The National Parks Traveler is a small media organization, which is a benefit for its coverage of national parks and protected areas. There is no New York, Washington, or Los Angeles headquarters calling the shots on coverage. That fact, and the one that our focus is solely on national parks and protected areas, allows us to cover stories most other news outlets ignore or miss (until they see the coverage on the Traveler).

The Canyon Rim Visitor Center at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia will close on January 1, 2024, while the building undergoes extensive renovation, with a reopening date tentatively scheduled for early March. Upgrades to what is the park’s busiest visitor contact station include new exhibits, a new sales area, carpeting, lighting, wall coverings, and new seating for the auditorium.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park has closed part of the parking lot at Uēkahuna and a short stretch of Crater Rim Trail east to protect a pair of breeding nēnē — the rare and endemic Hawaiian goose.

Yosemite National Park is requiring entrance reservations for weekends in February as the annual spectacle of Horsetail Fail glowing orange when backlit by sunsets draws crowds to the park.