National Parks Traveler is the world's top-rated, editorially independent, nonprofit media organization dedicated to covering national parks and protected areas on a daily basis. Traveler offers readers and listeners a unique multimedia blend of news, feature content, debate, and discussion all tied to national parks and protected areas.
National Parks Traveler Podcast
Why expand the National Park System? That can be a controversial question. There are many folks who would love to see additional units added, and there are just as many who say the National Park Service does not have the staff or funding to adequately maintain the existing park system.
We’ve been exploring that question in recent weeks and months, and an argument can be made that since national parks carry the highest protection of natural resources in the country, we should expand the park system to better protect biodiversity and, if possible, help it grow.
This summer has been one of the hottest for the entire world, with temperatures rising above 100 degrees Fahrenheit quite frequently. Here in the United States, there are many places where the heat has gone well above 100 degrees. And at Death Valley National Park, the temperature this past week attracted crowds hoping to see it reach 130 degrees.
There are seemingly endless guides to exploring the national parks — Moon, National Geographic, Lonely Planet, and various other corporate publishers. Indeed, it’s rare these days that you find a writer who takes on the role of both guidebook author and publisher.
Most of these guidebooks take the same approach: a nice overview of the park in question, followed by a breakdown of places to stay, where to eat, things to do, nearby attractions. Mike Oswald is swimming against the current with his park guidebooks.
When you talk about expanding the National Park System, any expansion should be strategic. Whether it’s to protect a cultural or historical site, or one rich in natural resources. Today, if you want to protect natural resources, it should be done with an eye towards protecting biodiversity.
Once upon a time, there might have been 60 million bison on the North American continent. The herds were so large that they covered prairies like immense horizon-stretching black cloaks, and their annual migrations carved such wide paths into the landscape that some were turned into roads by human travelers.
A winter heavy in snowfall has slowed the start to the wildfire season across parts of the West, although the return of the El Niño weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean could reverse that start and contribute to another smoky summer in the National Park System west of the Continental Divide.
Climate change, coupled with the departure of the La Niña weather pattern over the Pacific Ocean and the arrival of the El Niño pattern, are making it more challenging to predict fire seasons and fire behavior from year to year.
There always seem to be calls to expand the National Park System. And those calls always spur a number of questions.
You likely know that Dry Tortugas National Park houses Fort Jefferson, which served as a Civil War-era prison with a community for soldiers, civilians, and slaves.
Were you aware that hidden remnants of hospitals and graveyards have been found nearby — offshore — adding to the puzzle of life and death in the Civil War era?
Lynn Riddick dives into that topic with Joshua Marano, a maritime archaeologist for the National Park Service...
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The Essential RVing Guide
The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.
This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.
You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.
So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.
