For more than a century, freight trains have rumbled up and over Marias Pass, skirting the south boundary of Glacier National Park, casting rolling shadows on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River below. Until recently the major threat was a grain car derailment, which on occasion left bears woozy from eating fermented grain. Today a derailment involving a 100-car train hauling highly combustible Bakken crude oil risks an environmental catastrophe unprecedented in National Park Service history.

Looking to save a few bucks? Purchase a Traveler membership and you'll save on river trips, books, lodging, and now on a map to Zion National Park and national park posters. The memberships, at $9.95 for a year, help you save some money, and help you contribute to the upkeep of the Traveler.

You're planning a trip to Zion National Park in Utah, you plan to do some hiking, and you're wondering which trails to search out.

As a longtime resident of northern Virginia, I feel like I know Shenandoah National Park fairly well. I’ve driven the 105-mile length of Skyline Drive several times, stayed in and near the park, and spent many weekends hiking there. And yet I’ve never experienced the park from the back of a horse...until now.