Though winter's a good way off for most of the country -- we can't forget last week's snowfall at Glacier National Park -- it might not be a bad time to start planning your winter national park vacation. And the folks at the Yellowstone Association Institute have come up with nine new reasons to look to Yellowstone National Park for that escape.

At Lake Mead National Recreation Area water-based activities are the prime attraction, but in recent years, having enough water has become a problem. The launch area at Boulder Harbor is the latest casualty of falling lake levels, and those facilities have been closed "temporarily."

It's that time of year to lend a hand to clean up Yosemite National Park after the crazy summer season, and if you've got the time organizers would love to have it any time Wednesday through Sunday.

The largest fortification built by Europeans in the New World features dungeons, a labyrinth of tunnels, and massive rock walls that fall 150 feet straight onto the rocks of a rugged shoreline. No wonder San Juan National Historic Site was chosen for a scene in the next "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie.