The only thing that is nearly as fun as being in a National Park is reading about one. Here is a list of our 10 favorite non-fiction books set specifically in one unit of the National Park Service system. Our next list will include those that cover multiple parks.
by Tim Cahill (2004)
There are many great books written about this oldest of all National Parks (including the bestselling Death in Yellowstone), but none is as funny as the one written by this globetrotting travel writer.
by Adolph Murie (1961)
Denali National Park and Preserve
Wildlife biologist Adolph Murie was invited to Alaska by the National Park Service in 1939-40 to study the diverse species inhabiting Mt. McKinley National Park (as it was known at the time).
by Eric Blehm (2006)
Kings Canyon National Park
A well-researched investigation into the disappearance of a National Park Ranger in the rugged backcountry of California’s Sierra Nevadas.
7. The Everglades: River of Grass
by Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1947)
Unfortunately, her name may be more known as a high school today, but this woman’s efforts helped to protect this park from South Florida developers.
6. Watch the Bear: A Half Century with the Brown Bears of Alaska
by Derek Stonorov (2023)
Katmai National Park and Preserve
Also on our Top 10 Non-Fiction Books on Wildlife, this is one of the best books about bears ever written, it dispels myths based on a lifetime of close observation in Alaska.
by Richard Preston (2007)
Redwood National Park
Whoever said scientists can’t have any fun conducting research needs to read this exciting book about the ecologists that climb 300 feet up redwood trees in California.
by Edward Abbey (1968)
Many National Park Rangers have written memoirs, but this is by far the best one. Written about a time before the red rock wonderland around Moab, Utah became the zoo it is today.
by Sam Keith and Richard Proenneke (1973)
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
The journal of Richard Proenneke who homesteaded a remote part of the Alaska Peninsula before Lake Clark National Park and Preserve was created around it in 1980. There is also an excellent documentary of the same title.
by Kevin Fedarko (2013)
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
An epic combination of history and biography about the men and women who run the Colorado River through Arizona’s Grand Canyon (which was the setting for the author’s 2024 work A Walk in the Park)
…and finally our number one Non-Fiction Book Set in a National Park:
by Herb and Jan Conn (1977)
The last frontier may well be beneath our feet. This true adventure of cave exploration is written in a very matter-of-fact way, yet is still a page turner.
Honorable Mention
The Rise of Wolf 8: Witnessing the Triumph of Yellowstone’s Underdog
by Rick McIntyre (2019)
Also on our Top 10 Non-Fiction Books on Wildlife, this is the first of a series that documents the dramatic lives of the reintroduced wolfpacks of Yellowstone National Park over the decades.
The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey
by Rinker Buck (2015)
Oregon National Historical Trail
Two mules pulled a wagon with two brothers across the modern American West to Oregon: hilarity ensued and history relived.
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
by Bill Bryson (1998)
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
The Appalachian Trail is counted as one of the 430+ units in the National Park Service System, and this is the funniest book ever written about backpacking it (or part of it).
Raven About The Parks 