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This summer was the hottest on record at Death Valley National Park.

In this week’s show, we look at one of the hottest places on Earth, Death Valley National Park in southeastern California and western Nevada. And this summer was especially hot. The park broke records in a number of categories as it experienced some of the hottest days ever recorded on Earth.  

August was particularly brutal, with record temperatures reached 12 times for both the daily high and the daily low.  To take a closer look at these numbers and why they don’t seem to be a deterrent to visitors, Traveler’s Lynn Riddick spoke with Death Valley Superintendent Mike Reynolds.

:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode introduction with Kurt Repanshek
1:48 Red Clay - Grant Geissman - The Sounds of the Grand Canyon
2:08 Grand Teton National Park Foundation promotion
2:40 Friends of Acadia promotion
3:10 Death Valley Nights - Blue Oyster Cult
3:30 Death Valley National Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds discusses the park's high heat with Lynn Riddick
19:23 Torch - Bill Mize - The Sounds of the Everglades
19:35 National Parks Traveler promotion
19:47 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation promotion
20:11 Washington’s National Park Fund promotion
20:45 North Cascades Institute promotion
21:07 Death Valley heat with Mike Reynolds and Lynn Riddick continues
47:52 Torch - Bill Mize - The Sounds of the Everglades
47:54 Episode Closing
48:19 Orange Tree Productions promotion
48:55 Splitbeard Productions
49:07 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

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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.