Volcanics, no solar eclipse, and wildfires no doubt all played a role in the decline of visitation to the National Park System in 2018, when slightly more than 318 million visits were recorded, a drop of 13 million from the year before.

An Arizona man was trapped overnight in the backcountry of Zion National Park in Utah when he stepped into a patch of saturated sand and soon found the leg stuck up to its knee.

Out of all the national parks and other protected areas you visited the previous year, you've got certain favorites, right? How easy (or difficult) was it to choose those favorites? Sometimes, it might come down more to the feeling you had when capturing that image rather than just the composition. Continuing her New Year's tradition with the Traveler, contributing photographer Rebecca Latson shares her favorite photos captured during the previous year. Usually stopping at 5 or 7 shots, this year, Rebecca is sharing 10 favorite images to mark her 2018 visit to 9 national parks and 1 national recreation area, explaining why she chose each image and how she captured it.

Hikers look to check off one of the most exhilarating treks in the National Park System can thank the Trust for Public Land and Washington County, Utah, officials for negotiating an extension to access across private land to journey down the 16 miles of the Zion Narrows Trail into Zion National Park.