A campfire ban will take effect Saturday for Olympic National Park and the Olympic National Forest in Washington state due to rising temperatures and increasingly dry conditions.
Did you know that there are some five and a half million acres of our National Parks that are underwater? There are sunken ships and aircraft. There are remnants of industry and mining. There are coral reefs and underwater caverns.
Olympic National Park is launching an aquatic invasive species program to protect Lake Crescent and Lake Ozette. The program will leverage free boat cleaning stations, public outreach, partnerships, and environmental DNA sampling to reduce spread of existing invasive species and prevent the introduction of new invasive species.
How many of you out there appreciate abstract art? Even if you don’t like it, how many of you have photographed something abstract because it caught your eye while visiting a unit of the National Park System? Contributing photographer Rebecca Latson discusses ways to photograph (or even create after the fact) abstracts framed within your national park compositions.
The final investigation into the origin and cause of the fire that destroyed the Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge at Olympic National Park in Washington on May 7, 2023, was able to determine an area of origin but was unable to determine the specific cause of the fire.
As the sun sets on another year, this is a reminder for you to always be a National Parks Traveler. Stick to the trails and boardwalks, pack out what you pack in, don't pet the fluffy cows or feed the wildlife, and practice the Leave No Trace Principles. Ensure these public landscapes are left in pristine condition for future generations.
Contributing photographer and writer Rebecca Latson has spent the past 11 years with the National Parks Traveler, writing about tips and techniques for getting the best national park photos – no matter what camera you use. In her final article for the Traveler before it goes dark on December 31, 2023, Rebecca recaps some of those tips and techniques.
National Park Service Instagram and Facebook accounts, along with other reliable websites, provide so much quiz-and-trivia-worthy information that there will always be interesting quiz questions and trivia on which you can test your national parks knowledge.