When people ask me what my favorite National Park is, my brain nearly short circuits. A favorite? Just one? Not possible. That’s why I love the concept of the book, “10 Best of Everything in the National Parks” from National Geographic. It’s list after list of “Top Tens” throughout the National Park System. Being from the people of National Geographic, you know it’s going to be extensive.

You generally can’t conquer an entire National park in a single visit, most are just too large and have too many things to see and do. Sadly, Americans average only 4 hours in a National Park per stay. This book gives you a good idea of which activities will suit your interests in your allotted time frame. If you’re looking for a family-friendly hike, there’s a list for that, if you don’t want to be in the same zip code as a child, you can find that in here too. There’s something for everyone. Topics are covered by region, theme, season and occasion. Beautiful photos, insider tips and other travel resources mean you’ll want to take the book with you, but it’s rather large, so it’s best to make copies and take along only what you need.

What’s my favorite National Park? I don’t know, but here are my top ten from the past few years. Listed in the order I visited them: Badlands (SD), Channel Islands (CA), Mammoth Cave (KY), Acadia (ME), Lassen Volcanic (CA), Crater Lake (OR), Mount Rainier (WA), Grand Canyon (AZ), Bryce Canyon (UT), Zion (UT)