Moon Yellowstone and Grand Teton: Including Jackson Hole (Moon Handbooks)

Comment: On multiple occassions during my recent visit to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons I felt like I had a seasoned veteran along my side on this journey; using this book as a guide and travel companion -- it was ideal! You will not be disappointed if you are searching for spots along your way to refresh in a local food establishment, hotel, etc. I'm extremely surprised at the accuracy of the information and the well-heeled advise concering the local establishments and the rankings within this book.

Best of all it will make you look very informed and trusted by the family since I had enough information on the local flavor from this book to find my way around the various areas like a veteran.

Comment: 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.

Comment: This is THE most helpful guidebook to take on a trip to the two parks. There is SO MUCH to see and do--and lots of it is "off the beaten path". This book contains it all--from the hard-to-find cabins that are run by the locals to the dozens of white water rafting companies! And all the information is there--phone numbers, websites, prices, times, etc. Although the book does not give a review per se to every hotel or activity, the comments are plentiful, are very helpful and I've found these evaluations to be right on the money. The maps are also plentiful, very clear and well-marked. There is a section of information on all the cities that surround the parks and what to see and do there. There are also sections on background history of the parks, park etiquette, environmental issues, and traveling tips. Planning ahead for your visit is a must as the accommodations and activities fill up quickly--and this book gives you all the tools you need to make your trip to this most beautiful spot in the USA the trip of a lifetime.

Comment: I love all the moon handbooks and this one is no exception - combines the basics with "out of the way" surprises that make for a great trip!

Comment: 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. At the crest it emerges into the grass-, willow-, and flower-bedecked meadows with Blackrock Creek winding through. Whitebark pine and Englemann spruce trees cover the nearby slopes. . . . Togwotee Pass is a complete shock after all the miles of sagebrush and grassland that control the heartland of Wyoming. It's like entering another world - one of cool, forested mountains and lofty peaks instead of the arid land with horizonwide vistas."

In short, this is an excellent guidebook to Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and the immediately adjacent areas. If you're planning a more extensive ramble around other parts of Wyoming, then you'll want to check out the author's Wyoming volume for Moon, which tops out at a comprehensive 728 pages. (The Yellowstone-Grand Tetons coverage in the statewide volume runs about 180 pages, about half as long as in this separate volume specifically focusing on the Parks.)