Why National Park Travel Guides?
It was 9am, and I was standing in the South Jenny Lake parking lot in Grand Teton National Park. A small crowd of folks asking me for trail suggestions had formed—this happens to me frequently, although I have no idea why. A person and their middle school aged child told me they needed to be out the West Yellowstone gate by 5pm and wanted to know how to best spend their day, “What should we do?” Eight hours to take in 2 national parks, more than 2.5 million acres. I realize that most people who visit the parks would like to get to know them a little better than that, but there isn’t a lot of information out there for exactly how to do that. Just suggestions for how to spend a day or a weekend, or long lists of literally dozens of suggestions and no way to sort through them all. I’ve been through parks in a weekend and thought they were nice, only to return for longer and truly fall in love with them.
I’ve been taking my kids to a new national park for 2-3 weeks every summer since they were eight months old. But most people only get one week of vacation from work—nine days from Saturday through the following Sunday, including the travel days. So I put together day-by-day itineraries for each park, sharing all the best gems to explore, and pacing each itinerary with driving overviews, warm up days, and a mix of hiking and days on the water (and occasional biking). These are ‘moderate’ active trips—hikes are about 3-8 (mostly 4-6) miles long, up to 1600 ft elevation gain, and boating activities are typically 1-2 hours on the water. Not up for a long hike? There are less strenuous alternatives listed for each of those days (and some more challenging options too). Don't have nine days? See the "Short on Time? Don't Miss" section on each trip for 3-4 must do's (and also some ideas to extend your trip if you have more time). I took the work out of planning what to do each day for you—just book your flights and accommodations and pack your boots and camera.
About the Author
While I have spent time in Yosemite National Park as a SAR (Search and Rescue) Tech and working in the medical clinic there, I am an Emergency Medicine Physician with over 25 years of University teaching experience, currently based in Austin, Texas. Originally from New York, I used to be a seventh grade science teacher before deciding to go to medical school so that I could teach medicine. My wife and I were married in Yosemite National Park, or the “church of the big blue dome” as she calls all the outdoors. We have two boys who we travel, hike, kayak, etc, with on weekends off and during school breaks.
I have always had a passion for the outdoors, ever since my first trip to Yosemite when I was 8 years old, “guiding” my siblings around loose rocks and through stream crossings. I was a hiking and kayaking guide on weekends while living in Georgia. I have traveled to most of the National Parks—44 of 63 so far. I have treasured the mountains, the lakes and rivers, the meadows and wildflowers, the animals and trees, and yes, the other guests. I have taught my children these values—appreciating nature and the National Parks while walking the trails or floating the waterways, learning about the flora and fauna and the formation of the land and history of the people, picking up trash we find on the trail and conserving these special places, learning to stop and sketch or photograph to capture the feeling of being in these amazing parks, and saying hello to everyone we pass and asking them, “How is your hike today?” I have taken our family to a new National Park for 2-3 weeks every summer (and some winters)—my children don’t know what a “normal” vacation is (so please don’t tell them!).
I love sharing my passion for the outdoors with anyone who will listen. In National Parks, a strange phenomenon happens every time I stop at a parking lot or trailhead—another guest will ask me a question about a recommendation or information for a hike or how to spend their day, etc, and then another and another, and then there is a line formed. Every time, without fail. It amuses the rangers and usually leads to a conversation with them where they encourage me to apply to join their ranks the next year. I love people and can talk for hours to anyone, and it is incredibly rewarding to get someone excited about how they are going to spend their day in these special places—and even more fun when someone sees me days later and tells me how their hike went and how they spotted a bear or got sprayed by a waterfall. Before each trip, I spend hours and hours researching the parks and writing travel itineraries (and then edit and update them once I return from exploring the park with new notes). I love the research and I’m addicted to maps, but I realize it’s not for everyone. I have shared these itineraries with family, friends and coworkers planning their trips, and now with you.
I hope you find these guides helpful. As I tell my kids, a stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet. I hope you’ll feel the same way, and please let me know how your trip went!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I receive my guide?
Upon purchase, you will receive an email with a download link, which will remain active for 30 days. Use this link to download, save and print your pdf. Check your spam folder if you don't receive the email, and be sure to have software to read a pdf on your device.
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What is the return/exchange policy?
As a digital product, returns and exchanges aren't possible. Please review the trip description on each webpage, and familiarize yourself with the guide format by downloading the free Big Bend Guide before purchasing your guide for your trip. All sales are final.
What is your Privacy Policy?
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In what languages are the guides available?
The guides are available in English. You can translate a pdf on-line using Google Translate. Instructions are linked here: Translate documents & websites - Computer - Google Translate Help and scroll down to "Translate Documents."
Can you customize your guide to a different vacation length or activity level?
Guides are formatted to nine-days (typical work week vacation--Saturday through the following Sunday, including two travel days) and are for moderately active travelers, with lots of hiking and boating days (and occasional road biking). The “Short on Time, Don’t Miss” section is to help you identify the highlights of the trip. While the days aren’t jam-packed with activities from sunup to sundown, each day is fairly active. If you want to swap out an active day on the itinerary with a rest day (or two) to sit by a lake with a book, this list should help you decide which experiences you shouldn’t skip. This section can also be used to shorten your trip. You really need a full week to get a feel for the park (and begin to unwind from the stressors of the ‘real world’), but if you have to cut out a day or more, use this section to guide you on the essential experiences. While not ideal, you could turn this list into a 3 day itinerary, but you’d be missing some overview (scenic drives, etc) and warm-up hiking days.
There is also an “Extend Your Trip” section for some additional experiences, such as (for example) more day hikes, multi-day backpacking and nearby locations to visit. If you have additional questions or would like help customizing this itinerary, please contact me through the website contact form.
There are dozens of pullouts, hikes and activities. How did you choose which ones go into each guide?
I love researching trips. I scour tons of sources, from word of mouth, recommendations from rangers, books and the internet. Then I drag my family on "research trips" (we have a lot of fun). I've been to most of these parks at least 2-3 times, for 2-3 weeks per visit. We hike a lot more trails than I list here--I pick the best ones out for the guides. Same with scenic drives--we stop at every pullout and I mark off which ones to include and which ones were less memorable. We've done lots of excursions and activities, and include only the best ones. My philosophy is, “If I had a week to introduce this park to my best friend, what would we do each day?”
Why do you charge for your guides?
I wrestled with this philosophically for a long time. I want to put this information out there so more people can fall in love with the parks and hopefully want to conserve them, and charging does put up a barrier to that goal. On the flip side, the work has value, as this has taken six years to create a website that has nearly 400 pages of information and over 300 photos curated from decades of experiences. And creating an LLC and hosting a website have expenses. I'd like to keep the website free of distracting advertisements and product endorsements but cover the cost of web hosting, etc. I'm hoping you'll be okay with it. Purchasing a guidebook and a decent topo map in a store will cost more and won't provide the specific day-by-day itineraries you'll find here.
Are the photos all yours? Where were they taken?
Thank you--the photos are all ones I've taken over the years--some on film (I miss film) and some digitally. I find photography helps me to stop and look for the beauty in everything I see. It's also a nice excuse to catch my breath while hiking uphill! I've titled all my photos for you--just hover over each photo to see where it was shot.
For more FAQs, like what's my favorite park, see the Blog Travel Articles section.
Legal
Traveling, especially outdoors, has inherent risk. Visitors get injured, sick and die in National Parks every year. It’s not an amusement park or zoo—there are no safety harnesses, railings or animal cages. While the number one killer in parks are motor vehicle crashes, there are a number of other risks unique to the outdoors, including but not limited to falls, trauma, environmental exposure (heat, cold, sun), drowning, dehydration, wild animal encounters, toxic plants, allergic reactions, as well as medical conditions such as heart conditions, etc.
This guide is for general information and entertainment purposes only. There is no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability of the information in this guide for any purpose. Any use or reliance you make on the material in this guide is strictly at your own risk.
Users of this website and its guides agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless National Park Travel Guides, LLC and its members from any loss, claims, action, causes of action, or proceedings of any kind which may be initiated by you or by any other person, entity or organization, including demands, judgments, costs, loss of services, expenses, or reimbursement of counsel fees arising out of, resulting from, or in connection with use of materials in this website or guides.
© Copyright National Park Travel Guides and National Parks in Nine Days. All rights reserved. Reproduction or distribution without prior written permission is prohibited. This includes any commercial use or adaptation. Photographs may be reproduced for private (but not commercial) use without prior written permission, but must be credited as “Todd Berger, nationalparktravelguides.com”