The renowned amateur astronomer and telescope maker, John Lowery Dobson, 92, once said, "National Parks are special places where dark skies and curious minds collide." Dobson and the famed Sidewalk Astronomers have spent three decades taking their home-made telescopes to the national parks to meet park visitors willing to stay out after dark to help them explore the "other half" of their parks.

There's a new map you should toss in your bag if you're heading to Glacier National Park. It's not a traditional road map, but rather a map that helps you navigate the "Crown of the Continent" and all it has to offer.

Thanks to this past winter's hefty snowpack, the now-melting snow is accelerating the intensity of Yosemite National Park's waterfalls. If you're fortunate enough to have the time to visit the park, a trip to the Yosemite Valley in the coming weeks should reward you with an incredible display of the park's waterworks.

Star gazers will have an opportunity to scan the heavens from Grand Canyon National Park later in June during a week-long star party that will feature activities on both North and South rims.