People seem to like numbers, and hierarchy, so here's a rundown of the leading units of the National Park System in terms of 2011 visitation. The first list combs through all 397 units in the system, while the second looks only at "national parks."
Wolf numbers in Yellowstone National Park at the end of 2011 were far off their peak of 174 counted back in 2003, a decline attributed to disease and a smaller prey base.
This year marks the centennial for Washington, D.C.'s famous cherry trees, and that adds a little extra drama to the "big question" facing organizers of the National Cherry Blossom Festival every year: Will the trees bloom on the same schedule as the Festival events? The official "peak bloom" prediction for 2012 has now been released.
Those who head off into the backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains National Park for a night or two will have to pay for the privilege beginning in 2013 under a plan approved by the National Park Service.
A photo of a daredevil kayaker negotiating the Kern River in Sequoia National Forest received the grand prize in the National Park Foundation's Share the Experience photo contest, while a scenic from Glacier National Park was awarded first prize.
Eastern National, a non-profit that produces interpretive and educational materials for national parks, has entered the phone app market with its Passport To Your National Parks® iPhone Application, currently available for free on iTunes.
Raptors are returning to many areas in the National Park System for nesting, including to the Upper Yukon River in Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve in Alaska.
At the time when most of the Blue Ridge Parkway seems closed in North Carolina, you can take a delightful, short hike on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail to Rattlesnake Lodge. You'll see the many remains of the summer home of Chase Ambler.