It took about three months longer than anticipated, but a new staircase is in place at Anacapa Island at Channel Islands National Park, and so the public will again be able to visit this island off the California coast.

If you've never been to the East Entrance of Grand Canyon National Park, you owe yourself the trip. Naturally, the canyon from this South Rim vista is expansive, and there are wonderful views of the Painted Desert, too, but equally alluring is the Desert View Watchtower. This rustic edifice, built in 1932 by architect Mary Colter, sits hunched against the very rim of the canyon, a lonely outpost, built to be a place for contemplation.

How better to kick off the year-end holiday season with a snowy trek to the nation's Christmas tree in Sequoia National Park?

A tool handy for national park visitors, educators, and researchers is blossoming under a collaboration between the National Park Service and a non-profit organization focused on preserving cultural sites, one that showcases the power, depth, and usefulness of the Internet.