No comments about Secrets in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

No comments about U.S. National Forest Campground Guide: Camping Near Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.

No comments about Yellowstone: A Visitor's Companion (National Parks Visitor's Companions).

2 comments about Great Trails for Family Hiking: The Tetons.

1. This book was the most well used and helpful of the several that we took along on our Teton vacation. It was absolutely exact in everything from its trail descriptions, to which forks to take for what results, to whether or not insects would bother us on a particular hike. We used it daily to plan our upcoming adventures. I appreciate having a hiking book geared toward young families, and this one surely enabled us to enjoy many great and unforgetable hiking experiences with our 3 children. I love the off the beaten path and hidden places that the author so expertly describes. Many times we felt that we were the only people in the park.



2. I bought this book as a last minute item before our trip to the Grand Tetons. We traveled with our 7 and 10 year old children. We had the best family vacation and I contribute much of that to this guide. Each day we explored a new place and we were never disappointed. On our last full day in Wyoming, we found String Lake and it was breathtaking. After that find, none of us wanted to go back home. The author's description of every trail turned out to be true. We loved it. We didn't get through half of the trails we wanted to see so next year we will return with this trusty book in hand and continue to explore this beautiful part of our country. If you want to hike with your kids, this book is worth the money!

No comments about Grand Teton: The Story Behind the Scenery.

5 comments about Scenic Driving Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park.

1. We used our copy of this book to plan our main drives around both parks. Except for a very few instances the scenes were exactly as described and exactly where they were supposed to be. The wildlife viewing recommendations for the most part were spot on. We recommend this a an invaluable resource for those planning to drive most of the roads and entrances to both parks. We lent our well beaten copy to other couples since our return and both couples raved about how useful this book was to their planning and daily events.



2. My kids and I just got back from Yellowstone and Grand Teton, and this book made our trip even better than it would have been without it. The funny thing is that I almost didn't buy this book. I refused to be one of those people who experience Yellowstone from my car, so a book called "Scenic Driving" didn't appeal to me at first. But Yellowstone is so huge that even if you plan to hike every day you still need to drive between trailheads, and as a result, you spend a lot of time in the car. My 13-year-old son narrated the entire drive and we ended up seeing things and doing things that we wouldn't have otherwise done. This book helped us understand what we were seeing and led us down roads I would have passed up if it weren't for this book telling us what was around that corner. (By the way, "A Ranger's Guide to Yellowstone Day Hikes" was a great book too!) I can't recommend this book enough. It's a must!



3. I purchased many books as a reference for our first trip to Yellowstone, this is the one book I decided to take with us and we used it everyday, the information given was interesting and easy to follow. We felt like we had our own personal guide. Would recommend this book to anyone.



4. I love the detailed descriptions she writes mile by mile which will be very helpful to have in the car as I drive through the parks myself. It has also prepared me for what to look for.
   
   As a "map lover" I like the detailed maps of different sections of the park even more. But . . . I have two complaints: 1) Her maps do not include everything she describes. To me, that is the purpose of a zoomed in map of one section of the park! 2) In her written description she talks way too much about the fire of 1988! But overall I have found the book helpful in my preparation for a visit to both parks and plan to carry it with me.



5. Amazon is not so great about removing older versions of books and this is one example - if you are going to buy it, get the 2006 version. Now, about the 1999 version....I will agree that it is helpful for driving through the park, but it's only good if you are traveling in the direction she has written it in. For example, if you are traveling a particular leg from north to south but she has written the guide traveling south to north, it is really difficult to follow. The book Yellowstone Treasures by Janet Chapple is written with mile markers regardless of which direction you are traveling in, so I recommend it over this one. Chapple's book is also more comprehensive.

No comments about Wyomings Snake River.

5 comments about The Yellowstone Handbook: An Insider's Guide to the Park: A Related by Ranger Norm.

1. This book helped me plan the trip, and served as a great guide once we arrived in Yellowstone.



2. Don't let the cover fool you. This book is great. Lots of details. Great recommendations on hotels to stay outside the park when the inside ones are book. My niece and I had a blast reading it as we went. We even ran into a bear jam, you'll have to read the book to find out what that is all about. If your looking for a book to simplfy your life and make this trip the best. Buy it! Don't let the cartoons fool you this book has all the details in great form for all. Buy it before you leave so you know where your going. THE BEST, ENJOY.



3. The way the books of this series work is that they took a guide for new rangers in Yosemite with the 100 or so most frequently asked questions, and wrote their own answers for each park. So in each book the questions are very similar but the answers might be very different.

   It's a great format because it makes for easy reading beforehand, but it's also quick as a reference when you're there because they're arranged in an intelligent order. There's also a huge reference section at the end with lists, copies of permit forms, and so forth. So the thing to do is read the FAQ before you leave but bring the book and refer to it once you're there.

   I've only been to Yellowstone once and had no idea where to stay, or which hotels were near which sites and so forth. This book really cleared it up for me and we had a great time.




4. We just returned from a three-week cross-country trip, with a four day stop in Yellowstone. This book was o.k. to read before the trip to familiarize yourself with the park, but was useless as a reference guide once we were there. We basically gave up on it and used our Frommers Guide to the Western National Parks. The index is incomplete, the maps are cartoonish and difficult to read, and some of the explanations in the question-answer format with"ranger Norm" made me feel as if they were questioning my intelligence. My husband and I both couldn't believe they showcase this book prominently in the Yellowstone visitor's Centers!



5. I was very disappointed in this book, especially since all the reviews were highly favorable when I ordered it. The only redeeming value of this book was that adding it to my order had put me over the order total required to qualify for a $5 discount. I would have sent it back but the refund would not have been worth the bother.

   The book is primarily in question and answer format. Most of the answers range in length between one paragraph and a couple of pages. This isn't too bad when using the book for reference but it does not make for great readability.

   My biggest complaint is that the book claims to be "an insider's guide" but it provides limited guidance. For example, there are ten pages of outfitters listed. But for the most part the only guidance to them is the category the outfitter is listed under. There is no information on what the differences among the outfitters are as far as what they offer or the quality of their services. A couple of outfitters are mentioned in a general description of guide services, but again there are no reasons given for why you would want to select one of them.

   Another example of this lack of guidance is the description of the lodging available in the park. The descriptions are very limited and would not be enough to make an informed decision on where to stay.

   I later purchased "Yellowstone - Grand Teton Handbook" by Don Pitcher (Moon Handbooks). I found this book to be much more helpful. Instead of giving a long list of outfitters, Pitcher provides descriptions and opinions about some of the outfitters. He also provides a much better description of what the different lodging options are like. These two examples are representative of the general difference between these books. As an added bonus, "Yellowstone - Grand Teton Handbook" also provides much more information about the Grand Tetons and other areas around Yellowstone.

1 comments about Fodor's Montana, Wyoming & Idaho, 1st Edition (Fodor's Gold Guides).

1. This is from the same publisher I've used for several multi-week trips (including Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming). While I usually look at 2 - 4 guide books before or during the trip, this one seems to get used most often while actually driving. I have found it's format very useful. I like it since it let's you see at a glance what sort of things are in a given area of the state and what might be worthwhile going out of the way to visit. Very few of the "highlights" or "must see's" were wrong (well, OK, the Purple Cow restaurant in Montana should NOT rate as a "must see" - that's the only dud I've found).
   
   There are only two significant negatives: it can miss some sites that would be worth seeing and it's not very good on camping information. But how could they possibly cover EVERYHTING in a book this size (for more depth, the "Moon Handbook" series of travel books can't be beat). In other words, they don't always list _all_ the good restaurants, just a couple. They might only mention one or two camping grounds, when there are several nearby that are as good or better... but it's an excellent starting point.
   
   Two minor points: They tend to be a little on the "happy" side in their reviews and sometimes a little more directions (besides the address) are needed since you can't always have _detailed_ maps for every area in the state.
   
   The series tends to be a little more positive than the "Moon Handbook" or "Hidden" guides tend to be. I suspect part of it is that they don't have room to cover the "bad places" to visit, but part is a little more just being nice (i.e., they don't mention the parking is bad or you have to pay separately for drinks).
   
   On the other hand, it does have a couple of good recommendations for contacts / outfitters for outdoor activities related to a given town/area. It also has useful, but brief information on the restaurants, hotels, and attractions.

5 comments about Frommer's Montana & Wyoming (Frommer's Montana & Wyoming, 3rd ed).

1. Once again another great travel guide has come from the Frommer's series of books. When traveling to some place new I always look to see if there is a Frommer's Guide for that destination. They are well written and very easy to read and understand. I feel they are the most complete travel books around. Also there size makes for ease of use. They can be carried on the plane or in car in an overnight bag without taking up to much space. This allows for quick access when finishing last minute trip planning on the way there. Although I have not purchased this book, because I live the area of the US that the book describes I have looked it over and feel it lives up the Frommer's name. It provides the same useful information found in all Frommer's books, maps, general travel info., motel/hotel info., and great itineraries just to touch the surface. I would not hesitate in recommending this book and would buy it myself if I did not already live in Wyoming.



2. Who are we kidding here. Trying to pack to of the largest states in geography into one small book? The name must be selling the book, because I didn't find much substance here. There's a lot missing here. This and the Fodor's book must rely on their name to sell the book, not the content of the book.



3. A handy addition to other travel books for the region.



4. I recently purchased three guide books on Montana: this one, the Montana Handbook, and the Ultimate Montana Atlas and Travel Encyclopedia. If all you're looking for are the places everyone else goes, then this is probably an OK book. It seems to only feature the places where the moneyed folks will go and none of the places that really make travel interesting. Their suggestions for dining and lodging were so limited they were worthless. I certainly didn't feel like I could plan a trip using this book. I got suckered in by the "look inside" feature on this and the Montana Handbook. Why they didn't put it on the Ultimate Montana book is puzzling. Probably because they wouldn't sell any of these other two books if people could really compare. If you want to see what all the other tourists see then this book is probably adequate. If you want to follow their recommendations for dining and lodging, better pack a lot of cash. I mean really, packing two of the largest states in the country into a pocketbook the size of a Grisham novel should tell you something. There are parts of the state they don't even cover. My advice, unless you just like spending money, skip this book.



5. With the name Frommer, I really expected something substantial. I canÕt tell you how disappointed I was when I got this. It is a mere shadow of the ÒMoon Montana HandbookÓ, and only a pamphlet of highlights compared to the ÒUltimate Montana Atlas and Travel EncyclopediaÓ. They try to funnel you in to the high traffic tourist spots, and only suggest the pricey restaurants and motels. About the only good thing I can say about it is that itÕs a quick read. They cram all of Montana into a little more than 200 small pages. If you really want to explore Montana, get the ÒUltimateÓ or the ÒMoonÓ books (the ÒUltimateÓ book is really the only one youÕll ever need). If you are part of the ÒKick me, IÕm a touristÓ crowd, then by all means buy this book.