Stand in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and you can't help but be enthralled by the lush forests and rolling mountains that surround you. Though a somewhat old landscape to modern civilization, the park continues to toss surprises in terms of the species that inhabit it.

A reading frenzy was kicked off Tuesday when a massive draft plan for managing the wild and scenic Merced River through Yosemite National Park was released, a plan park officials hope will end years of litigation over visitor impacts on both the river and the Yosemite Valley.

Sunrises, sunsets, and silky waters. We all strive to capture those images during our tours of the national parks, but what are the keys we need to focus on to succeed?

Not only did the 112th Congress fail to pass any legislation creating additional wilderness in the National Park System, but it turns out the body actually cut some official wilderness out of the system.