Leave Only Footprints

When Conor Knighton set off to explore America's "best idea," he worried the whole thing could end up being his worst idea. A broken engagement and a broken heart had left him longing for a change of scenery, but the plan he'd cooked up in response had gone a bit overboard in that department: Over the course of a single year, Knighton would visit every national park in the country, from Acadia to Zion.

In Leave Only Footprints, Knighton shares informative and entertaining dispatches from what turned out to be the road trip of a lifetime. Whether he's waking up early for a naked scrub in a historic bathhouse in Arkansas or staying up late to stargaze along our loneliest highway in Nevada, Knighton weaves together the type of stories you're not likely to find in any guidebook. Through his unique lens, America the Beautiful becomes America the Captivating, the Hilarious, and the Inspiring. Along the way, he identifies the threads that tie these wildly different places together--and that tie us to nature--and reveals how his trip ended up changing his views on everything from God and love to politics and technology.

Filled with fascinating tidbits about our parks' past and reflections on their fragile future, this book is both a celebration of and a passionate case for the natural wonders that all Americans share.

These discussion questions were provided by a Bookclubs user

Book club questions for Leave Only Footprints by Conor Knighton

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

Which park did you most want to visit (or revisit) as a result of reading this book? What about this park appeals to you?

Knighton chose to dive into a huge project as a way of dealing with heartbreak. What do you think about busyness as a solution to mental or emotional distress? Does it delay coming to terms with what happened? How would occupying yourself with work or a volunteer project compare to going out into nature as Knighton did?

Knighton saw God in nature, even quoting from a favorite hymn. Do you experience/encounter God anywhere? If so, where?

The national parks are so popular that many of them are literally overrun during peak months. What do you think is the best way to deal with overuse issues? Restricting visitation? Stopping vehicle access? Raising prices for passes? How do these issues relate to the relative lack of minority visitation? What other fairness issues do these ideas raise?

Knighton combines a lot of personal musings and memories with his reporting on the parks he visits. What did you think about this approach? Did you tire of reading about his love life?

At some parks, Knighton focuses on something quirky or an interesting person he met rather than on what the park has to offer overall. Did you find that this made the book more interesting? Why or why not? Did you have a favorite story or person in the book?

Strangers helped Knighton on the road (getting him out of the snowbank.) Have you ever experienced a stranger rescue of some sort when traveling?

Florida has three national parks (Biscayne, Dry Tortugas and Everglades), a national preserve (Big Cypress), two national monuments (Castillo de San Marcos and Fort Matanzas), two memorials (DeSoto and Fort Caroline) and two national seashores (Canaveral and Gulf Islands) and one national ecological and historic preserve (Timucuan). Which of these have you visited? Is there another place in Florida that you would add to any of these categories?

Pick a park that you have visited and share how your personal experience compares with what Knighton wrote.

Leave Only Footprints Book Club Questions PDF

Click here for a printable PDF of the Leave Only Footprints discussion questions

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"A delightful sampler plate of our national parks, written with charisma and erudition."--Nick Offerman, author of Paddle Your Own Canoe

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY OUTSIDE