Which national parks will you travel to in 2020? To help you think through some of the possibilities, we look back at the past year's articles that explored park destinations.
White Sands National Monument Park/NPS
Exploring The Parks: White Sands National Monument
White Sands National Monument Park in New Mexico doesn’t have the elevation of Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado – most of the dunes we hiked on were well under 100 feet high – but it is no less of a cool place. Nestled into the Tularosa Basin just east of Las Cruces, New Mexico, this 275-square-mile box of white gypsum sand is the largest of its kind in the world. Alamogordo is actually the closest town to White Sands, but we were traveling down I-25 from Santa Fe, so stayed in Las Cruces. By Jim "Stratto" Stratton.
A portion of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail runs along a bluff near the Rock River near Janesville, Wisconsin/David and Kay Scott
Exploring The Parks: Wisconsin’s Ice Age National Scenic Trail
During an August visit to Wisconsin we had an opportunity to hike portions of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. The hikes were interspersed with downtime that included consuming Wisconsin’s food staple, cheese curds, and its unofficial state beer, Spotted Cow. Hiking a portion of the Ice Age Trail, the entire length of which meanders through Wisconsin, is reason enough to visit our nation’s 23rd state. Having the trail twist and turn through a land filled with cheese curds and Spotted Cow is a major bonus. By David and Kay Scott.
Diablo Vista at North Cascades National Park/Rebecca Latson
Exploring The Parks: A North Cascades “Base Camp” Stay
What comes to mind when you hear the words “base camp?” Tents beneath Mount Everest, perhaps? How about something a little closer to home, bordering the incredible turquoise-hued water of Diablo Lake in Ross Lake National Recreation Area, beneath the mountains of the North Cascades? By Rebecca Latson
Aftermath of Johnstown Flood/Library of Congress
Exploring The Parks: Flight 93 And Johnstown Flood: Remembering Tragedy
Two sites in Pennsylvania, separated by 34 miles and 110 years, depict the tremendous community resilience and individual fortitude that define Americans and have helped us heal and understand disasters. By Jim "Stratto" Stratton
Crater Lake National Park /NPS
Winter Opens Snowy National Parks To Hardy Adventurers
Thanksgiving week brought a lot of snow to much of the country. I returned home to find 8-9 inches of the white stuff in the yard, and a decided chill (low teens) in the air. All of which naturally got me thinking about how to enjoy the winter months in the cold weather side of the National Park System. If you’re looking to enjoy parks chilled and blanketed by winter, here are some destinations to consider. By Kurt Repanshek
Counting Cacti At Saguaro National Park
Take saguaros out of Saguaro National Park, and you’d lose more than the park’s namesake cactus, one that gives skyward structure to the vista here. You might strain to catch the drumming of the Gila woodpecker, fail to catch an elf owl peering out from its cavity nest, and not know where to look for Lesser long-nosed bats. All these creatures rely on the saguaro for food and shelter. Realizing those possible losses to this Sonoran Desert landscape begs the question, "How are the park’s saguaros doing?" By Kurt Repanshek
Arkansas Post: Sentinel Of The Lower Mississippi River
One of the joys of visiting every unit managed by the National Park Service is driving rural roads to historic sites located off the beaten path. Not only is the final park destination guaranteed to be worth the drive, but the opportunity to experience rural America on state highways and county roads can be equally edifying and enjoyable. We experienced both on a recent visit to Arkansas Post National Memorial located on the Arkansas River just upstream from its confluence with the Mississippi. By Jim "Stratto" Stratton.
Shield Geyser, Shoshone Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park/Bob Pahre
Exploring The Parks: Yellowstone's Shoshone Geyser Basin
Waco Mammoth National Monument: Viewing Mammoth Bones In Situ
First mention of Waco Mammoth National Monument might not pique your interest in this monument, but the prehistoric stories revealed there are worth your visit. By Jim "Stratto" Stratton.
Lake Desor, Isle Royale National Park/Bob Pahre
A Park Different: Isle Royale
With the arrival of summer, the national parks begin to fill with RVs, minivans, SUVs, and tour buses. Fifty years ago, Americans in their wood-paneled station wagons might linger in a national park for a week or two, but today many visitors try to tag as many parks as possible on their too-short vacations. Except at Isle Royale, that is. By Bob Pahre.
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Bear Glacier Lagoon at Kenai Fjords National Park is a popular kayaking destination/NPS
Sea Kayaking Destinations In The National Park System
I've long been a paddler, but primarily of canoes and occasionally rafts. While I have a few times gotten into a sea kayak and paddled away from shore, I never fully embraced the sport. Until now. Having placed an order for a sea kayak worthy of big lakes and ocean waters, while awaiting delivery I naturally turned my attention to where in the National Park System this new hobby would fit. And the results were fairly breathtaking in the parkscapes they entailed. By Kurt Repanshek
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The Green River from Fort Bottom Overlook/NPS, Neal Herbert
Exploring Canyonlands The River Way
Whether you’re traveling by car or by jeep, the approaches to Utah’s Canyonlands National Park rank among the most scenic in the West. Following Utah Highway 211 down Indian Creek Canyon into the Needles District, or jouncing along a rugged backcountry route into the park’s western side, you’re witness to geologic processes acting on a vast scale. There’s another entrance to Canyonlands, though, which runs at river level, and this is the one my wife and I like best. This spring Bessann and I steered our canoe down the Green River into the northern end of the park, heading for its confluence with the Colorado River 50 miles downstream. It was a slower approach, one which let us savor the sights and sounds along one of the Southwest’s great desert waterways. By Fred Swanson.
The spring at Pipe Spring National Monument/Jim Stratton
Pipe Spring National Monument: Paiutes, Mormons, And Stephen Mather
Water defines the arid West. Sporadic and intermittent water - think flash floods, freeze/thaw and steady erosion - sculpts the landscape, but it takes permanent water to create conditions for human settlement. At Pipe Spring National Monument in northern Arizona, the Park Service has done an exemplary job of telling the human water story from three perspectives: Paiutes, the original inhabitants; Mormons, a big wave of Anglo settlers that stayed; and the U.S. government. By Jim "Stratto" Stratton.
Little River Falls, Little River Canyon National Preserve/Erika Zambello
The Alabama Five-Step: Come Be Surprised
When someone says the word, “Alabama,” what do you imagine? For most, the melody of “Sweet Home Alabama” pops into their head, or scenes from the movie by the same name. For me, most of what I pictured stemmed from the popular television show “Hart of Dixie” about a young doctor moving to the state in search of a mystery father – not exactly based on reality. What I didn’t know until I moved into the next-door Florida Panhandle was that Alabama is an ecologically diverse, beautiful state, stretching from sugar-sand coastline to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. By Erika Zambello.
Sand provides more comfort than tundra for sleeping on at Kobuk Valley National Park in Alaska/NPSSand provides more comfort than tundra for sleeping on/NPS
Kobuk Valley National Park: Digging Into Mother Nature's Sandbox
It's not easy to visit Kobuk Valley National Park in Alaska -- you need to take a small plane or river boat to reach it -- but the trek is well worth it if you enjoy sand dunes. By Jim "Stratto" Stratton.
Isle au Haut, the quiet side of Acadia National Park/Kim O'Connell
An Island Apart
There is a place where you can escape the crowds at Acadia National Park and find solitude in the dramatic setting of coastal Maine. Contributing writer Kim O'Connell was fortunate enough to immerse herself in Isle au Haut for five glorious days. By Kim O'Connell.
Priscacara and Diplomystus from Ulrich's quarry/Jim Stratton
Fossil Butte And Dinosaur National Monuments: Prehistoric Bones For All Ages
Kids of all ages love dinosaurs. As a six-year-old, I remember playing with plastic dinosaurs with names like Brontosaurus, Triceratops, and Tyrannosaurus Rex and imagining about 100 million years ago when those big reptiles walked the earth. It kept me occupied for hours. A recent visit to Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming and Dinosaur National Monument in Utah rekindled my childhood dinosaur interest. By Jim "Stratto" Stratton.
A springtime view of Weir House and Studios in Connecticut/NPS
Weir Farm National Historic Site: A Wintertime Art History Tour Includes New England Hardwoods
What the Eastern part of our great country lacks in iconic landscape parks - Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, or Yosemite - it makes up for with important historic and cultural parks that are equally as iconic in their own way. As the only national park unit dedicated to American painting, Weir Farm fits that bill. By Jim "Stratto" Stratton.
Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Katmai National Park and Preserve/NPS
A Day In The Park: Katmai National Park And Preserve
Bears -- big, brash coastal brown bears -- often are what most comes to mind when there's mention of Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. And that's understandable thanks to the Brooks River and the bear viewing opportunities there. But if that's all you consider when researching a trip to this national park, you'll kick yourself later. By Jim "Stratto" Stratton.
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