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National Park Search and Rescue: Should the Rescued Help Pay the Bills?

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on May 12, 2008 - 11:03am

A two-week search for a missing hiker in Yosemite National Park. A search for a missing snowshoer on Mount Rainier. Recovery of bodies from climbing accidents in Grand Teton National Park. A week-long, and unsuccessful, search for a missing 8-year-old at Crater Lake National Park. Each year, thousands of search-and-rescue missions cost the National Park Service millions of dollars. And each year the agency eats the costs.

Vet Removes Snare From Neck of Wolf in Denali National Park and Preserve

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on May 5, 2008 - 1:58pm

A volunteer effort has been able to remove a trapper's snare from around the neck of a wolf in Denali National Park and Preserve. Unfortunately, a second wolf that also was caught up in a snare has not been seen.

Traveler’s Delightful Dozen: Windshield Touring Trips in the National Park System

Submitted by Bob Janiskee on May 4, 2008 - 2:43am

We love our cars, we love our parks, and we love to drive our cars in the parks. Well, at least when the traffic isn’t too bad, and we really don’t mind just going along for the ride. The windshield touring season is nearly here, so it’s time to start thinking about park trips. All of the national parkways are recommended. Here are a dozen other traverses, loops, and shuttles that belong on your short list.

Snared Wolves At Denali National Park and Preserve Cast Ugly Shadow on Trappers

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 25, 2008 - 7:44am

Wolf trapping that went wrong has left two wolves with snares cinched around their necks roaming Denali National Park and Preserve just as tourist season is about to arrive.

Traveler's Top 10 Picks For Movies Involving National Parks

Submitted by Bob Janiskee on April 23, 2008 - 9:40am

Dozens of movies have depicted actors and actresses cavorting, romancing, running, hiding, fighting, and yes, even dying in national parks or places destined to become national parks. Here are ten of Traveler's favorite movies with a national park connection of some sort. Note that we don’t restrict the field to films shot on location in parks.

Online Registration Possible For Climbing in Denali National Park

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 15, 2008 - 10:04am

Beginning the planning for a climb of Mount McKinley or Mount Foraker in Denali National Park and Preserve is just a click away, thanks to an online registration program launched by the National Park Service.

Who Visits Alaska's National Parks?

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 2, 2008 - 3:10am

Even though the world as a whole is getting smaller and smaller, Alaska still manages to cast an image of being that rugged land far, far away to the north. And yet, quite a few folks are managing to head to Alaska to visit the national parks there.

Denali National Park and Preserve Holiday Ornament

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By Kurt Repanshek

Twenty-seven Years Ago, Eight National Parks Came to Be

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on December 2, 2007 - 3:30am

Never before have, and probably never again will, so many national parks come into existence on the same date. Given birth by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act were Denali, Gates of Arctic, Glacier Bay, Katmai, Kenai Fjords, Kobuk Valley, Lake Clark and Wrangell-St. Elias national parks.

A Springtime Visit to Denali National Park and Preserve: Is It For You?

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on October 30, 2007 - 1:36pm

Denali National Park and Preserve, with its soaring mountains, rushing rivers, and wildlife menagerie of moose, wolves, caribou, wolves, bears and more, is one of those tantalizing destinations within the national park system. Rooted in Alaska only 300 miles south of the Arctic Circle, it can seem almost mythical to those in the Lower 48 who don't normally roam far afield.

Marketing Alaska's National Parks; Why Not All National Parks?

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on September 5, 2007 - 6:52pm

I hate jumping to conclusions. But that apparently is exactly what I did when I surmised that the proposed $1.5 million centennial project involving the Alaska Travel Industry Association would benefit the cruise-ship industry more than the parks.

Climate Change in Alaska Opens Window to the Past

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on July 14, 2007 - 8:17am

Warming temperatures are remaking the Alaskan landscape. Sea ice is shrinking, permafrost is melting, glaciers are retreating, polar bears are changing their habits. In Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the warming trend is opening a window into the past, as melting glaciers are revealing artifacts from both the somewhat recent past and prehistoric cultures.

Backcountry Bear Basics

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on January 10, 2007 - 2:34pm

One of the most direct books I've read on avoiding bears in the backcountry is Dave Smith's Backcountry Bear Basics, which just came out in its second edition.