Flat water. Whitewater. Tranquil pools and rising tides. All this and more abounds in the National Park System’s water world. Though often described as “more than 84 million acres” of landscape, the system also embraces endless miles of streams, lakeshore, and ocean front. It’s a watery landscape you can explore for half-a-day, or for the rest of your life.

Just as the island fox is flourishing at Channel Islands National Park off California's coast, so are bald eagles, which are now nesting on San Clemente Island.

Spring has set in throughout the country, perennials are reappearing, if they haven't already started to bloom, and summer vacation for some could be just weeks away. If you need some suggestions on where to float in the National Park System, we have them.

With so many units of the National Park System tied to water, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Junior Ranger program has a category for Underwater Explorers.