The Magazine of The Sierra Club
The Art of the National Parks: A Diary From 59 Parks
Journal your way through America's "best idea"
Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Its nearly 2-million-square-mile gorge is carved out by the incessant rush of the Colorado River. | Art by DKNG STUDIOS
Maine's Acadia National Park first became a national monument in 1916. It is known for its jagged Atlantic coastline, sprawling woodlands, and scattered lakes that stretch across 47,000 acres. | Art by Telegramme Paper Co.
Florida's Everglades National Park contains a mixture of ocean water from the Florida Bay and the water of the Okeechobee River, creating swampy forests that make up the largest tropical wilderness in the United States. | Art by Two Arms Inc.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is aptly named, thanks to its perpetual fog. The most visited US national park, it is filled with wildflowers and waterfalls and bestrides Tennessee and North Carolina. | Art by Chris Turnham
Southern California's Joshua Tree National Park is most famous for the eponymous Joshua tree, also know as the Yucca brevifolia. A certified Dark Sky Park, it is far enough from the light pollution of nearby cities for visitors to enjoy incredible stargazing. | Art by Little Friends of Printmaking
Mount Rainier National Park is a colossal, snow-drizzled behemoth of a mountain in western Washington State. The park's idyllic beauty is almost enough to make visitors forget that the mountain, an active stratovolcano, is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. | Art by Glenn Thomas
Olympic National Park is uniquely coniferous, thanks to the region's large amounts of rainfall and the cold waters of the Pacific. Located in the northwest corner of Washington State, it encompasses nearly a million acres, including the transcendent Olympic Mountains. | Art by Daniel Danger
Yellowstone National Park represents the American ideal. It has everything: lakes, rivers, canyons, mountain ranges, forests, wildlife, world-famous geothermal features, and even a volcano. America's first national park is located in Wyoming as well as some parts of Montana and Idaho. | Art by Brave the Woods
You're likely familiar with the striking art of the Fifty-Nine Parks print series. The WPA-style posters—based on the aesthetics of the 14 original posters created for the parks from 1938 to 1941—emblazon many a gift book and coffee mug and have been harnessed by the likes of Disney, Adobe, and SXSW. What's more, sales from these posters keep these treasures going strong by supporting the National Park Service.
Now, the near-iconic posters are encapsulated in a handy journal created for NPS enthusiasts. Released from Insight Editions last April, The Art of the National Parks: Park-Lover's Journal contains scores of unique reflections on individual parks from an eclectic range of contemporary artists, along with prompts for park visitors to fill in their visit dates, favorite memories, flora and fauna sightings, and more impressions from each of America's national parks. Perusing this pretty little hardcover journal is a great way to get excited about park-visit planning, as each park entry has a checklist for "Attractions Visited" (think Cholla Cactus garden at Joshua Tree and Wizard Island at Crater Lake).
Whether used as a companion to your next national park trip or as a nostalgic reminder of parks you've visited in the past, this journal offers a sweet connection to American's greatest idea. Click through the above slideshow to check out some of its arty highlights.