You are here

Share
National park podcasts, best national park podcasts, lewis and clark national historic trail

We're joined this week by Costa Dillon, a National Park Service veteran who ended his long career as superintendent of Indiana Dunes National Park, to discuss a novel management decision in Thailand to close that country’s national parks every year for two months to give wildlife a break from humans. Would such a move be good for America’s national parks? Would the National Park Service, politicians, and gateway towns agree to such annual closures? What would visitors think?

Lynn Riddick returns this week with to discuss a roughly 1,200-mile extension to the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail with Superintendent Mark Weekley. It’s an eastward extension that runs from St. Louis to Pittsburgh, one that adds a great deal of history to the national historic trail. Vocal cameo of Meriwether Lewis by Stephen Dishart.

:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode introduction with Kurt Repanshek
1:43 The Offering - Bill Mize - The Sounds of the Great Smoky Mountains
2:11 Thailand officials want to close their national parks for two months every year. Should the United States? A conversation with veteran National Park Service manager Costa Dillon.
15:55 The Offering - Bill Mize - The Sounds of the Great Smoky Mountains
16:18 National Parks Traveler promotion
16:31 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation promotion
16:55 Grand Teton National Park Foundation promotion
17:27 North Cascades Institute promotion
17:51 Close the Parks: A discussion with Costa Dillon continues.
27:47 Yellowstone - Randy Petersen - The Sounds of Yellowstone
28:36 Friends of Acadia promotion
29:04 Washington’s National Park Fund promotion
29:40 Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail gets a 1,200-mile extension.
1:08:21 Shee Beg Shee Mor - Nature’s Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia
1:08:42 Episode Closing
1:09:00 Orange Tree Productions promotion
1:09:35 National Parks Traveler footer

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 321 | National Park Science At Risk

There has been much upheaval in the National Park Service this year, with firings, then rehires, and staff deciding to retire now rather than risk sticking around and being fired. There have been fears that more Park Service personnel are about to be let go through a reduction in force.

While Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has ordered the Park Service to ensure that parks are properly to support the operating hours and needs of each park unit,” that message said nothing about protecting park resources.

April 20th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 320 | George Wright Society

George Melendez Wright was a brilliant young scientist with the National Park Service back in the 1920s and 1930s. You could say he was ahead of his time, in that he wanted the Park Service to take a holistic role in how wildlife in the parks was managed.

April 6th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 319 | Kilauea's Unrest

One of the greatest shows on Earth has been going on now for several months in Hawaii, where the Kīlauea volcano at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park has been erupting since late December. The Kīlauea volcano is the most active volcano on Earth.

March 30th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 318 | Covering the Parks

There are more stories to be found in the National Park System than one could write in a lifetime. Or several lifetimes.

Sometimes those stories can be hard to spot. How many were aware of the factoid from Great Smoky Mountains National Park that Jennifer Bain dug up, that if you stacked up all of the park’s salamanders against its roughly 1,900 black bears, the salamanders would weigh more?

Talk about national park trivia.

March 23rd, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 317 | A Little Volcanic Levity

In this week’s podcast we thought we’d take a break from the unsettling news happening in and around our national parks and federal lands regarding park staff reductions and threats of reducing park boundaries to make way for mining.  

March 16th, 2025 Read More

INN Member

The easiest way to explore RV-friendly National Park campgrounds.

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

Here’s the definitive guide to National Park System campgrounds where RVers can park their rigs.

Our app is packed with RVing- specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 national parks.

You’ll also find stories about RVing in the parks, tips helpful if you’ve just recently become an RVer, and useful planning suggestions.

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

FREE for iPhones and Android phones.