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

Essential Friends

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

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

Inspector General Finds Yosemite National Park Staff Responded Appropriately To 2012 Hantavirus Outbreak

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Mesa Verde National Park To Serve As Backdrop For Photography Workshop This Fall

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Reader Participation Day – Which Flowers Mean "Spring Is Here" In The National Parks?

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Tuesday, May 21st, 2013

Monday, May 20th, 2013

Sunday, May 19th, 2013

Photos of the Week

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

Week of: 03/13/2013 | On The Edge Of The Wilderness | Photographer: J. Craig Thorpe

Everglades National Park, copyright Jesse Fields

Week of: 02/22/2013 | On The Road In Everglades... | Photographer: Jesse Fields

Features

Essential Friends + Gateways: Let The Grand Canyon Association Introduce You To Grand Canyon National Park

Submitted by NPT Staff on May 22, 2013 - 1:23am

First-timers to the Grand Canyon can quickly be overwhelmed, and not just by the depth and breadth of this world famous canyon. Where do you begin to explore this wondrous landscape? While the National Park Service provides a good foundation of interpretive materials, it lacks the staff and resources to develop the robust array of materials that the Grand Canyon Association does.

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By NPT Staff

Exploring The Parks: Cape Lookout National Seashore's Historic District

Submitted by Danny Bernstein on May 21, 2013 - 1:40am

Summer is a perfect time to explore Cape Lookout National Seashore. A visit to the Cape Lookout Village Historic District rewards you with fascinating structures from a bygone era. Located only two miles from the cape's lighthouse, village visitors are almost guaranteed solitude.

Essential Friends + Gateways: Merging Two Great Groups To Benefit Glacier National Park

Submitted by NPT Staff on May 19, 2013 - 1:12am

This year’s merger of the Glacier National Park Fund and the Glacier Association produced a stronger organization working on behalf of Glacier National Park.

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By NPT Staff

From Visitor To Advocate: A Student’s Journey Through National Parks

Submitted by Cristina Shoffner on May 16, 2013 - 1:14am

How can you interest today's youth in national parks and the outdoors? Have them join the Student Conservation Association and take their park experiences a few steps beyond summer vacation trips.

Essential Friends + Gateways: The Boone Area High Country, An NC Parkway Gateway

Submitted by NPT Staff on May 15, 2013 - 1:22am

The scenery and attractions of the lofty Blue Ridge Mountain bastion called the High Country are a pinnacle of the Blue Ridge Parkway experience.

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By NPT Staff

More Features...

Puzzles, Mysteries, and Reviews

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

Wednesday, April 10th, 2013

Wilderness Wisdom

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 10, 2013 - 1:30am

"Anyone who tells you portaging is fun is either a liar, or crazy, or maybe both." That's hard wisdom from the late Bill Mason, a legendary canoe paddler, naturalist, and author, to dispute. It's just one of the gems to be found in the second edition of Wilderness Wisdom, a pocket-sized book of inspiring quotations well-suited for the outdoors.

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By Kurt Repanshek

Monday, April 1st, 2013

The Seventymile Kid: The Lost Legacy Of Harry Karstens And The First Ascent Of Mount McKinley

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 1, 2013 - 1:50am

Turn-of-the-century Alaska was a harsh, demanding, and yet exhilarating place, a landscape that didn't suffer greenhorns. Nineteen-year-old Harry Karstens thrust himself into this setting in 1897 to join the Gold Rush, and went on to cast a long shadow in the state's history, and not just because of his role in summiting Mount McKinley.

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By Kurt Repanshek