Many of us got rather tired of the same four walls during these past two years. No matter how much we organized, redecorated, hygged and hibernated, nothing quite satisfied the growing need to break free and get outside. That need, over time, may have morphed into quite the monster.
A walk around the block, a drive to a park, a drive to the next town, a day trip … eventually it seemed like nothing would do except a flight across the country to some wilderness that brought fresh sights and sounds entirely different from the current environment. Unfortunately, most of the time and for most of us, such a trip was only a pipe dream. Back to scrolling Pinterest for pics of exotic locales.
If you’re one of the many who just wants to go and explore the great outdoors, you’re probably dreaming of traversing a place known for the highest level of natural beauty: a national park, for example. If you’re also one of the many for whom that is still just a scheme, dream or distant-future vacation, we have an alternative to Pinterest: books. Reading is maybe the best way to vicariously experience these wonders, and in the list below we have something for everyone. Diverse genres set in a variety of national parks should be just the thing to get you, metaphorically, out of the house.
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The Storms of Denali by Nicholas O’Connell
Let’s kick off this list with a curveball. Have you ever heard of Denali National Park? If you haven’t, maybe it’s because it falls in a part of the country that often flies under the radar due to its remoteness and majesty: Alaska. Fun fact, BookTrib’s home state of Connecticut could fit in Alaska a mind-boggling 118 times! If you’re now curious to experience the northern reaches of our nation, you could visit this park … all six million acres of it might be a little much for one trip, though.
In the book, meanwhile, four men decide to take a different, but just as intimidating, approach: climb the 20,320 feet of the coldest and tallest mountain in North America. It’s a daring adventure novel detailing the physical and practical struggles of such a journey, but also the personal unraveling of a team of individuals who are all struggling with their own internal demons. Expect trial, tribulation, trauma … and, without spoiling anything, tragedy.
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Burning Ground by D.A. Galloway
Get up close and personal with what it really takes to be an explorer in uncharted territory with this impeccably-researched novel of what is probably the most well-known national park. Slip back to Pennsylvania in 1971, when Graham Davidson, a young man with intense survivor’s guilt after the death of three siblings and tangled feelings of partial responsibility, seeks clarity in life by working close to the land. Graham learns about vision quests from a Crow Indian called Redfield and embarks on a profound spiritual journey that offers him far more than he bargained for.
Graham finds himself back in time one hundred years in Yellowstone National Park. He joins the Hayden Expedition commissioned to explore the wild region, a monumental task. His perilous journey is marred by a horrific experience in a geyser basin, a grizzly bear attack, a nasty lieutenant and an encounter with hostile Blackfeet Indians. Graham complicates his own mission when he falls in love with Makawee, a strong Crow woman who serves as a guide. As the expedition nears its conclusion, Graham must make a choice. Does he stay in the previous century with the woman he loves or travel back to the future? Every fierce wild animal, extraordinary landscape and difficult obstacle courtesy of mother nature are heightened in this exhilarating novel; and it’s only the first in the Frontier Time Traveler series! Read our review here.
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The Road to Paradise: A Vintage National Parks Novel by Karen Barnett
Mt. Rainier rises to the occasion in this charming throwback-style book. Best of all, if you like the vintage vibe there are two more after this one so you can also visit Yosemite and Yellowstone. But this is where it all begins! When you think of Paradise, you might immediately picture a turquoise sea and ivory-sand beach, but its antithesis, the clear, clean atmosphere found in the mountains is another sort of haven from hectic day-to-day life.
This novel takes that fresh air and ups the ante by pairing it with a simpler time: 1972, when the naturalist Margie enters the gorgeous Mount Rainer National Park as a fledgling park ranger. Chief Ranger Ford Brayden, meanwhile, is jaded after his father’s death in these same mountains and isn’t thrilled to be working in tandem with this bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed conservation advocate. But they have to bring out the best in each other to fight Margie’s ex-fianceé, a businessman determined to develop the area and for tourism and bulldoze the natural beauty. There’s no way you won’t appreciate the National Park Service and the parks themselves after reading this refreshing book.
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Temple Grove: A Novel by Scott Elliott
Olympic National Park is the setting of this eco-fiction novel that The Seattle Times praises for the way it “layers suspense with Greek myth, native legend, and personal back stories to create an existentialist puzzle” and “offers nuanced observations of character, family and society, lightly seasoned with a Pacific Northwest brand of magical realism.” If you’re looking for a book that’s a little out of the ordinary and a special call to conserve the planet, it’s time to vicariously visit this magnificent park.
Get caught in the middle of a battle between a desperate money-minded logger and a fervent environmentalist; the latter has a traumatic personal context and complete disregard for any law that might get in the way of his mission. Atmospheric with folklore and provocative conflict, this book is extremely timely and leaves no stone unturned in the quest for an emotional response.
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Backwater Bay (Kurt Hunter Mysteries Book 1) by Steven Becker
Come on down from those mountaintops and emerge from those evergreen forests for this series opener set in Biscayne National Park in sunny Florida. The proceedings, however, are not very sunny at all, and no beach is too picture-perfect for murder not to rudely disfigure it. Imagine relaxing on vacation and seeing a body float by … no thanks.
Special Agent Kurt Hunter is sent on his first real case when a body is found floating in the mangroves of this national park. He’s escaping his own tortured past (what great literary detective isn’t) and knows little about the ways of the locals, but he receives a culture-crash-course when trying to find answers. Not just harmless retirees live down here, he quickly discovers, and there are many suspicious and potentially criminal families who weave a web of deceit that’s as tangled and the mangrove roots framing the lagoon.
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The Sleeping Lady: A Mystery by Bonnie C. Monte
Mount Tamalpais presides over the small San Francisco towns the way a distinctive bridge stands tall over Golden Gate Park. One might not think of this starry Californian locale as a protected greenspace, but the Golden Gate National Recreation Area is, in fact, under the watchful eye of the national park service and provides a hazy, misty-veiled and stunning spot for a thrilling mystery novel.
Thalia Holcombe and Rae Sullivan run a home and garden shop called Le Jardin and meet up one afternoon. But this isn’t a fun one: Thalia has received a nefarious blackmail message that could spell doom for both her personal and professional life. She follows the instructions to appear, money in hand, under that great bridge on an eerie night, despite Rae’s misgivings. Her body is found the next day. A grieving Rae begins her own detective mission to find out what really went down that night and bring justice to her friend. Along the way, she grows in self-assurance and finds her new road forward into the unknown. Read our review here.
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The Magic Ingredient by Lindy Miller
Set in Bar Harbor, Maine, part of Acadia National Park, this seasonal rom-com is an escape in every way. While a love story, delicious baking and Halloween festivities all play their roles with aplomb, the real magic ingredient might just be the pristine setting. The citizens of this little tourist town take great pride in their full-time residency in one of the most beautiful spots in the United States of America. Once you’re just a few pages in you’ll want to go see it yourself, I guarantee.
Eve Silver runs the local favorite bakeshop, Mount Desserts and Tea, the same way generations of family have done before her. But she might need to finally change things up … because tourist traffic is too slow to bring in enough of the cold hard cash required to stay in business. Meanwhile, Jeff Parish, a widower with a precocious daughter, is a handyman who can’t figure out how to fix the holes in his own life. Can they help each other make some miracles happen? The island park’s autumnal atmosphere won’t disappoint with the backdrop, that’s for sure. Read our review here.
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