Commentary, news, and life in America's National Parks.

Essential Friends

Celebrate National Park Week with your essential friends and gateway communities.

Wednesday, June 19th, 2013

Reader Participation Day: What Tops Your National Park Bucket List?

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Traveler's Gear Box: The Lowepro SlingshotTM 202 AW Camera Pack

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Amid Accusations Of "Political Pressure," Yellowstone National Park Officials Asked To Strengthen Winter-Use Plan

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Saguaro National Park, Other Park Units, Ban Campfires

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Tuesday, June 18th, 2013

Monday, June 17th, 2013

Sunday, June 16th, 2013

Helicopter From Big Meadows Fire Aids Climber's Rescue At Rocky Mountain National Park

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Photos of the Week

Week of: 06/14/2013 | Tackling Hell In Dinosaur National Monument | Photographer: Kurt Repanshek

Sentinel Over Colorado National Monument, copyright Marco Crupi

Week of: 06/10/2013 | Standing Guard Over The Monument | Photographer: Marco Crupi

Week of: 04/20/2013 | Waiting For Summer At Glacier National Park | Photographer: Rebecca Latson

Horseshoe Canyon sunrise, Canyonlands NP, copyright Kurt Repanshek

Week of: 04/02/2013 | Morning's Coming To Horseshoe Canyon | Photographer: Kurt Repanshek

Week of: 03/26/2013 | Cloud-Laced Mountains In Glacier Bay | Photographer: Kurt Repanshek

Week of: 03/14/2013 | Comet PannSTARRS Above The Blue Ridge Parkway | Photographer: Tim Barnwell

Features

Essential Friends + Gateways: High Tech Means High Touch With National Parks

Submitted by Haley Hepburn on June 19, 2013 - 1:21am

As people become more and more wedded to mobile devices, the National Park System is trying to keep up—and so are its friends. To engage visitors and potential supporters, national park friends groups and foundations are enticing the public with high technology. Here are some savvy ways that’s happening.

Ride Your Bike Through The World's National Parks

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on June 16, 2013 - 2:18am

A great way to experience national parks is to get out on your bike and pedal through them. While there are many national parks here in the United States that offer great cycling opportunities, places such as Devils Tower National Monument, Badlands National Park, and Shenandoah National Park, you can quickly expand the possibilities when you look out across the globe at national parks abroad.

Goats Do Roam The Appalachian National Scenic Trail

Submitted by Danny Bernstein on June 11, 2013 - 1:42am

On the Appalachian Trail, goats keep the balds bald. Hikers can see the goats on Roan Mountain and adopt one.

Essential Friends + Gateways: West Yellowstone, A Gateway Town Worth Hanging Around

Submitted by NPT Staff on June 9, 2013 - 1:13am

For more than a century, West Yellowstone, Montana, has been a key jumping off point for a once-in-a-lifetime visit to the world’s first national park.

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By NPT Staff

Wales' Snowdonia: The UK’s Top National Park?

Submitted by Randy Johnson on June 6, 2013 - 1:23am

The British Isles have some great national parks—but for the best scenery with easiest access, I’d choose Snowdonia National Park in Wales. Here's why...

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Puzzles, Mysteries, and Reviews

Monday, June 3rd, 2013

Called Again: A Story Of Love And Triumph

Submitted by Danny Bernstein on June 3, 2013 - 1:25am

Called Again is the story of how Jennifer Pharr Davis broke the speed record on the Appalachian Trail. It's an honest book and good read of love and triumph.

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By Danny Bernstein

Friday, May 24th, 2013

Capitol Reef National Park: The Complete Hiking And Touring Guide

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on May 24, 2013 - 1:49am

By just about any measure, Capitol Reef National Park in south-central Utah is a sleeper. It falls in the shadow, largely, of the state's four other national parks. And for most people, a visit to the Fruita orchards, campground, and visitor center is the long and short of their experience with Capitol Reef.

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By Kurt Repanshek

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

Dirt Work: An Education In The Woods

Submitted by Danny Bernstein on May 8, 2013 - 1:25am

In Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods, Christine Byl recalls long days of working on trails in Glacier and Denali national parks. She clears brush, digging ditches, building bridges, cleaning up after forest fires, and blasting snow. An inside look on what it takes to make trails accessible to hikers.

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By Danny Bernstein

Friday, May 3rd, 2013

Canyons And Ice, The Wilderness Travels Of Dick Griffth

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on May 3, 2013 - 2:01am

Dick Griffith might not be the last great American adventurer, but if such a tally is ever made he certainly deserves a place in the top two or three. For more than six decades, Mr. Griffith has been exploring wild and rugged corners of the world, and on the cusp of 86 he's still not finished.

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By Kurt Repanshek

Friday, April 26th, 2013

Yellowstone, Land Of Wonders: Promenade In North America's National Park

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 26, 2013 - 2:00am

If you, too, have paused before an faded and worn map of Yellowstone and wondered the same, then Yellowstone, Land Of Wonders: Promenade in North America's National Park is for you. But not only does this travelogue carry you back to the Yellowstone of 1883, but it's cast through the eyes of a Belgian writer who spent 10 days in the park that summer.

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By Kurt Repanshek