Piping plovers find the beaches along Cape Lookout National Seashore to offer some great nesting opportunities. As a result, seashore officials have placed some areas off-limits during the threatened bird's nesting season, which runs through August.

At Big Bend National Park, heavy rains and flooding have forced the closing of some backcountry roads. Motorists planning to use the park’s roads should check with the park for updated road information and plan accordingly.

Cherries bursting with flavor, juicy peaches and apples, pears and apricots. Those are some of the tasty treasures that await you at Capitol Reef National Park, and they're yours for the pickin'.

The national parks deserve a prominent place in any forward-thinking initiatives emerging from the White House Conference on America's Great Outdoors, which convenes on April 16 to address the challenges, opportunities and innovations surrounding modern-day land conservation and the importance of reconnecting Americans and American families to the outdoors.