One of my many lofty dreams in life is to see all—or most—of the United States’ national parks. It is a dream that only seems to grow stronger in desire as I eke further into my twenties, and because of how reoccurring and ever-present it is as of late, I decided to read through all of DK Eyewitness’ USA National Parks: Lands of Wonder.
To be honest, there are many books on the US national parks, with some going into greater detail about a specific park or group of parks, or discussing them alongside the state(s) they reside in as just some big open place to stop by during a US road trip.
I may read these works in 2025, but, for now, I wanted a good general overview as a European looking to learn the basics about each park. So, I picked DK’s 2020 info-packed compilation because it had the right blend of pictures, history, recommendations, and condensed overviews about each park.
For those who like their historical context, you’ll be happy to know this book opens with an overview of how the national parks came to be. The intro (which makes up about 10% of page count) outlines how the earliest national parks were established, often at the unfortunate displacement and slaughter of Native American Indians in the late 1800s.
The introduction also sheds light on the growth and settlement of the United States, with the land purchase from the French and the homesteader movement across the colonised US. Moreover, it gives a good overview of key figures of all races, genders, and cultures, that were involved in forming what would become an increasing roster of beautiful landscapes and heritage sites.
On that note, DK provides information about the formation, duties, and invaluable importance of the National Parks Service. They also draw attention to the continued efforts to make the parks more accessible to those with disabilities related to hearing, sight, and mobility, alongside the difficulty of balancing ecosystems and combating hazards like forest fires.
Additionally, the intro acknowledges the present day. DK argues that the national parks have always represented escapism within the US, and that it is needed more than ever in our busy 21st century world, which is something I don’t think anyone could argue with. It also points out that—perhaps because of this need for escapism—the national parks continue to boom in interest, being visited by millions of US citizens and foreign tourists, making them a valuable economic asset.
Honestly, I quite enjoyed the intro and felt rewarded when the book made several expansions upon its information later on. This brief, meaningful segment manages to convey the effort, manpower, and mixture of tragedy and triumph that was involved in creating the first national parks, like Yellowstone and Yosemite. DK manage to compound this sense of awe by highlighting that many parks’ wildlife and landscapes are under threat from climate change, hopefully compelling potential visitors to take care when visiting.
In short, the opening chapter or two sets the stage perfectly, giving an all-round understanding about the past and present role of the national parks, and hammering in that every (potential) visitor should be grateful for their existence.
The real meat and potatoes of USA National Parks: Lands of Wonder, is, of course, the national parks themselves. DK tackles each park in chronological order, starting with Yellowstone in 1872 and ending with White Sands in 2019 (this book was released just three months before the establishment of New River Gorge in December 2020, which is unfortunate timing). Some may prefer progressing through the parks on a state-by-state basis (for example, westmost to eastmost), but I personally prefer the by-date approach.
Naturally, I can’t discuss all sixty-two national parks covered in this compilation, but I can outline the incredible balance of detail and readability that nearly every park gets in their half-dozen-page mini chapters. To begin, I adore that each park title is accompanied by a small, illustrated map of where they reside within their state(s), the founding year, and a brief sentence or two that highlights what each particular park offers. It all feels designed to allure visitors and pique interest in each preservation.
After each welcome page, readers are treated to a condensed array of information about the corresponding park. For almost every park, DK cover the key landmarks and features of each, certain wildlife and species, the best places for views, and expand on the park’s history whilst sharing all this information. Each point is usually wrapped up in a few paragraphs, so it is not an encyclopedic level of exposition to read through.
For those actually wanting to visit the national parks, DK also provides a handy list of some recommended hiking, climbing, and cycling trails, alongside other recommended activities and attractions. For most trails and activities, the elevations, distances, and time needed is noted. DK also suggest the best times to visit for scenic views or to avoid the densest months of tourism, which is helpful in planning the ideal trip to a certain park.
I particularly enjoyed the miscellaneous facts about each park, which could simply be about the number of visitors in 2019, the amount of snowfall recorded across a certain period, or other stats that pertain to the park’s features or region.
My favourite part of every mini chapter were the photographs, which serve as visual compliments to all of DK’s praise for each park, and allow your brain to briefly rest as it processes all the information it just took in. Photographs were also captioned, often giving insight into what you’re looking at, or whereabouts in the park it was taken, which could be useful for those wanting to stand where the photographer stood.
If I had one critique about these mini chapters, it would be that certain locales, such as Wind Cave, Acadia, and Hot Springs, are noticeably less covered when compared to the well-known and popular parks. I don’t think it would have killed DK to scrounge up a few more photographs and write another paragraph or two of information for these parks’ chapters.
Still, I was fond of how condensed and aesthetically pleasing each mini chapter was. There was something for everyone: paragraphs for the readers, highlighted facts for the idle browsers, and captivating photography for those looking to please the eyes. I think, if not to be read as an actual book, USA National Parks: Lands of Wonder serves as a great decorative item for a coffee table or home office. It strikes me as the sort of book that one can pick up, select a park or two, and learn (and see) the basic features and landmarks of. A fantastic way to stimulate the mind for fifteen minutes.
And that leads me to wrapping up this review, which was more like an overview of the book itself. I can strongly recommend this to any nature lover, and I think it would make a great gift for those interested in landscapes, hiking, cycling, photography, or just interested in visiting the United States.
Aside from informing readers about the national parks themselves, it also puts into perspective just how vast the US is, and how stunning its natural and historic landscapes are. To steal a quote from the book, it will ‘leave you awestruck at the power of nature’, and communicates how exploring most of a single national park in full could take literal days or weeks of trekking and climbing—they truly are expansive, varied, and mesmerising feats of preservation.
DK also awakened my interest in many more parks. Although my top picks to see are Yosemite, Sequoia, Rocky Canyon, Arches, Capitol Reef, Denali, and Mount Rainier—I now also have an appreciation for, and desire to visit, parks like Crater Lake, Mesa Verde, Acadia, Zion, Lassen, and Congaree (to name a few). Instead of satiating my desire to know more about the parks, it has only fuelled my desire to set foot on almost all of these stunning landscapes and ignore personal responsibilities for a few days.
DK actually do want people to visit more underrated parks, namely because this helps lessen the pollution and crowds that tends to swamp the popular national parks during the peak holiday times, notably summer and autumn. Their book, for what it’s worth coming from someone yet to visit the US, has definitely directed some of my interest to the smaller and less noted national parks.
For all my praise, I can sadly only give this publication four-and-a-half stars. Why? Firstly, because I do feel some parks lacked a little in detail and that more attention was, rather ironically and counter-productively, given to the famed parks, such as Glacier, Yellowstone, and Yosemite. Secondly, I simply cannot give a partially outdated non-fiction release five stars, but don’t take this as a purely bad or spiteful thing!
It is great that more national parks are popping up in the US, even if it only happens at an average frequency of about two per decade now. Protecting more wonderful, inspiring landscapes is a great thing; unlike Britain and many European countries, the States has enough land to spare that it can protect thousands upon thousands of acres more for the sake of preservation and tourism, without kicking up complaints about housing and room for industry to expand into.
Despite my not flawless rating, I clearly enjoyed my time reading this publication, and I do recommend it to anyone who can overlook the fact that it is missing one of the sixty-three currently established national parks. You can always learn about New River Gorge through another book, or just browse its Wikipedia page.
Overall, I felt that DK’s publication was a great way of informing myself about the world outside of Britain, and it has aided in lighting a travel-hungry flame in my heart. If you have any vague interest in nature or travel, I recommend checking it, or DK’s many other geographic publications, out!
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