10+ Books About Yellowstone to Pack for Your Trip

1. Moon Best of Yellowstone & Grand Teton: Make the Most of One to Three Days in the Parks

Why We Love This Yellowstone Book: This is one of our favorites because it features the best hikes, views, landmarks, lakes, geothermal spots, and drives at Yellowstone National Park. Written by former park guide Becky Lomax, it’s designed with short trips in mind–one to three days–and even includes sample itineraries that anyone can do. This book is perfect for anyone who prefers to let someone else do the planning for them. It contains 280 total pages of information to help you on your trip, including full-color photos and detailed maps. In addition to Yellowstone National Park, there’s also itineraries and suggestions for the nearby Grand Teton National Park, and you can mix-and-match itineraries to your heart’s content.

2. Yellowstone: A Land of Wild and Wonder 

Why We Love This Yellowstone Book: This Yellowstone photography book features park photos from photographer Christopher Cauble. Unlike other travel books, his is presented with a very artistic style, capturing intimate wildlife portraits and dramatic landscapes in a way that you never see in typical Yellowstone guidebooks. But this isn’t a guidebook; it’s a collection of photos. And with page sizes measuring larger than 10 x 10 inches, it makes the perfect coffee table travel book to keep on display in your living room!

3. What I Saw in Yellowstone: A Kid’s Guide to the National Park

Why We Love This Yellowstone Book: This is a cute educational book about Yellowstone for kids. We love it because it focuses on the plants and animals that can be spotted around the park (and where to find them), in addition to famous landmarks like Old Faithful and the Roosevelt Arch. Each page contains a checklist so that your kiddos can check off everything that they spot and write in personal details about the encounter.

4. Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park

Why We Love This Yellowstone Book: This is a collection of real world deaths that have occurred over the years in Yellowstone National Park. From fatal hot springs accidents and avalanches to infamous grizzly bear attacks and bison gorings, this book is an entertaining read that also serves as a cautionary tale about what to do and what not to do in the park to keep yourself safe. People tend to be drawn to the macabre, so this has become one of the bestselling books on Yellowstone, even amongst armchair travelers who will likely never step foot in the park themselves. Whether you plan to go or prefer to sit at home, you’re likely to enjoy this book if you like a little bit of horror with your coffee in the morning.

5. Fodor’s Compass American Guides: Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

Why We Love This Yellowstone Book: This Yellowstone National Park guidebook is written by the best local experts who know all the best places for sightseeing, eating, and sleeping in the park. It features full-color photos and full-size topographic maps with special sights and trailheads marked for the best hikes. The guidebook divides recommendations between Yellowstone’s Lower Loop and Yellowstone’s Upper Loop, in addition to Grand Teton National Park. There’s also sections included for the history of Yellowstone National Park, the flora and fauna dominating the landscape, gateway towns to access the park, where to stay in those towns, and practical information such as the best times to visit and seasonal events. Fodor’s is a well-trusted travel brand who has been writing guidebooks for all budgets for over 80 years, so this is the book to buy for the most comprehensive information about visiting the park.

6. Seasons of Yellowstone: Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

Why We Love This Yellowstone Book: This Yellowstone photography book celebrates the magic of the park throughout different seasons. It features 150 beautiful photos by iconic photographer Thomas Mangelsen in honor of the park’s 150th anniversary that just passed in 2022. See the park and its wildlife in the everchanging scenes of spring, summer, winter, and fall. With pages measuring an oversized 13.93 x 10.4 inches, this also makes an excellent coffee table photo book to keep on display in your living room.

7. Buddy Bison’s Yellowstone Adventure (National Geographic Kids)

Why We Love This Yellowstone Book: This is another great kids book about Yellowstone. In fact, it’s probably my number one favorite book about Yellowstone for kids because it’s just so unique. This book combines real-life photos of the park with cartoon characters and other illustrations in order to tell a delightfully entertaining but educational story about twin siblings, Elena and Christopher, who are visiting Yellowstone with their park ranger aunt Rosa.

8. Frommer’s Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (Complete Guide)

Why We Love This Yellowstone Book: Another great Yellowstone guidebook, Frommer’s Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks contains tips on the best trails, drives, and things to see if you’re visiting for just one or two days, as well as if you’re taking a more extended stay. It also includes information on where to stay and eat, how to get to there, and gateway cities to the parks.

9. Lonely Planet Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks 6 (National Parks Guide)

Why We Love This Yellowstone Book: Another of our favorite books on Yellowstone, Lonely Planet Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks is a guidebook style tour of the parks from one of the nation’s most popular and trusted travel brands. The book is organized into four helpful sections: Plan Your Trip, On the Road, Understand, and Survival Guide. There’s over 45 full-color trail and park maps, quick lists naming the top 20 sights in the park, sample itineraries, and more detailed guides to the best hikes, drives, and cycling tours around the parks. There’s also information on where to eat and sleep, in addition to recommendations for clothing and equipment to pack for your trip. You can also find detailed history, geology, wildlife, and park conservation excerpts included in the Understand section of the book.

10. Yellowstone: A Journey Through America’s Wild Heart (National Geographic)

Why We Love This Yellowstone Book: This book is not a good pick if you’re looking for a guidebook to Yellowstone National Park, but if you want a more in-depth dive into the history, science, culture, and ecosystems of Yellowstone, as well as philosophical, self-reflecting narratives on humanity’s role in protecting the wild, then this is the Yellowstone book for you. Elegantly crafted text combines with stunning photographs to bring you on an intimate, 224 page tour of the park’s greatest treasures, commemorating Yellowstone’s beauty while simultaneously highlighting its greatest challenges. Of all the books on this list, this is the one that best exemplifies love for America’s first national park. Note: this book is text-heavy, making it perfect for the most diehard fans.

Read Next: The Best Travel-Themed Adult Coloring Books for Women with Wanderlust

Bonus: Yellowstone National Park Maps (Waterproof and Tear-Resistant)

Why We Love This Yellowstone Map: It’s waterproof and tear-resistant! This Yellowstone Park National Geographic Trails Illustrated Topographic Map contains over 1,000 miles of mapped trails, in addition to key points of interest throughout the park. The trails include mileages between intersections, elevation summaries, duration, and difficulty levels. The map base also includes contour lines and elevations for summits, passes, and many lakes.

If there’s any chance you’ll be visiting the nearby Grand Teton National Park during your Yellowstone trip as well, then there’s also a combined Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks Map Pack Bundle that you might be interested in as an alternative.