Nothing soothes the soul like spending time in nature. For the person in your life who’s always looking ahead to their next camping excursion, hiking adventure, or boating trip, we have just the thing to make their holidays special.
The wild beauty of nature is awe-inspiring. Lavishly illustrated, large format books are great gifts for nature lovers who admire stunning vistas and unspoiled wilderness. National Geographic Stargazer’s Atlas and National Geographic Atlas of Wild America combine gorgeous photography with functional guides to the best wild places in America to stargaze, camp, backpack, and more. From the deep forests of the Canadian Northwest to the red-rock deserts of the American Southwest, nature lovers can explore the beauty of the outdoors from the comfort of their couch while planning their next escape.
Any outdoor excursion can be its own adventure, whether its a thru-hike of one of the triple crown trails or a walk in your local park. For those who want a way to reflect on and remember their journeys while staying blissfully disconnected, a journal can make the ultimate outdoor companion. My Walking Life and Back Country Log are perfect gifts for nature lovers who never want to forget a single moment of their outdoor explorations. Small enough to throw in a backpack, these journals are lightly guided to prompt users to remember the details of their trips while providing plenty of space to write.
Avid birders love to observe and celebrate the avian world in all its forms. Help the birder in your life sharpen their knowledge with Sibley Birder’s Trivia: A Card Game, featuring 200 cards with over 400 questions to quiz players on their knowledge of North American birds. Or gift your budding birder the National Geographic Birder’s Life List and Journal, an essential piece of gear that allows birders to log bird sightings and jot down field notes on the fly. For those that admire the huge variety of birds and all their shapes and colors, the gorgeously illustrated Birds of the World makes a perfect gift. Featuring hundreds of Elizabeth Gould’s stunning and scientifically precise full-color illustrations of birds from nearly every continent, Birds of the World is a celebration of the beauty of avian diversity.
The national parks are hugely popular gems of American life. The National Geographic Atlas of the National Parks is a beautiful gift for any park lover, showcasing each park in all its wild glory. For those that want to visit them all, or just want to plan an outdoorsy summer getaway, the National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States Journal offers practical advice for planning your next trip across the country, along with a handy place to record the memories you’ve made along the way. And of course the vintage aesthetic of the National Park Service has its own following. Celebrate the enduring art of the national parks with Greetings From, a set of 24 vintage-style postcards of national parks across America, or National Parks Postcards, an homage to public lands in a set of 100 beautifully illustrated postcards.
Explore these and so many more of our favorite picks for the outdoorsy person on your list down below! From the verdant forests to the brilliant blue oceans, any nature lover will be thrilled to receive a thoughtful gift that celebrates their passion for the natural world.