Browse Through the Traveler Content

Spring In the National Parks: Where Can You Find Wildflowers?

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 1, 2012 - 1:55am

Spring is showing up in more and more corners of the country, which means it's a perfect time to check out what's blooming in the National Park System. Here's a quick list of some reliable sites to catch wildflowers in the weeks ahead.

Gateway Communities: Not All Have Tight Connections With Their National Parks

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on March 30, 2012 - 1:59am

In Moab, Utah, a gritty town that mines the tourism industry spawned in part by nearby Arches and Canyonlands national parks, the Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks is working to connect the region's youth with the parks.

New Friends Group Working to Support Arches, Canyonlands National Parks

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on March 26, 2012 - 1:07am

The roster of national park "friends groups" has grown with the relatively recent arrival of the Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks, an organization working to support projects within those two red-rock gems of the National Park System.

Reader Participation Day: What National Park Place Names Should Be Changed?

Submitted by Bob Janiskee on March 21, 2012 - 3:59am

Place names in long-standing public use are seldom changed, but it does happen from time to time. What named places in the national parks should be given different names? Should we re-name any of the 397 national parks?

Planning A Western White-Water Trip In A National Park This Year? Earlier Might Be Better Than Later

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on March 4, 2012 - 2:52am

Tempted to book a river trip in a national park this summer? If you're thinking of a white-water adventure in parks such as Dinosaur National Monument, Glacier National Park, or Canyonlands National Park, sooner in the summer just might be better than later due to the below-normal snowpack.

National Park Mystery Photo 45 Revealed: What a Joint!

Submitted by Bob Janiskee on March 2, 2012 - 3:59am

A series of deep, narrow passageways like this one lend special character to a trail in one of our most scenic parks.

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By Bob Janiskee

Traveler's Gear Box: Water Vessels, Steel And Otherwise

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on March 2, 2012 - 2:06am

With warm weather already here in some parts of the Southwest, and with disposable water bottles on their way out from a number of national parks, what's the best way to stay hydrated in the parks?

Millions Of Dollars Heading To National Parks For Road, Multiple-Use Trail Improvements

Submitted by NPT Staff on January 24, 2012 - 2:43am

Millions of dollars are flowing to the National Park System for work on aging roads and multiple-use trails in need of some TLC, and transportation systems thanks to the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in the Parks program overseen by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

NPS Director Jarvis Allows Parks To Ban Disposable Plastic Bottles

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on December 14, 2011 - 6:31pm

Those seemingly ubiquitous disposable plastic bottles, the ones that generated a storm of controversy over their proposed ban at Grand Canyon National Park, may now be banned by park superintendents nationwide.

Arches, Canyonlands National Parks Open All Winter, But Come Prepared

Submitted by NPT Staff on December 11, 2011 - 2:33am

Winter days are short and nights cold even in Utah's redrock country, but that's no reason not to visit Arches or Canyonlands national parks in the coming months.

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By NPT Staff

Top Six Family Adventures In National Parks

Submitted by Michael Lanza on December 11, 2011 - 2:22am

A year's worth of family vacations to national parks led to the following list of top family adventures in the national parks.

National Park Visits Help Grow Utah's Tourism Industry By Nearly 5 Percent In 2010

Submitted by NPT Staff on December 1, 2011 - 2:15am

Utah's collection of national parks, monuments, and historic sites helped generate $6.5 billion in tourism spending for the state in 2010, an increase of nearly 5 percent, according to state calculations.

Hurry Sundown

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By Kurt Repanshek

Pot-Holing In Canyonlands National Park

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By Kurt Repanshek

Study Points To Great Economic Beneft Of Arches, Canyonlands National Parks and Surrounding Recreational Lands

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on November 8, 2011 - 1:25am

U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, a Utah Republican who chairs the House subcommittee that oversees the National Park Service, recently commented that national parks are not money makers. Well, an economic study prepared for one of Utah's congressional districts says otherwise.

Chair Of House Subcommittee On National Parks Calls Parks, Other Federal Lands Unconstitutional

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on October 31, 2011 - 1:38am

U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, who chairs the House subcommittee that oversees national parks and other federal lands, says it is unconstitutional for the federal government to own those tracts.

Groups Urging Obama Administration To Protect The "Greater Canyonlands" Region Near Canyonlands National Park

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on October 19, 2011 - 1:52am

Southern Utah's redrock landscape is wondrous, a spectacular collection of lands in various stages of deconstruction and reconstruction. While some of that landscape has been protected in the form of national parks, some groups believe more needs that type of protection.

Against All Odds: Rangers Find Injured Man Crawling Across the Desert at Canyonlands National Park

Submitted by Jim Burnett on September 16, 2011 - 12:39am

A 64-year-old man from North Carolina was injured in a fall during a solo hike in a remote section of Canyonlands National Park last week. Unable to walk, he faced long odds, since no one was aware of his plans or location. What followed was a tale combining grim determination and alert work by rangers.

Pick Your Park At National Parks Traveler

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on June 3, 2011 - 9:53am

Looking for information to help you plan your national park vacation? Today the Traveler is rolling out the first in a series of "park profile" pages to help you with your homework.

Traveler's Gear Box: Hummingbird Gear Cargo Carrier

Submitted by Julie Trevelyan on May 30, 2011 - 1:53am

Spend time playing in the water during your national park excursions? If you paddle in the parks or slither through slot canyons that might offer water hazards, the Hummingbird Gear Cargo Carrier is a pack you might want to consider.

Federal Judge Rules A Creek Bed in Canyonlands National Park Is Not A Road

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on May 30, 2011 - 1:23am

A winding creek that jogs through Canyonlands National Park to a spectacular sandstone arch is not a road, and that finding by a federal judge could send reverberations throughout many Western states determined to expand access across the federal landscape.

National Park Road Trip 2011: Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Lake Powell Resort

Submitted by David and Kay Scott on May 20, 2011 - 1:30am

True, May might be a bit early to visit Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, but David and Kay Scott, on the road to update their book, The Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges, found the month perfect for a stop there.

Flooding From Green River Impacts White Rim Road in Canyonlands National Park

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on May 16, 2011 - 1:47am

Heavy snowpack high in the Colorado Basin is starting to come down, and that's creating problems in Canyonlands National Park, where flooding from the Green River has closed a portion of the White Rim Road.

Discounted Campsites On the Way in June to Mark 'National Great Outdoors Month'

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on May 10, 2011 - 1:51am

To help encourage folks to get out and enjoy National Great Outdoors Month in June, a wide array of campgrounds across the country, many close to national parks, are offering a 20 percent discount on camping fees.

Report Raises Concerns Over How Colorado River Basin Dams Impact National Parks

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on May 1, 2011 - 1:19am

Some of the most magnificent national parks of the Southwest owe their rugged beauty to the Colorado River and its tributaries. Unfortunately, dams that have sprung up along the river have changed the water flows in a way detrimental to these national parks, according to a report from the National Parks Conservation Association.

Canyonlands National Park

Needles District, copyright Tom Till, Tom Till Photography

Featured Photographer

Tom Till

Tom Till is one of America's most published photographers. Over 150,000 of his images have appeared in print since 1977. In 1998, Till opened the Tom Till Gallery in Moab, Utah. Till's images depict landscape, nature, history, and travel subjects worldwide, including all fifty states and nearly sixty countries overseas.

Till's stock photography images have been featured by National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times, Outside Magazine, Canon Copiers, Delta Airlines, The New Yorker Magazine, Life Magazine, Browntrout Calendars, Eastman Kodak, Reader's Digest, Rand McNally, MGM, Arizona Highways, Lonely Planet, and thousands of others.

An exhibit of his images of UNESCO World Heritage Sites has been traveling the world for almost three years, with stops in Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen, Geneva and Oslo, among others.
You can view more of Tom's work at Tom Till Photography.

Baked by time like some multi-layer geologic tort, Canyonlands in southeastern Utah features a landscape cut by canyons, rumpled by upthrusts, dimpled by grabens, and even pockmarked, some believe, by ancient asteroids.

Interior Department Issues Report That Looks At Climate-Change Impacts On Western River Basins

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 26, 2011 - 1:26am

Climate change is leading to a sizeable decrease in stream flows in the major river basins of the Southwest, declines that could impact recreation and wildlife in national parks such as Arches, Canyonlands, and Big Bend, according to an Interior Department report.