Under a proposal open for public comment at Everglades National Park, you would pay more than four times as much to explore the park's backcountry for a week by canoe or kayak than you would to drive into the park over that same period of time.

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is a great destination for cross country skiers—especially right now as the latest storm dumps more snow on the AT from North Carolina to New England. The AT only seems to be about summer. Backcountry ski enthusiasts—get out there!

Yale University environmental historian, Dr. Robin Winks, once termed America’s National Parks as “The greatest university in the world with hundreds of branch campuses." While Oxford and Cambridge might take issue in a tweedy British manner with Professor Winks’ hyperbole, his point is well taken: The units of the National Park System are indeed educational.

Using a telephoto lens for a national park landscape sounds kind of odd, right? Most people think of a telephoto or zoom-telephoto lens as good for wildlife and sports images, not landscapes, per se. But it's time to rethink that.