Featuring 80 all new maps and more than 350 photos, this guide is the most comprehensive, up-to-the-minute book of its kind.

A perennial favorite with almost a million copies sold in previous editions, it reflects National Geographic's century-long association with America's national parks system and its peerless reputation for travel expertise and cartographic excellence.

The book opens with an essay by Yellowstone authority Paul Schullery, and an introduction to the guide with a locator map showing all 58 of these American treasures (including the newest, South Carolina's Congree National Park).

The parks are presented alphabetically region by region, with individual maps and geographical profiles of each. These colorfully illustrated descriptions offer tours tailored to the time available, whether it's an hour or a week, and tell visitors the best spots to enjoy hikes, spectacular vistas, wildlife and more.

Itineraries and directions, special activities and advisories, and suggestions of hotels and campgrounds are provided, along with scores of ideas for excursions to nearby wildlife refuges, monuments, and other nature areas of exceptional interest—140 in all.

• Softcover
• 480 pages, 375 color photographs, 80 maps
• 5 1/4" x 8 3/8"
• © 2009