'll find a section giving you straightforward, practical advice on just how to do this.... We've searched for secluded trails that can be hiked by the average person, scenic drives where you won't get caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic, and points where, with only a minimum of effort, you'll be afforded spectacular views without feeling as if you're packed into Times Square on New Year's Eve."

There is probably not a question you have that this book doesn't answer: each park listing includes tips from park rangers, ideas especially for kids, excellent maps, entrance fee information, the best driving and walking tours, campground overviews, food and other lodging, contacts for activities and recreation, and interesting sidebars. --Kathryn True