Two of the most contentious issues in the National Park System is the debate over snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park and the one over off-road vehicle management at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Which is more important to you?

If you've got time to squeeze in a fall visit to a national park, here's some good news: There's quite a bit of lodging available in places such as Crater Lake, Yellowstone, Zion, Grand Canyon, and Death Valley national parks.

Stretch summer out by another month or two and Yellowstone National Park could almost single-handedly push the National Park System to a visitation record for the year.

Wildlife watching in Yellowstone National Park takes on a bit of a voyeuristic flavor in the fall, as the park’s famed mega-fauna embark in the pursuit of romance during their annual ruts in an often public spectacle that rivals any of the drama on The Bachelor. Visitors can hear the loud thunderclap of bighorn sheep clashing, the raucous bugling of bull elk, or the deep grunting and bellowing of bison—all performed in pursuit of a mate or mates.