If you're a hardy cross-country or backcountry skier looking for a new adventure, now is the time to enter the lottery for a stay at the Ostrander Ski Hut in Yosemite National Park.

Steady work at cleaning up from the snowstorm that Superstorm Sandy deposited on Shenandoah National Park has allowed part of the park to reopen.

Stop by this room and you'll be able to load up on sugar, coffee, wool blankets, and other necessities of frontier life.

There are many nice hikes in Shenandoah National Park, some that ramble on for miles, some that run just a short way to a wonderful payoff. Dark Hollow Falls is one such payoff, but the hike is just a mile-and-a-half roundup, rather short if you were looking for a good leg stretcher. You can, however, easily extend that hike by more than a few miles.