We took a one week trip to Yellowstone at the end of July. This book was invaluable. The hikes are ranked from 1 (easiest) to 5 (hardest) making it simple for us to figure out what the four kids could handle. By taking trails rated over "2" we saw almost nobody else on the trails for most hikes. It seems that a vast majority of visitors to Yellowstone do not actually want to hike and having this book made it easy for us to have an uncrowded, pleasant experience. Very detailed, easy to find trail heads from the descriptions. Highly recommend this book, it made our experience fantastic. We also bought "Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler's Companion to the National Park" which offers more info on the actual park. Together these books covered everything we needed to know.

"Top Trails" for Yellowstone and Grand Teton is extremely well-organized and eary to use. We had limited time in the parks and needed to quickly assess how to make the best use of our time, hiking limitations, etc. The first few pages offer an excellent overview of how long and how difficult each trail is, what you're likely to see (from geology to wildlife, panoramic views, etc). Then it gives you a reference page number, where you can get more detail on the trail, best time of day/year to do it, pros and cons, etc, etc. I can't vouch for the longer hikes, as we stuck to those under 2 miles, but it was quite accurate, easy to use, and a valuable asset.

This is a really good trail book for Yellowstone and the Tetons, but I wonder if maybe the writter is holding back on more secluded or backwoodsy, if you will, trails? I feel these same trails are pretty much in all the books I have read. The thing that puts this one in the lime light is the fact that it has pretty much all the trails in one book. I find it handy that I only need to tote one guide book, instead of three, with me on the trail. I would like to say thank you, Andrew, for the details your book puts forth!

I wish there were more of the common trails in the book (I used to work in YNP) but it's definitely a handy book with a lot of useful info

This book is one of the best hiking books I have ever bought. I would recommend it to anyone!!!

We spent a week in the Yellowstone and hike everyday - this guide helps us as a lot to find what is the best for each day. We easily found the way how to get to the trails and we never lost our way. This book is definitely very useful for everybody going to the Yellowstone (or Grand Teton) not to stay on road but enjoy hiking.

I won't be traveling out west until this summer. I think this book does an excellent job in reviewing the trials in short order, from an experienced hiker. It gives you all of the information you need to decide on which trails you should plan on hiking if you do not know the area. Allows you to plan your trip for maximum effect.

The elevation guides and ratings guide allow you to make reasonable decisions about setting out on a hike based not only on mileage but also on the difficulty you can expect and practical decisions about parking and taking kids along.

I think it it will be very useful.

First of all, this is a GREAT book.

I just want other readers to know that 3/4's of this book, if not more, is on Yellowstone hikes. I would have loved more hikes on Tetons - at least half and half...which is what I was expecting when buying this book.

First of all, this is a GREAT book.

I just want other readers to know that 3/4's of this book, if not more, is on Yellowstone hikes. I would have loved more hikes on Tetons - at least half and half...which is what I was expecting when buying this book.

very helpful

I live about 90 miles from Jackson and 100 from West Yellowstone, so I go to both parks a lot. As a teacher, I have my summers to go camp and hike from time to time, and I just got back from a trip today. While at Lake Hotel, I chanced on this book, and bought it. This was yesterday. The book has 45 different trails in it to hike in Yellowstone and the Tetons (though most are in Yellowstone). I went ahead and hiked one yesterday (Elephant Back) and got a great view of Yellowstone Lake. The directions were very clear and there were guide-points along the route in the book so I knew just where I was. The book even mentioned this is Grizzly habitat in the spring/early summer, and sure enough, when I got down from the hike, there was a bear. This kind of information could be a lifesaver to the inexperienced Yellowstone or Teton hiker. Today, I hiked two more hikes in the book, one short one at West Thumb and a longer one at Biscuit Basin up to a waterfall and overlook. This book is very easy to use, has great maps, grades the difficulty of each hike, and has a variety from hikes under a mile to hikes of over twenty that take several days. My goal, using this excellent book, is to hike them all in a year or so. Great photos, durable cover, great maps. This is the perfect book for locals or for tourists who come often or who are planning a two to three week stay. I would not think it would be good for someone visiting for a day or two, as you could not scratch the surface of this gold mine of information. Two thumbs up!

Very easy to read. Appreciated the information of levels of fitness needed for each hike.

This book well-deserved to win the National Outdoor Book Award. The books has a great deal of detailed information on each of the 45 trails included in the book. This information was great to help plan a trip to the national parks, matching hikers with hikes of appropriate difficulty.

Very easy to read. Appreciated the information of levels of fitness needed for each hike.

This book well-deserved to win the National Outdoor Book Award. The books has a great deal of detailed information on each of the 45 trails included in the book. This information was great to help plan a trip to the national parks, matching hikers with hikes of appropriate difficulty.

Yep, there are lots of hiking guides out there for Yellowstone and the Tetons. Too many, in fact. Most of them seem to be focused on quantity, not quality. They simply list trail after trail, but lack detail and advice about how to choose a great hike that matches your tastes and fitness level. After comparing this Wilderness Press guide to the Falcon book and others, I found it to be the most useful and compact. And my on-trail testing this summer has proved my hunch true. It's very specific about which hikes are the best during which seasons, and which trails are the best for avoiding crowds and seeing wildlife. There are good individual maps for each hike, many quality b&w photos, plus lots of background and historical information. For a serious visit, I'd still recommend picking up a guidebook like the Lonely Planet, as well, but for hiking and backpacking, take it from Ramblin' Bob, this is the most up-to-date and best darn guide to Yellowstone and the Tetons available.

Yep, there are lots of hiking guides out there for Yellowstone and the Tetons. Too many, in fact. Most of them seem to be focused on quantity, not quality. They simply list trail after trail, but lack detail and advice about how to choose a great hike that matches your tastes and fitness level. After comparing this Wilderness Press guide to the Falcon book and others, I found it to be the most useful and compact. And my on-trail testing this summer has proved my hunch true. It's very specific about which hikes are the best during which seasons, and which trails are the best for avoiding crowds and seeing wildlife. There are good individual maps for each hike, many quality b&w photos, plus lots of background and historical information. For a serious visit, I'd still recommend picking up a guidebook like the Lonely Planet, as well, but for hiking and backpacking, take it from Ramblin' Bob, this is the most up-to-date and best darn guide to Yellowstone and the Tetons available.

We just spent a couple days in the park with this book and would highly recommend it to anyone planning to hike in the park. It has an excellent chart in the front of the book that quickly tells you everything you need to know before chosing a trail. It outlines details about the trail including the possibility of wildlife sightings. This chart helped us decide which trails would be good for the little kids and which ones we would have to do alone. We found the descriptions of the trails to be accurate and packed with info about the flora and fauna we saw along the way. I am sure we'll use this book again and again. This book helped us experience the wilderness of a traffic-packed park.

If you are headed to Yellowstone and/or the Grand Tetons, and you plan getting out of your car, then this is the book you want.

It is current, the information is correct and complete. Nystrom, a veteran writer (Lonely Planet Guides), writes clearly and with the authority that only a seasoned outdoorsman can bring to the pages of a book. His book is the result of careful research and time in the field. So, get your gear together, buy this book and head to Yellowstone ot the Tetons.