National Parks Traveler

Although all the roads in Lassen Volcanic National Park are closed for the winter, with the exception of a little bit on both north and south ends of the scenic park highway, that doesn't mean getting out and enjoying winter in this national park is not possible. Visitors in the winter will enjoy solitude and no crowds and can sled, snowshoe, and ski over the snow-blanketed landscape.

Because of very strong solar storms, the Aurora Borealis was showing up in national parks further south than usually seen, such as at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State. The human eye cannot always detect an aurora in dim light and a camera with a very slow shutter speed and a wide aperture often captures what the naked eye does not see.

According to the National Park Service:

"Pinnacles Overlook has sweeping views and faces South, making it a great sunset destination. This view displays the expanse of the Sage Creek Wilderness area. On clear days, the Black Hills are visible on the horizon. Bison might be visible in the distance, in the valley below or the upper prairie to the northwest. This overlook is also a popular spot for Bighorn sheep to gather. This is also a lambing area for Bighorn sheep in late April to early May, so it’s not unusual to see lambs traversing the rocky slopes of the Badlands."

"Sulphur Works hydrothermal area sits at the center of a wide basin surrounded by towering volcanic peaks. Geologists have determined that the encircling peaks (Brokeoff Mountain, Mount Diller, Pilot Pinnacle, and Mount Conard) are all remnants of a large, eroded volcano called Brokeoff Volcano, or Mount Tehama."

"Sulphur Works is a vent for the last rumblings of a long-dead volcano and yet it is also reborn each day as forces of erosion and hydrothermal activity continuously alter the landscape. Although named after the chemical element of sulfur—which is a byproduct of the hydrothermal system—the area bears the British English spelling of the word assigned by a pioneer that once laid claim to what was then known as Supan's Sulphur Works."

The proximity of Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota is within the geographic center of the continent. This blend of prairie and forest ecosystems provide homes to over 100 bird species found within the park, and you might find birds from both the east and west side of the country, like the red-headed woodpecker or the black-billed magpie. You might also see birds in this national park with combined eastern and western markings, like the northern Flicker, which will usually have the black mustache stripe of a flickr from the eastern part of the country, and also the orange or red feathers of a flickr found in the western portion of the country.

Within park boundaries exists the nation's largest glacial system, with glaciers covering 35 percent of the parklands. Some glaciers do not look pristine like you might picture them. Those brown lines you see in the photo are medial moraines. According to the National Park Service:

Medial moraines form where two tributary glaciers come together. They are generally surficial features on the ice and often consist of rock that has fallen from a rockwall where the glaciers converge. Because they are thin, surficial features, medial moraines are rarely preserved after the ice retreats.

The Great Kobuk Sand Dunes in Kobuk Valley National Park are the largest active sand dunes in the Arctic. Along with the smaller Little Kobuk Sand Dunes and Hunt River Sand Dunes, the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes create 30 square miles (77.7 sq km) of towering sand 35 miles (56 km) above the Arctic Circle. 

Some 3,000 feet (914 m) below Mount Katmai and encroaching into the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes are the Knife Creek Glaciers, covered with as much as 6 feet (2 meters) of ash and pumice. Hikers can walk right up to the foot of, and even onto the glaciers, if they wish (with caution).

Many rivers flow through the stunning mountainous landscape of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, including six national wild and scenic rivers: Alatna River, John River, Kobuk River, Noatak River, North Fork of the Koyukuk River, and Tinayguk River.

Take a helicopter ride over active volcanics in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park and you might just see a bright "eye" of lava looking at you through a lava "skylight" - an opening in the roof of a lava tube through which red-hot lava is flowing. You can learn about volcanic terms you might come across during a visit to this national park by reading this Hawai'i Volcanoes Primer. You  can also read more about magnificent volcanic action by reading the Traveler article In Awe Of Pele's Force.