Ok Travelers, it’s time to test your knowledge of the wondrous plants, animals, history and even oddities found within units of the National Park System. How much do you really know about the parks? Maybe more than you realize!
Record heat across the southern tier of the country is creating deadly conditions for some national park visitors, including those at Death Valley National Park, where the key message was "Travel prepared to survive."
A 14-year-old boy died at Big Bend National Park, apparently from the 119-degree Fahrenheit heat, and his stepfather, who went for help, was later found dead in a vehicle crash off an embankment at Boquillas Overlook.
A coalition of environmental groups, including the National Parks Conservation Association, has sued the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to enforce the Regional Haze Rule required by the Clean Air Act. That failure could lead to "continued release of preventable haze-causing emissions that harm the health of our communities and blur landscapes at our most scenic national parks and wilderness areas," the groups maintain.
Death Valley National Park covers much more acreage than just the valley itself. It’s the largest U.S. national park outside of Alaska at 3,422,024 acres. With a park that size, you probably aren’t going to see everything you want in the space of a day or a week, for that matter. But you can still see and do plenty, even if you have no more than three days.
No matter what time of the year you plan to visit Death Valley National Park in California, you need to be prepared for this land of extremes: extreme heat, extreme rainstorms, extreme dryness, extreme beauty. This 2023 checklist should help you with your plans.
"April showers bring May flowers," is more important than you might think when it comes to blooming cactus in an arid environment such as Big Bend National Park. There are more than 60 species of cactus which begin blooming in late March on into the summer. You can read about these "desert treasurs" by clicking here.
The Lost Mine Trail is one of the most popular at Big Bend National Park, and with good reason. The trail is not too very steep and the views of the Chisos Mountains and Chihuahuan Desert are expansive. Traveler contributing writer and photographer Rebecca Latson shares her observations about this trail she’s hiked.