The 9th edition of National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States presents the parks in the Table of Contents by region: East, Midwest, South Central, Southwest, Rocky Mountains, Pacific Northwest, and Alaska. This is followed by a section on using the guide, and after that is a map of the USA with the regions and parks marked. The guide has an index for quick referencing too and there is a map key located in the back of the book after the index. Each regional introduction includes a map of the whole region followed by the individual parks, which are presented in alphabetical order within the regions. Then there are individual maps of each park. Each of the park entries contains a description of the park. There is an information section for each park that offers details on finding the park, best times to visit, entrance fees, the location of the visitors center (a great source for brochures or information is also online), park headquarters, and information on where to stay, campgrounds or lodging. There are phone numbers, addresses, and website addresses provided. Each entry is followed by six suggestions for nearby excursions. After each region section is a wonderful Hit the Road section which helps with planning on visiting more than one park on your trip because many are in close proximity to each other. Also there are notes on special advisories that you need to keep in mind when visiting parks, such as stay away from wild animals, expect RV detours, and, especially important, know that cell phone service may be limited or not available, so don't expect to rely on your cell phone.

Naturally the photographs are spectacular because this is a National Geographic guide. Furthermore, there is so much great information provided in the guide that is essential to planning any trip to a national park.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of these guides from National Geographic for TLC Book Tours.

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