Flooding pummeled a handful of units in the National Park System this past fall, budget cuts hamstrung the National Park Service, and a 16-day closure of the national parks drew the public's ire. Those were just some of the top stories of 2013 across the National Park System. Here's a look at some of the year's top stories.

At National Parks Traveler, we don't profess to have all the answers to issues and controversies swirling about the National Park System. But there were a handful of times in 2013 when we felt it necessary to raise concerns about what was transpiring in the parks.

Another national park has added its camping reservations system to the recreation.gov portal. At Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, this means you can go online to reserve campsites at Brooks Camp and other destinations in the park.

So many parks, so few months in a year. Still, the National Parks Traveler staff and contributors managed to reach a fair number of parks in 2013 and returned home with the following stories.