Book Review: Leave Only Footprints by Conor Knighton

There's a kind of magic to America's National Parks. These areas are set aside for the good of everyone--humans, animals, and plants. And, unlike most of the U.S., these areas are shared for all people.

Even though I've only been to two National Parks, the idea of visiting more has always been in the back of my mind. Naturally, when I found out that Leave Only Footprints was about a man's journey to visit all of the National Parks in a year, I pushed aside other books in my TBR to read it.

The author concocts the idea for his journey after a breakup. The narrative ends up being a perfect mix of personal growth, informational guide, and social commentary. Knighton hooks you at the beginning by making you wonder how he's going to recover from his romantic heartbreak and whether he's going to be able to convince the CBS Morning Show to run with the idea of showcasing the National Parks for the 100th anniversary of the parks system. (I feel a little bit like Leslie Knope whenever I type "parks system.")

Along the way, Knighton provides facts about each of the 56 parks that he visits. Unlike an actual guidebook, the facts he shares come to life. It's more fun to meet Cupcake, Party, Pinata, Happy, and Hundo, the puppies that will later become sled dogs at Denali than to simply learn that Denali is the only National Park to use sled dogs.

The social commentary ranges more than just focusing on the ecological effects of the National Parks. Knighton explores what the parks mean to the U.S. population and how the parks may adapt to meet the needs of citizens in the future.

After reading this book, I've already added additional parks to my future travel list. I will probably never visit all of the parks. I don't think I'd enjoy having to be flown to a remote area or having to learn to scuba dive in order to visit one, but I will be doing more research about the parks that are close and accessible to me.

If any part of this book sounds intriguing to you, I'd encourage you to pick it up. The only complaint that I had about the book is that I wish it were longer. I could have happily read for another 300 pages.


I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.