Contributing writer Rita Beamish and a friend headed out on the John Muir Trail for nine days in August to escape the coronavirus pandemic, and while they carried face masks and practiced social distancing, not everyone they encountered did.

It’s time, again, to find out just how much you really know about these national parks and protected lands with another National Parks Traveler Quiz And Trivia piece. Test your knowledge before checking the answers, then read a little bit of national park trivia with which you can use to impress family and friends.

National Park Service firefighters and investigators are asking for the public's help to identify those responsible for igniting a wildfire in Ahwahnee Meadow in Yosemite National Park on the night of July 15.

Leading up to the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service back in 2016, there was much discussion about the future of the parks. Perhaps the hallmark was the Second Century Commission's report, prepared following a year of listening sessions, professional input, and discussion. Within its outline for strengthening the Park Service and the national parks in the 21st century were recommendations for better conservation of park resources, both natural and cultural. A decade later, the Park Service remains strapped for funds, overworked, and struggling in some places to manage crowds that impact natural resources and stress staff.