Historic Camp Muir, a touchstone of sorts and a welcoming shelter for climbers on the upper reaches of Mount Rainier, will be rehabilitated by the National Park Service.

Winter might not be the best time to enter the Atlantic at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, but it's a grea time to learn more about shipwrecks off the barrier island and a unique species of ray that swims its waters.

A proposal to create a 1.4-million-acre national monument wrapping Canyonlands National Park in Utah should not be dismissed out of hand, but receive serious consideration from the Obama administration. And it should receive equally serious consideration from Utah officials who promote the state's recreational wonders in one breath and demand a turnover of federal lands in the next.

Summer backpack trips and hikes are months away, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be making up gear lists in January or February. And if you're heading to a national park frequented by grizzly or black bears, you'd be wise to look into bear sprays.