Never underestimate the lure of an escape, especially in trying times. Road trips are on the rise. Local travel is more popular than ever. And bucket-list planning is once again in full swing.
Ready for the travel resurgence are a new class of guidebooks geared toward听travelers hungry for more meaningful trips in the future. While听such publications听celebrate destinations, they also shine the light on听subjects like politics, history, culture, and race,听making readers听the informed people we should be when we visit.
From a听city guidebook publisher branching out to national parks to a new Kevin Costner鈥搉arrated app听featuring听forgotten stories of听the West, these five releases are taking the act of travel into a whole new age.
The Deep Thinker: Wildsam National-Parks Series
The idea: Why base an entire guide on one viewpoint when you can have up to 20 different perspectives covering everything from overlooked history to land rights? From the publisher of these cult-favorite city and road-trip guides comes this ($20 each). 鈥淚 wanted a book that felt like the magic of a place,鈥 says founder and editor-in-chief Taylor Bruce. To do that, he sought to replace the 鈥渄ry, exhaustive, and disposable鈥 guidebooks with something that feels more in tune with the holistic nature of how people experience these popular American destinations.
The difference: The series reimagines the genre with compact and beautifully bound titles that will delight slow-travel fans. Essential details and logistics are shared up front, but interviews and stories turn each听book from an information delivery system to an intriguing read. Expect insights from locals who know the parks well and highlight their complexities.
The Grand Canyon edition, which came out听in July, includes interviews with people impacted by the landscape: environmentalist Jack Pongyesva speaks to how tourism has often meant exclusion for the area鈥檚听Hopi,听landscape painter shares how living 16 miles from the South Rim for more than 30 years shaped his work,听and cultural astronomer chronicles his experiences studying the impact of constellations on Native culture. Essays and poems help establish an intimate sense of place.
Must have:听Pair the national-parks guides with Wildsam鈥檚 .
The Modern Remake: ‘The听ABC Travel Green Book’
The idea: Between the 1930s and 1960s, Victor Hugo Green鈥檚 The Negro Traveler鈥檚 Green Book offered African Americans safe routes through places where racist ideas and Jim Crow laws held sway. This , released in August, takes it a step further with the goal of connecting听African diaspora travelers to Black communities, businesses, and more around the world ($25 for the paperback; $10 for the听e-book).
The difference:听This comprehensive guidebook by , president of the , provides extensive listings for everything from Black-owned hotels to Black . Expect to find annotations of personal or reported insights, like how Lewis felt as one of few Black visitors she encountered on a trip to听Iceland, and tips, such as where to get your hair braided in South Korea. From sharing information about听Afro-Ecuadorians communities in South America to Black expat groups in Amsterdam, the book also offers a path to听connection and fills a gap for an often overlooked segment of travelers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 connecting us back to our roots,鈥 explains Lewis. Unlike guidebooks centered around a听white explorer experience, The ABC Travel Green Book takes a different approach. 鈥淭he Spanish and French weren鈥檛 the only people exploring the earth. Africans were, too, and this book helps us celebrate that, in places people wouldn鈥檛 normally think Black people are.鈥
Next up:听Lewis is working on an app, set to launch next year,听that will听make it even easier to take the information with you as you get back out there.
The Intuitive Storyteller: HearHere
The idea: Inspired by the joy that cofounder and former North Face president Bill Werlin had as a child traveling through Colorado while his grandfather narrated along the way, this GPS-generated shares stories听related to where you are at any given moment. Your phone鈥檚 navigational system听and a tailored list of interests combine to bring the forgotten听accounts听of the places you鈥檙e driving through to you as you go (from $7 for a weeklong subscription).
The difference:听Unlike audio guides that solely focus on location, these听narratives about people and popular culture will likely attract travelers who weren鈥檛 guidebook purchasers in the past. 鈥淲here a guidebook will help you learn about the place that you are visiting, HearHere is all about exploring听the history and land you鈥檙e traveling through,鈥 explains Woody Sears, its cofounder and CEO. 鈥淭hink of HearHere as bringing to life the historical markers you pass every day on the highway.鈥 The听audio guides听launched in August with entries听for three states (California, Oregon, and Washington)听but more than 10,000 tales,听covering all 50 states, are planned for release by summer 2021.
Simply prioritize your favorite topics from a list of predefined interests (including history, sports, colorful characters, and natural wonders) in the app before heading out on your road trip. Every time you arrive听in a destination with a story that听matches your preferences, you鈥檒l get a notification on your phone. From former basketball legend Phil Jackson narrating the history of the Beartooth Highway as you make your way into Yellowstone National Park to a profile on听groundbreaking Danish photographer Benedicte Wrensted and the Shoshone people she photographed in Idaho, the stories are both entertaining and informative.
Fun fact: Actor Kevin Costner is an investor and narrates some of the entries.
The Community Connector: CrushGlobal鈥檚 Road-Trip Guides
The idea: Unlike a typical guidebook that offers recommendations by category, this new series of (from $30) presents travelers with a fully outlined, researched, and scheduled route, complete with directions and COVID-19 protocols. It also听highlights Black- and people-of-color-owned businesses听along the way.
The difference: 鈥淕uidebooks I鈥檝e read in the past often felt outdated and didn鈥檛 speak the language that appeals to me or my travel interests,鈥 says founder听Kristin Braswell. 鈥淭ravel is not one-size-fits-all, and guidebooks should reflect that.鈥 For Braswell, the confluence of an uptick in road-trip interest this summer and her desire to make domestic travel experiences more inclusive were the driving forces behind these itineraries. 鈥淲hen the demands for more allyship and visibility in both the travel industry and beyond really started to become louder this year, I decided to create a business model that would allow people to support an initiative that helps put revenue into the hands of Black-owned businesses around the country, and to diversify one of the oldest American traditions, the road trip, into a travel experience that is inclusive for all people,鈥 she says.
The by-region series provides intel on everything from where to sleep (usually a choice of two researched options in each location along the route) to what to eat (like the best soul food in Atlanta). Along with taking the guesswork out of trips, the goal is to drive revenue back into the hands of people in the tourism industry, from guides to chefs, who have been impacted by the instability of 2020.
Book it: A is also available.
The Underrepresented Amplifier: Hello Ranger Community
https://youtube.com/watch?v=h8kVA7YrX-8
The idea: Last year, Bradley and Matt Kirouac were the cohosts of the , which documented their journey of becoming full-time RVers who traveled across the country to visit national parks. When that came to an end, due to the pandemic, the couple decided to take their love for national parks in a new direction鈥攚ell, more like three directions. In May, they launched the 听as a resource created by and for the national-park-loving community, with a focus on underrepresented voices and issues. By mid-June, they鈥檇 also launched a reimagined version of their original听podcast. Then, in September, they added a social app that allows users to share stories, photos, and memories and connect with like-minded members.
The difference: What sets the Kirouacs听apart is the diverse nature of their community:听oft-ignored voices get megaphones听on important people and issues, with stories that range from听what it鈥檚 like 听to how Black outdoor leaders are . 鈥淣PS is to help you #FindYourPark, ours is to help you #FindYourAmbassador,鈥 the site reads. Contributors are those ambassadors, and they represent different areas of expertise, from service topics like and RVing to important subjects like visiting parks with a disability.
Extra reading: As a gay couple, setting off across the country after spending more than a decade in Chicago presented , but听it didn鈥檛 take long for the Kirouacs to find a sense of belonging.