There are sixty-three National Parks in the United States covering around 52.4 million acres across thirty states and two territories. While I have many acquaintances who aspire to be completists, I don’t have the same goal. (It was a real journey to be able to say that!) However, I am happy to have visited Mammoth Cave, Great Smoky Mountains, Shenandoah, Redwood, Rocky Mountain, Mount Ranier, and Gateaway Arch. (Does New River Gorge count if I visited before it officially became a park in 2020?) If I can visit a few more in the coming years, that will be grand.
In the meantime, I’ll visit our country’s beautiful National Parks through the page. Given that we have sixty-three parks to work with, there’s no way to include all the great books set there. That’s where you come in: we’d love to hear your recommendations for books about or set at one of our National Parks in the comments section! This list wound up being more focused on parks in the western half of the country so I hope you’ll help us round it out.
Whether these reads bring back good memories of previous visits to National Parks or you hope to travel to one (or several) someday, I hope this list gets you excited about your next trip or provides an accessible and affordable means of escape via armchair travel.
For more on this topic, check out What Should I Read Next episode 468: Books for an adventure out West, in which I help a reader with a big summer family trip on the horizon find both fiction and nonfiction titles to help her get educated and excited.
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A historical nonfiction account of the Havasupai tribe who originally populated the lands now known as the Grand Canyon and their struggle to reclaim what was stolen from them in the nineteenth century. When the federal government proposed incorporating still more Havasupai land into the National Park in 1971, they fought the US Congress, the National Parks, the US Forestry Service, and even the Sierra Club. Havasupai Tribal Chairman Lee Marshall said “I heard all you people talking about the Grand Canyon. Well, you’re looking at it. I am the Grand Canyon.” His speech paved the way for the return of thousands of acres of Havasupai land in 1975, the largest return of native land in US history. More info →
I read this epistolary novel years and years ago. When amateur botanist A.E. Bartram is invited to join a study in Yellowstone, the new national park in Wyoming, the study’s leader is shocked and displeased to learn A.E. is not a man but, in fact, a woman. The scientists eventually get over their shock and head to camp to start their research. As their work gets underway, they debate about topics like progress vs. preservation and science vs. religion. An exploration of sexism, scientific discovery, Native American displacement, and environmentalism. More info →
A 2015 Summer Reading Guide selection! After her family (or what’s left of it) impulsively moves from California to Connecticut, Amy has to get her car cross-country. There’s just one problem: because of a tragic accident, Amy doesn’t drive. Enter Roger, an old family friend who volunteers to come along for the ride, and who is dealing with his own heartbreak. Before long, the two friends decide to ditch her mom’s meticulously planned itinerary in favor of the scenic route, stopping to see Yellowstone National Park, familiar haunts, old loves, and plenty of small town America. Matson adds texture to this sweet story with emails, receipts, and playlists galore. Sure to inspire wanderlust. More info →
An angsty romance with a strong sense of place. Trans Park Ranger Will Avery loves the isolation of working in 1991 Denali National Park for all the ways it protects him from being hurt. He’s less than pleased to be paired with wolf biologist Nikhil Rajawat who is there to further his research. Neither expects to fall for the other and when Nikhil returns to India at the end of the summer, Will pretends like he doesn’t care. But when Nikhil returns a year later, they must figure out whether there’s a way forward together. Structure nerds will appreciate the way the story alternates between the summer they met and one year later, building to a hard-won satisfying conclusion. (Open door.) More info →
In this nature-plus-noir detective novel, Celine is a 60+ private investigator, artist, and recovering alcoholic with emphysema in NYC who specializes in finding missing persons. When a young woman seeks out Celine to help her find her father, who’s been missing for decades, she and her partner head to Yellowstone National Park, where it becomes clear someone wants this man to stay missing. Read this for Heller’s nature writing, and the way he explores the intersection of family, privilege, and the secrets we keep. Fun fact: Heller based the character on his mother, who was also a detective and artist in NYC. More info →
Many consider this 1968 nonfiction work by the notable author and Park Ranger to be essential reading for those interested in national parks and the American West. Abbey takes us through his time working at Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah. He reflects on nature, conservation, morality, and the future, making a strong case for the importance of caring about the earth and preserving its beauty. More info →
Barr’s Anna Pigeon series is built on an irresistible concept: each mystery is set in a different national park. In book one, Anna runs from her past and moves from New York to the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas to be a park ranger. When her fellow ranger and friend Sheila is seemingly killed by a mountain lion, Anna notices that the claw marks and paw prints are almost too perfect to be real. Suspecting foul play, she treks the land in search of the real killer. The author was a park ranger herself and her experience is evident on every page. More info →
Have you ever wondered how national parks came to be? This historical account takes us through the birth of Yellowstone, the first national park, and the inspiration behind landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted managing Yosemite. Olmsted’s thoughts became the blueprint for future national parks. Drabelle explores how the movement changed and grew over the years, as well as its influence around the world. More info →
I bought this for my husband Will years ago as a staff recommendation at Wild Geese Bookshop in Franklin, Indiana. After weathering a broken engagement, CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Conor Knighton decided to spend the year visiting every single National Park. Thinking he needed a change of scenery, Knighton quickly went overboard with his planning, resulting in wonderful stories and a news segment. Read his account and then watch the On the Trail news segments that followed. More info →
Proving nothing and no one is safe from a one-star review, Subpar Parks offers a hilarious look at what the grumpiest and most disappointed visitors have to say about national parks. It also includes descriptions of each park and (genuine) tips like the best time of year to visit. Not all books that started as Instagram accounts are created equal but this one is sure to delight both outdoor enthusiasts and indoorsy souls. More info →
Heller returns to the magnificent and wild Yellowstone National Park in this quietly urgent eco-thriller. Ren Hopper was born to be a ranger, but his work has grown increasingly difficult as more humans than ever flock to our nation’s national parks. Man and nature have peacefully coexisted during Ren’s tenure, but he fears that balance can’t last, given the human behavior he’s witnessed in the park lately. When a wolf researcher is nearly killed in the park, Ren suspects it was no accident—and he begins to tail his prime suspect, a local poacher involved in a dangerous grassroots militia group. This one shines for its evocative setting, lyrical commentary, intriguing science, and sympathetic protagonist. More info →
This wonderful historical narrative features two intrepid female botanists who, in 1938, embark on a grand adventure down the famously dangerous Colorado River to document the region’s plants. In lyrical prose, and relying heavily on the women’s journals and letters, Sevigny documents their harrowing 43-day voyage, crafting an account that reads like an adventure novel. She seamlessly weaves in the social and political history of the region, as well as fascinating nuggets about the Grand Canyon itself. A great choice for history buffs, nature lovers, and anyone who enjoys a good yarn about a daunting expedition. A 2023 Summer Reading Guide selection. More info →
This contemporary romance begins when Noelle’s TikTok about her recently deceased grandmother’s secret first love goes viral, and as a result she unexpectedly reunites with her old high school rival Theo. It turns out that Gram almost married Theo’s grandfather Paul decades ago but never told Noelle, despite how close the two were. Currently unemployed and floundering in her life, Noelle decides to go on the should-have-been honeymoon that never happened, with Paul and Theo joining her for the big adventure, including stops at Bryce Canyon, Yosemite, and Zion National Parks. Noelle and Theo have a chance to get to know each other as adults, making for a chemistry-filled, banter-laden good time. Joyce also thoughtfully explores grief and making peace with high school aspirations and expectations. More info →
In this nonfiction adventure-slash-history (and 2024 Summer Reading Guide selection), Fedarko and his long-time photojournalist pal Pete McBride celebrate the National Park Service centennial by embarking on a 750-mile end-to-end traverse—described by many as “the toughest hike in the world”—across Grand Canyon National Park, which Fedarko calls both the most visited and least understood park. During their year in the canyon, they come face to face with the grandeur and terror of their landscape: it gets so hot the glue on their shoes melts, then so cold their boots freeze solid overnight, and the pair endure more than one (absolutely terrifying and often nauseating) near-death experience. Along the way we meet the very few intrepid explorers who know the canyons best, as well as the Native people who’ve known it longest. More info →
Do you have any favorite books set in a National Park? How many have you visited? Please share in the comments.
P.S. 14 books about walking and hiking, 14 books about nature to inspire your next outdoor adventure, and more literary tourism.
