Every year it seems talk begins in January about how spectacular the wildflower bloom in Death Valley National Park will be. And Great Smoky Mountains National Park has its Wildflower Pilgrimage, while Shenandoah National Park has a wildflower festival. Which leaves us wondering, which national park is best for wildflowers?
Barring a major snowstorm, crews at Yellowstone National Park should have some of the park's roads open Friday. While the North and West entrance roads should be clear of snow, more work is necessary for the East and South entrances to be opened.
In moves designed to counter Alaska's current approach to wildlife management, National Park Service officials in that state are instituting hunting and trapping bans to protect wolves and bears in their parks and preserves.
For the first time in its history the National Park Service is going to have a full-time assistant director for American Indian Relations. Gerard Baker, a 30-year Park Service veteran who most recently has been superintendent of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, will take that role on April 24. A full-blood Mandan-Hidatsa Indian, Mr. Baker relishes the opportunity to improve relations between the Park Service and Native American tribes.
Hemmed in by ancient volcanic rocks, the Gunnison River carved a narrow canyon with monolithic rock walls that rise over 2,000 feet above the river. The numbers tell the story of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
Hikers who reach the bottom of the "inner gorge" at Grand Canyon National Park can learn more about the ancient cultures that once lived there thanks to the addition of interpretive panels erected next to ruins near Phantom Ranch.
Under Gerard Baker, the National Park Service hopes to make up for lost time, an awful lot of lost time. In less than two weeks Mr. Baker will become the agency's very first assistant director for American Indian Relations, and he sees a lot of opportunities to improve relations between Native Americans and the agency that, in many cases, took control of their homelands.
Seventy-five years is a pretty good show of longevity, and shouldn't be treated lightly. It certainly isn't being overlooked at the Blue Ridge Parkway, where two symposiums are scheduled to celebrate the beautiful ribbon of highway that runs through the Appalachian Mountains.
Yosemite is one of the most iconic of the national parks, and rightfully so. The seven-mile-long valley that draws visitors from throughout the world has been described as the most beautiful place on Earth.