How relevant are national parks to the American public? Back in 2014, then-Park Service Director Jon Jarvis raised that question in a conversation, explaining that “the challenges that we’re facing on a variety of fronts are symptoms, to me, of a waning relevancy to the American people.” That comment arose as we discussed Congress’s collective shoulder shrug over issues facing the National Park Service.

Let's face it: at National Parks Traveler, we're excited about summer in the National Park System. This summer will be particularly memorable for folks who are able to visit a park on August 21, when a total solar eclipse will darken a swath of the country, from John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon, through Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, and eastward into Congaree National Park in South Carolina.

There are plenty of options, all across the National Park System during the winter months. You can cross-country ski through Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, experience the wintry wonders of the brand-new Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine, soak up the sunshine on a beach at Virgin Islands National Park in the Caribbean, or simply watch it snow while planning next summer’s vacation.

Swaying to and fro in the afternoon breeze, the River of Grass appears more like a wind-tussled meadow than a river. But beneath the sawgrass the water gurgles and creeps. It flows slowly south from Florida’s great inland sea—Lake Okeechobee—and into Everglades National Park, headed towards its final destination in Florida Bay.