| National Parks Traveler

This is really a good idea. That north entrance road has been a challenge ever since it was built. During my first summer as a seasonal ranger in YELL, a rockfall stranded me overnight in Gardiner as I was trying to return to Norris from a trip to Cisco Hot Spring. Spent a cold rainy night trying to sleep in the back of my International Harvester Scout. (Anyone remember those things?)

Fish And Wildlife Service Declines To Place Gray Wolves Under ESA, Opts For National Recovery Plan

Feb 6th - 01:12am | Mike B.

A. Johnson said, "not (sic) do wolf hunts affect wolf populations in any significant way." But according to the article, "In 2022 and 2023 alone, Idaho hunters and trappers killed more than 560 wolves." So, killing 560 wolves doesn't affect Idahp's wolf population in any significant way? I'd love to see the evidence supporting such a claim.

Feb 5th - 10:18am | A. Johnson

The decision, announced Friday, spurred wide-ranging criticism from conservationists. Who of course, began fundraising efforts based on their sky-is-falling scare tactics within hours of the FWS report..

Microscopic Plastics Adding To Pollution Load In Western National Parks

Feb 6th - 00:05am | Yup

Where are the sources for any of the data shown? What good are these graphs if theres not database or organization associated with out it was collected?

Remains Of Man Who Went Missing At Mesa Verde National Park Found

Feb 4th - 22:33pm | Anne Mxx

This man was an avid hiker. To go missing without a trace and to be found less than 5 miles away and 7 years later..,there's something not right.

Jan 20th - 10:49am | Jessica

Things like this happen all the time at national parks, there's books and Series about people going missing in the parks.

Warm Temperatures Disrupt Wolf-Moose Studies At lsle Royale National Park

Feb 4th - 11:12am | A. Johnson

Worries that the lack of an apex predator would lead to a boom in the moose population that in turn would over-browse island vegetation led to a 2018 decision to bring up to 30 wolves to the island. Some came from Minnesota, some from Canada.

PEER: NPS Remains Plagued By Low Morale, Rising Attrition

Feb 3rd - 17:20pm | Caden Wilson

I'd like to point out that these stats are skewed high because seasonals are not invited to take the employee surveys. They were also not invited to the NPS "All-staff" morale meeting in January of 2024.

Most Overlooked National Park System Units

Feb 2nd - 09:49am | Lee Dalton

El Morro National Monument in New Mexico is a REAL gem!

Feb 1st - 16:59pm | Pancho

Beautiful photos!

Feb 1st - 13:50pm | Ben of Virginia

A lesser known unit of the NPS is Prince William Forest Park in Virginia. It is an NPS park which is part of the National Capital Region and is 15,000 acres in size. It is pristine, and has a verdent forest and excellent camping. I like to go hiking over its gentle hills and flat terrain. Please visit this park when you are in northern Virginia.

Feb 1st - 06:59am | Will De Man

It's going more popular thanks to influencers on Instagram and TikTok, but the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore underrated It's got great camping, an incredible section of the North Country Trail, and some of the most stunning views of Lake Superiior anywhere along the north coast of Michigan. As a Michigander, I've been there many times and try to fit it in every summer.

Exploring Petrified Forest National Park's Backcountry

Jan 31st - 15:09pm | Stephen Kibbey

Whatever happened to the proposed upgrade to the Chinde Point Picnic area to add overnight front country camping?

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 259 | Manassas Battlefield Threats

Jan 31st - 13:41pm | Hunter

Here's what people need to understand about national parks. The park land was made to specifically protect and preserve an area. If the intent was to keep the land surrounding the parks preserved from being developed then the park service should have purchased the surrounding land as well. The whole point of a park is to protect that land and that land only.

Lewis And Clark National Historic Trail Now Stretches East To Pennsylvania

Jan 31st - 11:39am | mark donaho

if you look at journals timeline lewis and clark has to spend more time along illinois borders of ohio & mississippi because , they desends ohio easily till cairo,il but then they had to hire more and more people from illinois because of opposite current of mississippi+missouri river flow .

Creature Feature: The American Marten

Jan 31st - 11:09am | Lee Russ

I don't find this to be a balanced review.

Get Your Free National Parks "Owner's Guide" From The National Park Foundation

Jan 31st - 09:44am | Carol Schnaiter

Looking for guides

Climbing is Capped at Mount McKinley and Climbers are Left to Wonder What’s Next

Jan 30th - 17:32pm | Ann Fothergill

Bob, "In July of 1976, Jack O Horton climbed Alaska's Mount McKinley, America's highest mountain, to plant a bicentennial flag at the summit. That same year he ran and finished the Boston Marathon". (taken from a note HF Bar Ranch 1/26/2016 Facebook)

National Park Service Drawing A Line On Fixed Climbing Anchors In Wilderness

Jan 29th - 16:11pm | shane

I am now teaching my 4 and 7 year old sons how to climb. It has been a crucial part of outdoor activities in my life and has taught me real-life problem-solving skills. Fixed anchors are by far the safest way to climb and keep this legacy alive for my kids. I believe that fixed anchors should be color matched to the rock and well-maintained.

Two Hikers Rescued From Mauna Loa At Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park And Cited

Jan 29th - 15:59pm | Cisco

You are right on with your comment. Maybe a higher fine would be in order but if everyone was left to die because of a stupid decision our population would be much reduced

Jan 21st - 11:40am | chris...

Letting people die because they violated a permit? Holy christ my fellow Americans have become hateful people. Try working in the parks- you would need to build jails to house all the people in violation of the "law" People make mistakes. Shouldnt we be thankful the hikers were not injured and the foray ended without furhter incident?

Jan 19th - 09:09am | Loui

Lives were risked. Equipment was risked. Fuel was expended. $250 hardly seems like the price of "accountability" for 2 emergency callouts in a closed area above 10,000' in bad weather. It would not seem unreasonable to decline to risk lives and property to coddle individuals who are breaking the law, and seem pretty pathetically out of their league doing it.

Reader Participation Day: How Are The Parks Doing?

Jan 28th - 11:49am | A. Johnson

My biggest let-down was Canyon de Chelly NM. Agreed. The solution to the mess that is Canyon DC NM is for the NPS to buy the property from the Navajo "nation" in order to preserve it as it should be. These public-private partnerships just don't work for a myriad of reasons, one major contributor being the merry-go-round that is tribal politics.

Jan 28th - 11:44am | A. Johnson

"vulture capitalists in Three Rivers howled!" I've been through Three Rivers,CA many times. And yes, it is centered and focused on tourism--tourism confined to 3-4-5 months of the year. So yes, prices are inflated in those months so as to carry the owners over until the next tourist season--that's not "vulture capitalism", it's common sense economics.

Jan 28th - 11:33am | John Watkins

We visit national parks every year and visited Death Valley, Lassen,Yellowstone, Arches, Canyonlands, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verde, the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountans. The rangers are always polite and helpful.

Jan 27th - 08:08am | Sequoian

A trying year in 2023 for Sequoia NP, lots of damaged roads from the winter of record for the past 125+ years in the Southern Sierra, the Generals Highway didn't open until July (oh how the AirBnB vulture capitalists in Three Rivers howled!) and everything floral was delayed about 6 weeks, and when the FTD bouquet was revealed, perhaps the best wildflower year ever, oh so bountiful, along with

Jan 27th - 08:07am | Sequoian

Jan 26th - 06:13am | Gila Monster

I visited quite a number of parks in 2023. I found - as often - the lesser-known parks to be more rewarding. For example I had a great time at Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS, Knife River Indian Villages NHS and FDR Home NHS. I mostly stayed away from the bigger parks, although I enjoyed my first visit to Theodore Roosevelt NP.

Jan 25th - 16:35pm | Ben of Virginia

I visited Wolf Trap, Shenandoah, and Great Smoky Mountains, and they were all great. The NPS were visible and doing great work. I was not able to go camping this year unfortunately. I did see a bear in Cades Cove and that made my year.

Jan 25th - 11:20am | Anonymous

I'm a low consuming, low impact visitor to nat'l parks and nat'l forests. so I have no basis to evaluate most of the amenities. I do use campgrounds and did so in 2023.

Jan 25th - 10:38am | Kyle Liechty

In 2023, I visited over 48 NPS sites. I went to Mammoth Cave, Shenandoah, Indiana Dunes, Isle Royale and Cuyahoga Valley NP's in 2023. Overall most of these parks were not crowded with the exception of Mammoth Cave on Labor Day weekend. One of the most impressive things I've consistently encountered about the NPS is the rangers.

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 258 | National Park Reservation Systems

Jan 24th - 19:38pm | Jim Medlock

Unfortunately it sounded like Ms. Jones had never had the privilege of attempting to enter a National Park using a permit issued by recreation.gov. Ms. Jones sounded like a promoter of daily permits and not representing an organization that works to make National Parks better.

Microplastics Turning Up In Galápagos Penguins

Jan 24th - 15:51pm | Angie Rayborn

Thank you for a great article on an important subject! I am not sure how we can over come the world wide use of plastics and contain it as it breaks down. Glad there is this research happening in a critical habitat . Great pictures!

Legal Battle Over Caneel Bay Resort Drags On

Jan 24th - 11:34am | chris...

If only the Park Service had such zeal in fighting the takeover of its visitation facilities by recreation gov. How may NPS workers have been lost who used to book backcountry permits, campgrounds, and other such amenities the NPS used to run? I guess it depends on who is giving who political money in terms of what corporation can do what in today s "public" lands

Jan 24th - 10:13am | James Kevin Roche

Thanks to National Parks Traveler for continuing to follow the fate of Caneel Bay. What seems to be at stake here are the wishes of those donating property to the Department of Interior and the National Parks System.

Gone Missing In The National Parks

Jan 24th - 04:19am | Howard Desmond

86 SAR at Bryce Canyon!? It's only a small place

The Frenzied Completion Of The Transcontinental Railroad In Utah

Jan 23rd - 13:34pm | A. Johnson

I must correct my comment: there are photos of the Golden Spike ceremony with Chinese workers in attendance. The Stanford Historical Photograph Collection at Stanford University has several GS photos with Chinese workers in attendance. Posts to the contrary are inaccurate.

Jan 22nd - 10:56am | A. Johnson

While the Chinese did contribute a great deal to the TC railroad, let's not exaggerate their contributions--it was not "most of the work." While the Chinese were recognized at the golden spike ceremony, it is important to note their absence from the "official" photo. Citing NPR is always a risky proposition.

Jan 21st - 10:50am | Steve Weiss

This account is missing that Chinese laborers completed most of the work on the railroad and were excluded from the completion ceremony.

Support Growing To Rename Clingmans Dome At Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Jan 18th - 16:37pm | Earlmuck

Actually, it was Denali for many years prior to being called McKinley. So, in effect, the act of naming it Mt. McKinley was "re-writing" history.

Jan 16th - 15:02pm | Dworley

How's it a new name when that was the original name long before settlers arrived? It's restoring history if anything.

Traveler's View | Musings About The Parks And Related Topics

Jan 17th - 13:42pm | Sequoian

Interestingly enough, those same National Parks & National Monuments that have gone cashless, are still hectoring me to make a cash donation inside the visitor centers, odd that!

Jan 17th - 12:06pm | john928gt

Will the National Park Service act on suggestions that it charge international visitors more to enter the National Park System than U.S. citizens?

The Past, Present, And Future Of The Endangered Species Act

Jan 17th - 01:17am | Mike B.

AJ said: "For eons, specie (sic) after specie has been changing the environment and themselves (via evolution), leading to the extinction of 95%+ of species prior to "modern man". And "modern man" is just the latest NATURAL specie/phenomena to change the environment. Man is as natural as a meteorite or a volcano. The cause of extinction(s) continues to be 100% natural."

Lawsuit Filed To Block Data Center Next To Manassas National Battlefield

Jan 16th - 13:55pm | Steve

Follow the money! Obviously a bad move. From the information you presented the county, from taxes, seem to be the only one profiting, except PW Digital Gateway. Please keep us informed and what to do to help with the fight. Follow the money?

Dog Falls 60 Feet At Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Rescued In Good Condition

Jan 16th - 12:07pm | A. Johnson

If the dog slipped her leash, why is her collar still on? Uh, I call bs on the dog slipping her leash.

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