National Parks Traveler

Our national parks are places of incredible beauty and rich history. But they also are under siege. Across the National Park System, the landscape is being invaded by non-native species that are not just out of place, when you consider what should be growing, but in some cases are actually driving out the natives.

Read more about Battling Invasive Species in Arches National Park

By Kurt Repanshek - July 29th, 2008 4:36pm

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First Lady Visits Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

During her recent visit to Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, First Lady Laura Bush toured Sandburg’s Connemara residence, petted dairy goats, talked with children in the Junior Ranger program, and announced a $50,000 National Park Foundation grant to expand the park’s Junior Ranger and youth education programs.

Read more about First Lady Visits Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

By Bob Janiskee - July 29th, 2008 5:05pm

Pilgrim Places: Civil War Battlefields, Historic Preservation, and America’s First National Military Parks, 1863-1900, Part I

Today, well over a century after the Civil War ended in 1865, it is difficult to imagine the battlefields of Antietam, Vicksburg, Shiloh, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga had they been neglected, instead of preserved as military parks. As compelling historic landscapes of great natural beauty and public interest, these early military parks have been familiar to generations of Americans.

Read more about Pilgrim Places: Civil War Battlefields, Historic Preservation, and America’s First National Military Parks, 1863-1900, Part I

By Richard West Sellars - August 7th, 2008 5:39pm

Shenandoah National Park Ranger Roy Sullivan Set the World Record for Being Hit by Lightning

The odds of being struck by lightning once in an 80-year lifetime are about one in 3,000. The odds for two strikes in a lifetime soar to one in nine million. Roy Sullivan, a park ranger at Shenandoah National Park, was struck by seven lightning bolts and survived them all. It just goes to show you something or other.

Read more about Shenandoah National Park Ranger Roy Sullivan Set the World Record for Being Hit by Lightning

By Bob Janiskee - August 3rd, 2008 1:33pm

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Fall Kills Woman in North Cascades National Park

A 50-year-old woman has died in North Cascades National Park from injuries sustained in a fall on Klawatti Peak. The woman's husband told authorities he nearly drowned crossing a river while trying to find help.

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By Kurt Repanshek - August 1st, 2008 2:22pm

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Yellowstone National Park Officials Scale Back Size of "LeHardy Fire"

Better mapping has led Yellowstone National Park officials to scale back their estimate of the size of the "LeHardy Fire" to just about 500 acres. However, the Grand Loop Road north of Fishing Bridge remains closed because of the blaze.