Children's books for a trip to the U.S. National Parks: The Best Resource

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A couple of things.

I’m obsessed with national parks. One of the (many) reasons I wanted to move back to the United States was so my kids would have an opportunity to visit National Parks and get junior ranger badges. I’ve said many times that visiting national parks is my favorite thing about living in the United States. I love the diversity of scenery and being around other people who also love their national parks.
This post focuses on U.S. National Parks.
I do not have a book recommendation for every U.S. National Park, but what I do have is a great list of books to help families planning trips to national parks in the United States and also books set in various parks.
The following is organized by:
1. Books about National Parks in general (organized, roughly, by age)
2. Series that have multiples books that are each about an individual National Park
3. A look at individual national parks and books written just about (or set in) them… if you don’t find one for the park you like, or if you need more options, don’t forget to look at the series I mentioned in point number two.
My friends the Roving Vails have great tips on camping and RVing in and around the U.S. National Parks.
If you’re visiting the national parks with your family and want to know how it is to bring your favorite pet check out this post about Dog-Friendly National Parks.
These gifts for the nomad in your life may also be perfect for camping trip supplies.

My favorite book for children visiting National Parks

Without a doubt, my favorite book for children visiting national parks in the U.S. is the one they get when they’re doing the junior ranger program. The Junior Ranger Program is a program where kids learn to explore, learn about, and protect their National Parks. You can find more details on the National Park Service Kid’s Page.

How do I get a junior ranger badge?

For the most part, it’s a free way to introduce kids to that park they’re visiting. Here’s how I do it:

Visit the National Park Service website and search for the destination park.
Once on the destination park’s page, go to the “Learn about the Park” tab and scroll to “Kids & Youth”
From there search for the junior ranger program. As far as I know, all official national parks have the program, but most national monuments, military parks, historic parks, and other categories of places that fall under the “National Park Service” name have the program. Most, but not all. And most of the books are free. Most, but not all.
Here the website has information on obtaining the Junior Ranger book, it can often be downloaded online or picked up at the specific Visitor Center. *** Please note, if you’re going to use GPS to get to the park and want to do the junior ranger program, make sure to search for the Visitor Center. Experience has told me that, especially in larger parks, the Visitor Center could be far away from a specific entry point.***
The junior ranger books are filled with facts and activities about the specific park. Kids interested in obtaining a badge will need to finish a number of the activities (the number depends on the age of the kid), and then show it to a ranger to review.
If all’s good, the ranger will have the kid repeat the Junior Ranger oath and give them a badge.

So, if you don’t get any other books for your National Park trip, please at least get the junior ranger booklet at the Visitor Center.

Please note: Click on the image of the books below to get more information. The links are affiliate links.

Board books for visiting the National Parks

These books are fun ways to introduce your littlest to the idea of National Parks.

Children’s book to learn about the people behind National Parks

It all started with a trip to Yosemite with Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir in the early 1900s. Get the book to find out more.

This book is considered one of the best biographies about John Muir for kids.

This brief biography of Teddy Roosevelt and how he created the National Parks is perfect for new readers.

Informational books for a family trip to National Parks

Maybe you don’t know which park you want to go to, or maybe you want to learn a little bit about a lot of parks. These books are a good place to start.

Activity books for a family trip to National Parks

Maybe it’s the junior ranger set up, but I love the idea of an activity book to prepare for a national park trip. Here’s one.

Coloring books about National Parks

Younger kids may not be able to complete some of the activities in the book above, but they don’t have to be left out. They can get a coloring book instead!

Children’s books for specific national parks by the series

Authors have created books about Specific National Parks, especially some of the more popular destinations for families. Here’s some to consider:

First, books that come in a series:

The Ready to Read, Wonders of America Series

This box set includes 6 books that cover national parks across the United States. Perfect for young readers.

The Who Pooped in the Park Series

These books are probably one of the most fun books for kids. It’s all about the different poop they can find in various national parks. There are many books in this series, each covering a specific park.

This link will take you to a few of the books.

The Adventures of Bubba Jones Series

These are time traveling adventures through National Parks. At the moment, you can only get the three books mentioned above, but click on one of them to see if more become available.

True Books: National Parks Series

If you want to learn more facts about a specific national park, these are the books for you. Click here to see individual books in the series.

The Adventures of the Parkers Series

There are many books in the series and you can find them here. The best way to describe this is to use the description on Amazon:

Each book in the Adventures with the Parkers series for kids 8-13 takes the Parker family to a popular national park and is packed with adventure as well as interesting facts about park activities, natural history, outdoor safety, and much more. All books have been vetted and approved by park officials and park associations. Each book includes color illustrations and photographs.

Rookie National Parks Series

This newer series by Scholastic introduces kids to the U.S. National Parks one at a time. See the books in the series here.

The Wild World of Buck Bray Series

Buck Bray has his own kid’s show and travels to National Parks in each of his books. Find more of this chapter book series here.

Mysteries in our National Parks series

These fiction books geared towards kids 9+ are set in the specific National Parks. Although the suggested age is 9+, please read reviews to make sure they’re appropriate for your child.

You can find a most of the book listings here.

Children’s books for specific national parks by the park

Please note: These are only for books set in one of the official 59 National Parks, but not all parks are included. If you don’t see the park you are looking for, scroll up to see if one of the books series above has a book set there.