A congressman from New Jersey hopes he can convince the National Park Service to spend some of its economic stimulus funds on historic restoration work at Fort Hancock in Gateway National Recreation Area.

Now that most of the country has sprung forward into daylight saving time, can summer be far behind? For some parks, summer is still a coming attraction, and just getting the snow off the road can be quite a job. In one park in years gone by, opening the road to Paradise was a highly anticipated annual event that created a different kind of challenge for another group of workers.

Rhododendron and Mountain laurel provide beautiful blooms in the late spring and early summer in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Those thickets can also have a dark side, as two hikers recently learned the hard way.