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Summer Special: Visiting National Parks by Train

Apr 5th - 12:29pm | Anonymous

Amtrak passes right through Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Or, you can transfer from Amtrak to the South Shore line in Chicago, Michigan City, or South Bend and the South Shore line has three stops in the park. Visitors from Europe often get to this park by train.

Summer Special: Windshield Touring in the Western Parks

Apr 5th - 11:31am | YLA

Great List.  We did Glacier & Yellowstone last summer.  The Going to the Sun Road was incredible, and at Yellowstone The Canyon and Lower & Upper Falls are a must see.  Heading to Arches next month, so we will follow your advice for sure.

Apr 4th - 13:38pm | Bob

Apr 4th - 12:54pm | Bob

Thanks for including the stop-and-walk options.  I'm always amazed how long people will sit in a car to *get* to the park, but then they're all rushed to "see everything" in an hour or two when they get there.

April Fool's Story On Cape Hatteras Not Funny To All Readers

Apr 5th - 11:21am | amazed

"You and the “Free and Open Access” people are more offended by ORV restrictions than pedestrian restrictions just count the “Free and Open” bummer stickers on ORVs compared to street vehicles if you don’t want to admit it"

Apr 5th - 10:13am | Southern Shores !

Amazed, I’m not against ORV use in the Park.  I’m just against ORV use most everywhere in the Park with the exception of a few token reservations for the non-ORV accessing visitor.

Apr 5th - 08:49am | amazed

seriously SS! that is your perspective and you are against ORV's on the beaches. Good job on the freedom of speech usage. “Free and Open Access” is also for pedestrians. We are also being closed out of the park.

Apr 5th - 08:13am | SS !

From my perspective the economic hardships created by the Consent Decree that was issued by a Federal Judge that all the parties agreed to is overstated, visit the Food Lion on Hatteras Island in the summer, it is packed with people.

Apr 4th - 19:56pm | Reality Check

The thing with satire is that it's usually done by someone that's separated from the real life pain.  That's the part that enrages.  From the enforcers that are doing their jobs (they have jobs) directed by those detached from the grounding reality.  All, except those being effected are secure in their positions and for the most part detached and can't relate.

Apr 4th - 17:27pm | flyer5000

Fine satire tends to enrage people when it treads close to the truth. "Humor is the good natured side of a truth." "Humor must not professedly teach, and it must not professedly preach, but it must do both if it would live forever." Samuel Clemens was a wise man indeed. He also has many other words describing some of the sour pusses above but I will refrain.

Apr 3rd - 20:30pm | Not the First N...

This is not the first time that an April Fool involving a National Park resource resulted in a backfire.  As described in Wikipedia:

Apr 3rd - 17:19pm | Crotalus

Or a Poe?

Apr 3rd - 13:06pm | justinh

Crotalus, I think Like-more-satire's posts were intended to be satirical.

Apr 3rd - 12:25pm | robschonk

Kim is right.  Hatteras Island folks are a caring, close knit group.  The Wounded Warriors program is just an example.  I've volunteered any spare bedrooms in my cottage and my (questionable) experience as a fishing guide and my SUV (if they are still allowed on the beach) to any Wounded Warrior who wants to take advantage of the program.

Apr 3rd - 12:01pm | Kim

http://www.islandfreepress.org/2011Archives/03.29.2011-CapeHatterasWoundedWarriorsVacationProjectGetsUnderway.html

Apr 3rd - 11:16am | Crotalus

James, Again, it doesn't matter what you want to call it. Laws and mandates prevent the NPS from allowing the free-for-all that has been the case for the past ~30 years. They must protect the resource - which includes the biotic and abiotic - for future generations.

Really Getting Away From It All: The Loneliest National Parks

Apr 5th - 03:58am | Jill

Sand Creek Massacre is a very important site, that has only recently been made a part of the NPS.  Only a few years ago it was nearly inaccessible to the general public, as it was still privately owned ranch land.  Last summer I visited it for the first time and was surprised twice:  First, that the Colorado Visitor Center in eastern Colorado had only a vague idea of where it was located; and s

Apr 4th - 19:54pm | Anonymous

Always looking for a place of serenity and rich history!

Apr 4th - 15:53pm | Kurt Repanshek

So, is the solitude the result of folks not knowing what exists in their backyards, or because of society's sedentary nature?

Apr 4th - 15:39pm | imtnbke

Ranger Bri said, "isn't it amazing to know that there are still places like Aniakchak, where we can still find complete solitude and wilderness."

Apr 4th - 14:36pm | y_p_w

Yeah - how does one count recreational visitation?  I took a look at Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park once.  I just went to the little display (the Rosie Memorial) in a city park in Richmond, California.  Most of the people there were simply sitting on the lawn and didn't seem all that interested in the display.

Apr 4th - 14:30pm | y_p_w

Bob Janiskee writes:

Apr 4th - 12:38pm | Me

Many ages ago I got mad at my parents and refused to get out of the car. They told me we were going to a National Park,  we went to some old house instead...

Apr 4th - 12:10pm | Anonymous

Thaddeus Kosciuszko and Thomas Stone, being American Revolution figures, may become more popular in 15 years when the 250th anniversary arrives. The Stone unit, IIRC, was conceived as part of a plan (wisely abandoned, IMO), to honor all signers of the Declaration of Independence with individual sites.

Apr 4th - 09:41am | Ranger Bri

There are so many things that affect visitation at our parks from year to year such as weather patterns, economy, special events, services & reconstruction.

Apr 4th - 06:02am | MRC

I don't mind the numbers for Aniakchak National Monument and the other Alaskan site. Those units are under the NPS cover mainly for protection, not for education or entertainment. Looking at some of the historical units with low to non existing visitation, I am temped to see things differently.

Apr 3rd - 22:39pm | Steve Nelson

Is there an advertising budget for the NPS?  Would there be a political uproar if one existed? 

Apr 3rd - 19:03pm | imtnbke

I occasionally mountain bike alongside the Eugene O'Neill Nat'l Historic Site, because it's on a forced detour route adjacent to the eastern border of Las Trampas Regional Wilderness in Danville, Calif.

Apr 3rd - 11:57am | Bob Janiskee

Sorry about the ambiguity, Bruce, but I'm afraid it comes with the territory. I've used  "corrective action" here in the conventional sense of the term. That is, a corrective action is  an action that eliminates the cause of a problem.

Apr 3rd - 11:54am | Rick B.

I think there can be a certain amount of "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it" in some of this. The number of people who can or chose to visit someplace has no bearing necessarily on the inherent value of preserving that place.

Apr 3rd - 11:08am | Lee Dalton

Excellent comment AnonymousD. I think I remember questions like that being asked many times when some areas were proposed for establishment.  American Samoa is one of those.  It was alleged that establishment of that unit was purely an attempt to boost tourism to an impoverished place that probably shouldn't even be part of the United States in any way.

Apr 3rd - 11:03am | rdm24

In an earlier post this week, you asked for "cultural parks that don't get enough love" (/2011/03/summer-special-ten-cultural-historical-parks-dont-get-enough-love7689) and the Olmstead site was the first that came to my mind!

Apr 3rd - 10:34am | AnonymousD

Good comments, Bruce.

Apr 3rd - 10:21am | Bruce

A serious comment, after pondering these of yours, Bob:

Apr 3rd - 10:02am | Bruce

Now, let's see why [color=#0000ff]Aniakchak National Monument & Aniakchak National Preserve[/color] was the next loneliest spot on the NPS map.

Summer Special: Paddling in the National Parks

Apr 5th - 02:10am | flyer5000

Drat my fat fingers on this mobile device. "Goosenecks", "Yampa".

Apr 4th - 18:47pm | tomp2

I agree with the vote for the San Juan River.  Part of my bucket list is to hike down Grand Gulch with an inflatable kayak, then float out the last 3 days to Lake Powell.

Apr 4th - 17:11pm | flyer5000

Here's a vote for the San Juan River section that begins on BLM land in the town of Mexican Hat but quickly passes into the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in the Goodenecks. The permit system is managed by the BLM but the river is managed cooperatively between the BLM, the NPS, and the Navajo Nation and patrolled by both the NPS and the BLM.

Trickle of Documents Highlights National Park Service's Mistakes In Hubbell Trading Post Investigation

Apr 4th - 19:51pm | Hank Blair

This important book etches a profile of the banality of evil. At its center is a National Park Service that has lost its moral compass. Corruption eats away at this once venerable institution because supposed guardians of the public interest instead pursue petty advantage and tolerate injustice.

Business Survey On Cape Hatteras National Seashore ORV Management Plan's Impacts Points to Uncertainty

Apr 4th - 17:32pm | Anonymous

Perhaps the NPS can learn a thing or two from the State of Delaware Parks.  SOME areas are restricted because of the birds, but there is always a place to surf fish 365 days a year.   Banning ORV would ruin the beach experience and destroy the tourism in certain resort areas. That, is just  bird-brained.

Yellowstone National Park's Wolf Population Down More than 25 Percent

Apr 4th - 15:23pm | noah

There are some wolfs getting out of the park and the people who live of the wiled the wolfs are killing there food we need to prevent this from doing this i agree with junior selby they NEED TO GO

Apr 4th - 14:44pm | Junior Selby

This is our problem we need to get rid of the wolves they are out of control. The people that like them it's ok but they are becoming a huge problem. They need to go they're killing the elk and a lot of other animals. THEY NEED TO GO!!!

The World's Top Ten National Parks

Apr 4th - 14:31pm | M. Hamed

Dinder National Park,  park, eastern Sudan. The park lies in the clayish flood plain of the Nahr (river) ad-Dindar and Nahr ar-Rahad, at an elevation of 2,300 to 2,600 ft (700 to 800 m). Established in 1935, it covers an area of 2,750

Civil War-Related National Parks Schedule Commemorative Events for Civil War 150th Anniversary

Apr 4th - 13:23pm | Anonymous

NPS.gov/CivilWar is no longer online. It has been replaced by NPS.gov/cw150.

Gettysburg National Military Park Moving Into Blogging To Commemorate Civil War

Apr 4th - 12:40pm | Anonymous

The Eppley Institute, in partnership with the National Park Service, just released a free e-course on the causes of the Civil War.   You can find it here: http://eppley.org/elearning/interpretation-1/civil-war

Legislation Introduced To Add 7,200 Acres To Petersburg National Battlefield

Apr 4th - 12:13pm | Anonymous

What specific battlefields might be added to the park if this were enacted?

Congress Slashes $101 Million From National Park Service Budget. More To Come?

Apr 4th - 12:05pm | Reality Check

I would GLADLY (if it were my decision) put the $101 million back in the NPS budget if just this one tax payer funded gift be returned.  The $2 BILLION gift to government & corporate unions to pay for early retiree's healthcare in exchange for supporting Obamacare.  There is so much out there that just stinks and it's getting on NPS.

Four Ranger-Guided Backcountry Hikes Reveal More Of The Wonders At Mesa Verde National Park

Apr 4th - 10:40am | urbanmountainman

THANK YOU for posting!!! We're in Mesa Verde June 16th, talking to the wifey now about it

Apr 3rd - 11:17am | Lee Dalton

I certainly have some mixed feelings about charging visitors to participate in interpretive programs, but guess it's something that we'll see more and more of as funding is cut.

South Kaibab Trail Repaired in Grand Canyon National Park, Mule Use To Resume

Apr 3rd - 13:46pm | Good News

The comments here seem pretty sparse.  This is good news folks, in a lot of ways!  Hope the twisted premise that caused so much trouble throughout the EA process can be laid to rest at some point.  There are no Piping Plovers nor Spotted Owls nesting on this trail :). 

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.