Though federal agencies were being told Thursday to prepare for a shutdown if Congress fails to reach a budget agreement before October 1, whether national parks would stay open for visitors remains to be seen.

Humans arrived in North America thousands of years earlier than previously accepted, according to groundbreaking research tied to a series of human -- and animal -- footprints preserved in fossilized sand within today's White Sands National Park.

The Kids in Parks program is celebrating a major milestone just in time for Take a Child Outside Week, September 24-30. The national program just surpassed one million adventures completed by children on its TRACK Trails found in parks across the country, demonstrating its success in inspiring kids to experience the outdoors.

Great Basin National Park, known for it’s groves of bristlecone pine, fantastic cave formations, and starry night sky, is a place where you can listen to quaking aspen sighing in the wind and the night call of an unseen bird. It takes a little preparation for a visit to this park, though, and this Traveler’s Checklist should help you with those plans.