You don't need to be a long-distance hiker to tackle what arguably is not just the shortest but also the most impressive hike at Arches National Park. A comfortable pair of shoes, a bottle of water, and perhaps 90 minutes of your time will be enough to explore the Windows Section of the park.

How's your national park being managed? It's a good question, one that at times can be hard to find answers to. At Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, though, managers have distributed a 20-page publication for those interested in what was accomplished in 2009 and what continuing issues are being confronted.

In Dances With Wolves, Lt. John Dunbar requests a posting on "the frontier" because he "wants to see the frontier before it's gone." It's not too difficult to put Yellowstone National Park, between the months of December and April, as being on the last frontier of the Lower 48.While it would be relatively easy to maintain wheeled-access to Old Faithful year-round, with apparently few environmental consequences, should we shrink what little "frontier" we have left in the National Park System?

The body of a 62-year-old Missouri woman who fell into a cold, snowmelt-swollen creek in Glacier National Park on Friday has been recovered, according to park officials.