Bring us your knowledge of the National Park System, travelers, and grow the Internet's first-ever crowd-sourced approach to the ultimate national park guides.

Parkipedia has been up and running for some months now, and as a result we're going to be phasing out our page with the Essential Park Guides. That same content is shifting over to the Parkipedia pages where, with your help, it can grow and be updated swiftly and regularly to reflect changes in lodging and dining, trail conditions, wildlife sightings, and more. This approach negates the need for printed guidebooks that, due to publishing schedules, often carry outdated pricing information and don't reflect incidents that impact on-the-ground activities in the parks, such as storms like Hurricane Sandy that down trees, washout roads, and shutter parks.

Your knowledge can help us develop the most thorough sections on hiking in the national parks, paddling in the parks, photography in the parks, birding in the parks, and so much more. Have a favorite trail in a favorite park? Add it to the guide and highlight what makes that trail so great. Know where, and when, to look for wildlife through the seasons in the parks? Contribute that knowledge. Are there specific family activities or programs that your kids especially loved? Point them out to others looking for those programs. Which parks are particularly user-friendly for RVers? Let other park travelers know.

Some of the guides already in Parkipedia are mostly complete. Some, such as our latest on Lassen Volcanic National Park, are in various states of construction. Many others need to get off the ground.

There's no charge to contribute to, and benefit from, Parkipedia. Simply click on the Parkipedia button on the menu bar, read the introduction to the guide, and dive in!