Kenneth Crane is a Colorado illustrator and photographer, and his artwork appears on two Twigs Paper card sets: our Vintage National Park Cards and our Scripture Encouragement Cards. He has also visited all 63 U.S. national parks, and his new book, ParkQuest, collects the photographs he took along the way.
This post shares more about Kenneth, his art, the cards that feature his work and how to order his book.
Article contents
- About Kenneth Crane
- Kenneth Crane's Art Style
- Kenneth Crane's Art on Twigs Paper Cards
- His Journey to All 63 National Parks
- ParkQuest: Kenneth Crane's New National Parks Book
- Track Your Own National Park Visits
About Kenneth Crane
Kenneth grew up in Colorado Springs and lives in Monument, Colorado. He runs his own studio, Kenneth Crane Illustration & Design, and works as both an illustrator and a photographer. On his website, ParkQuest, he goes by Ken and shares national park guides, trip stories and his own photography.
Growing up near the Rocky Mountains shaped his work. In a 2021 interview he said, "Growing up in Colorado Springs, I've just been enamored with the beauty and the landscapes." His national park illustrations started with a small project, a baby shower invitation he designed with a national parks theme, and grew into a full series of park artwork.
Kenneth Crane's Art Style
Kenneth's national park illustrations follow the look of classic travel posters. He pays close attention to light, works with a soft and muted color palette and builds each scene around one clear focal point, such as a waterfall, a rock arch or a mountain peak at sunrise. Although he works digitally, his pieces have a loose, hand-drawn texture.
Whenever he can, Kenneth works from places he has seen in person. He brings a camera on his trips and plans his days around sunrise and sunset to catch the best light. That habit shows in his art, where many scenes are set in the warm light at the beginning or end of the day.
Kenneth Crane's Art on Twigs Paper Cards
Vintage National Park Cards
Our Vintage National Park Cards feature twelve of Kenneth's park illustrations, one of each design: Acadia, Arches, Everglades, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Great Smoky Mountains, Joshua Tree, Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion. The cards are blank inside, so they work well for thank you notes, birthdays, retirement and notes to friends who love the outdoors.
This is one of our best-selling card sets. Each card is A2 size, 5.5 x 4.25 inches folded, printed on 100% recycled paper and paired with a white envelope. The set comes in a box of 12 or 24 cards.
Scripture Encouragement Cards
Kenneth also created the artwork for our Scripture Encouragement Cards. Each card front pairs a hand-lettered Bible verse with classic ornamental artwork. The inside is blank, which leaves room for a personal note or a prayer, and the set is a thoughtful choice for someone who is recovering, grieving or going through a hard season. You can see more of our faith-based sets on our Christian cards page.
His Journey to All 63 National Parks
Kenneth's first national park visit was Yellowstone in 1996, when he was 3 years old. The trip that started his goal came many years later. In November 2019 he traveled to Joshua Tree National Park with his mom to run the Joshua Tree Half Marathon, a race that starts at sunset. He won the race, and the prize was a yearlong America the Beautiful pass for the national parks.
Before dawn on the last morning of that trip, he went to the Cholla Cactus Garden to watch the sunrise. He later wrote about it: "This is it. This is the moment that forever becomes engrained in my mind." That sunrise started a six-year effort to see every national park in the country.
Kenneth traveled with family and friends to parks in every corner of the country, from the deserts of the Southwest to remote Alaska parks such as Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley. After Kings Canyon, his 43rd park, he started calling the trip a quest, because he was committed to finishing it. In September 2025 he reached his 63rd and final park, the National Park of American Samoa, and watched one last tropical sunset to close out the quest.
When people ask Kenneth about his favorite park, his answer is Grand Teton. It also takes the top spot in his ranking of all 63 national parks, and Grand Teton is one of the twelve designs in our Vintage National Park set.
ParkQuest: Kenneth Crane's New National Parks Book
Kenneth's new book, ParkQuest: A Photographer's Immersive Guide to America's 63 National Parks, brings the whole journey together in one place. It is a 528-page hardcover with a gold foil spine and more than 500 of his original photographs, covering every park from Denali to the Grand Canyon. Each photo has a caption with location details, and the book also points out lesser-known trails and shares tips for taking better travel photos.
Every photograph in the book is Kenneth's own. ParkQuest states that it does not use artificial intelligence or generated images in its photos.
The book is available to preorder now and ships on October 24, 2026. A signed limited edition is also available, limited to 100 numbered copies signed by Kenneth. Orders placed before December 31, 2026 include a gold seal honoring America's 250th anniversary. ParkQuest makes a great gift for anyone who loves the national parks, is planning a park road trip or has a goal of visiting all 63.
Order ParkQuest on Kenneth Crane's website
Track Your Own National Park Visits
If you are working toward all 63 parks yourself, our free National Parks Checklist lets you mark the parks you have visited and shows which ones appear on our cards. For words to write inside a park card, see our national park and nature quotes.
We are grateful to Kenneth for sharing his art with us. To see more of his work and read his park guides, visit kennethcrane.com, and browse all of our park designs on our national park cards page.
$14.95
Set of 12
