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Commentary: How Do You Prefer National Parks, Utilitarian, or Utopian?

Sep 30th - 12:05pm | Anonymous

My vision of the parks would retain as much of the "wild and untouched" landscape as possible. This wouldn't necessarily preclude interpretive centers and should include disabled access to the most popular areas within reason. Certainly we can reduce traffic and increase access by busing groups through. Whether any park should include ORV activity - that's a topic with which I take issue.

Sep 30th - 09:43am | Sparko

I do wholeheartedly agree with you...The offroad enthusiasts have already destroyed the Mojave desert...Snowmobiles up north, jetboats in the lakes, rivers and oceans - blah blah blah...Where are we to go?

Reader Participation Day: Help Us Name the Best Adventures In the National Park System, Lower 48 Edition

Sep 30th - 11:12am | pkrnger

A few experiences come immediately to mind: (1) Signing out for and hiking the 1 mile ledge trail behind Curry Village to the top of Glacier Point.

Sep 30th - 00:56am | Rick B.

Oh - and snorkeling the underwater nature trail at Buck Island Reef National Monument in the Virgin Islands. When a memory sticks with you for 30 years, it's a good one.

Sep 30th - 00:15am | Meg

Here's one that's not so strenuous -- watching Grand Geyser in Yellowstone. I've sat and waited for it for four hours before and never regretted a moment.

Sep 29th - 23:03pm | tahoma

Great topic, Kurt; lots of fine suggestions! I especially like the examples from the areas east of the Rockies that I'm not familiar with. Amoung those previously mentioned, my western favorites are the Green River paddle, the Zion slots, and anywhere off the tourist trails in Grand Canyon. Here's a few of the best adventures in our Northwest parks:

Sep 29th - 22:08pm | Sabattis

Lots of great nominees here. I tried to come up with some other not-yet-mentioned adventures that are either at some less-famous Parks or are less-obvious adventures than, say, climbing Mt. Rainier or climbing Mt. McKinley in Sequoia NP: - white-water rafting in Gauley National Recreation Area on an autumn dam-release day

Sep 29th - 21:36pm | smokeylover49

Hiking in the rain forest in Olympic National Park - awesome!!!

Sep 29th - 20:56pm | Anon

4-wheeling on the north rim of Grand Canyon out to Point Sublime. Snowshoeing at Crater Lake. Early morning walk up to Mount Rushmore. Nothing like having a little of those great places all to yourself.

Sep 29th - 19:21pm | Jon Merryman

Ok, on a serious note, I'd put snorkeling at Dry Tortugas NP, around Fort Jefferson and amidst the surrounding reefs, barrier islands, and shipwrecks. Really makes you have second thoughts about your position on the food chain.

Sep 29th - 18:27pm | Anonymous

Hiking the Panorama Trail in Yosemite

Sep 29th - 18:16pm | Island Paddler

Canoeing the Green River through Canyonlands National Park. It's my all time number one vacation.

Sep 29th - 17:22pm | Rick Smith

Or hiking down Tenaya Canyon in Yosemite? Rick

Sep 29th - 17:21pm | Rick Smith

How about the Subway in Zion? Rick

Sep 29th - 16:55pm | Kurt Repanshek

Great choice, Catherine. But, alas, BWWCA is not in the National Park System....though perhaps it should be!

Sep 29th - 16:51pm | Catherine Clark

Camping on an island in the BWWCA - Boundary Waters Wildnerness Camping - in Northern Minnesota going out of Grand Marais off the Gunflint Trail. Even better is camping off Cache Bay in Canada.

Sep 29th - 15:30pm | Jon Merryman

I had planned a hike down the cliffs at Kalaupapa NHP in Hawaii but my business trip was cancelled at the last minute. It's still on my to-do list and I'm sure it will make the Alaska-Hawaii version of this exercise.

Sep 29th - 14:36pm | Kurt Repanshek

Why just the Lower 48? Alaska and Hawaii deserve a category of their own, don't you think?;-)

Sep 29th - 14:31pm | Cornell

There are many that could fit into this category; but, the one that stands out the most is the overnight mule trip into the Grand Canyon, having enough time before dinner to take a short hike before dinner, and spending the night at Phantom Ranch. Is there some reason that you limited this to the lower 48?

Sep 29th - 12:32pm | Anonymous

you need to hike to angels landing or at least scouts lookout

Sep 29th - 12:25pm | Tom

Summiting Longs Peak 14 Or any 14er except evans for that matter Zion Full Length of Narrows of the Virgin in one day Appalachian trail Any or all of it. Grand Canyon Camping at Crazy Jug Or Rim to Rim Mules( I could go on) Yosemite Falls When the park flooding is low enough to open

Sep 29th - 12:14pm | Jim d

Any trail on Isle Royale NP or a horsepack trip up Lamar River in Yellowstone which we just did last month awesome!!

Interior Secretary Salazar Issues "Scientific Integrity" Order

Sep 30th - 10:51am | Kurt Repanshek

YNP4everyone, You are right that another judge, in this case U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer, did indicate he would rule contrary to how Judge Sullivan did. However, does that not lend credence to the contention that politics trumps good science?

Sep 30th - 10:14am | pkrnger

This is very good news. Something needs to be put into place to prevent government-sponsored science from being politically manipulated to discourage inconvenient truths from reaching the general public (let alone the peer-reviewed scientific literature or Congress). In fact, I would surmise that in order for a Democracy to function properly, there must be integrity of information.

Sep 30th - 09:54am | YNP4everyone

All the 2 stroke snowmobiles that were banned from Yellowstone during the Clinton administration continue to be banned today. The ones allowed now weren't even produced at the period of time. The Arctic Cat has used an small automobile engine that is allowed in the park on wheels and on tracks. How can an engine be allowed in the park on wheels but not on tracks?

Sep 30th - 08:56am | Nate

This must be why the Obama DOI bizarrely continues to deny Greater Sage-Grouse or American Pika, among others, endangered species act protections. Or why they keep lowering the bar set by the awful Bush Administration with regard to funding and enforcement of the ESA. It's "science".

Survey of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Visitors Points to Need For More Rangers, More Funding, Better Access

Sep 30th - 10:33am | MikeD

Their visitors center is a joint one with local governments. In fact, federal staff are apparently prohibited from putting up exhibits there. There is/was a bill to change this, but I'm not sure what its current status is:

Sep 30th - 09:59am | Terry Oldes

I was at the Dunes last weekend and was very impressed by a ranger led tour of Indiana's only bog, quite a long ways from the main dunes area (10-20 miles in fact). It was only open one day a month and if the ranger hadn't been there I would have probably been underwhelmed, not really knowing what I was viewing.

Death Valley National Park Working To Protect Fish That Live in 90-Degree Hot Spring

Sep 30th - 10:31am | Jamie Edelman

This is amazing, a fish that has no migratory routes and sustains itself in such a contained area, I am sure there is much to be learned by this species, It would be the most foolish thing ever if they allowed anyone to harm this very special, micro-climate.

Search in Joshua Tree National Park Continues For Missing Californian

Sep 30th - 10:18am | Connie Hopkins

Sadly, every time I read stories like this, it re-emphasizes to me the importance of hiking with someone else! I certainly hope this has a good ending.

Sep 30th - 09:55am | MikeD

So perhaps he headed off the trail to get a view or for some other reason? Amazing how easy it is to get lost. I read a book called "Lost in the Wild" about 2 such occasions in/near the Boundary Waters area of Minnesota (near Voyageurs NP). Interesting read, especially to get sort of an in depth look of how these searches take place and one of the stories is pretty compelling.

Visitor Survey: Grand Teton National Park

Sep 30th - 09:50am | MikeD

I wonder if any of the trend is a more general trend of younger, working people favoring "staycations" as opposed to heading out to a remote part of the country. Part of this would be due to the economy, of course, which presumably hasn't hit retirees with pensions, etc... quite as hard. Just a thought.

Sep 30th - 08:14am | Kurt Repanshek

I would agree that the main reason folks head to Grand Teton is to look at the mountains, but am not ready to get entirely behind your argument, MRC. The park map very clearly points out the "Cunningham Cabin Historic Site" as well as "Menor's Ferry Historic District" and even lists Mormon Row, though says nothing to indicate its historic nature.

Sep 30th - 07:18am | MRC

Well, the historic sites are totally unknown to first-time visitors. So it comes at no surprise to me that those visitors don't rate their importance as high. Who knows about Mormon Row even among the readers of this blog and of this article? Who's been there?

National Park Mystery Spot 16 Revealed

Sep 30th - 05:45am | Jon Merryman

Yet another poorly worded sign. NUDE SUNBATHING PERMITTED BEYOND THIS POINT would have been more direct and less susceptible to misinterpretation. This sign gives permission to confront them if I so desire.

National Park Service Ships Historic Railroad Cars to East Troy Electric Railroad

Sep 29th - 21:59pm | PM

I visited the Illinois Railway Museum a couple of years ago. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in railroading.

Fall Into Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone Kills California Woman

Sep 29th - 21:42pm | Anonymous

Yes, three years later... I miss you Charlotte so much. I'm so sorry you died and I will always love you. You will always be in my heart.

National Park Mystery Spot 16: Shuck Your Clothes

Sep 29th - 17:19pm | Doug

It is our goal to see all the National Parks. We are on our 4 or 5 National Park Passport book and hope to complete both of them by the end of 2012. The only one I can think of that we may miss is on Guam. But the mystery beach is a new one. I was not aware the NPS allowed nude beaches. I'll have to check this out personally, Ha, Ha.

Sep 29th - 15:51pm | Anonymous

The small number of naturists at Gunnison pales in comparison to the thousands that can be found on Lighthouse Beach at Fire Island NS on a hot summer Saturday.

Sep 29th - 11:10am | Bob Janiskee

Not Baker Beach, Anon, but Baker Beach is indeed one of several beaches in the San Francisco area that informally allow clothing optional sunbathing. The clothing optional section of Baker Beach is the northern end. I've conducted research there.

Debris of Plane Missing Over Katmai National Park and Preserve Spotted, No Survivors Seen

Sep 29th - 15:24pm | Connie Hopkins

so sad.... so many of us were hoping this would have a happy ending...

Study Shows that Dirty Snow Reduces Colorado River Runoff

Sep 29th - 15:07pm | Bob Janiskee

The press release and abstract don't mention OHVs, Mike, but we can assume that OHV use is a contributing factor. I haven't seen the full article. Copies (pdf format) are available at this site for ten bucks each.

Sep 29th - 14:43pm | Mike Painter

Was there any discussion of soil disturbance by OHVs as being a contributing factor?

Missing From the System? Valles Caldera National Preserve

Sep 29th - 13:53pm | Jon Merryman

Visited the caldera in 2007 and was pleasantly suprised to see a place in such pristine condition that wasn't already part of the National Park system. There are a lot of competing interests taking place there now (agriculture, hunting, etc.) that would have to continue for people to be agreeable. So the Preserve label seems to suit it better than "National Park".

Sep 29th - 11:49am | lylec

I revisited the Caldera in Sept 2010, after not being in NM for 8 yrs. I am still captivated by the beauty of the Jemez Mountains and surrounding area. Although my previous visits (4) were relatively short term, 3- 6 days apiece, I have managed to walk and fish in reasonably uncrowded conditions in the caldera.

Sep 29th - 11:49am | lylec

I revisited the Caldera in Sept 2010, after not being in NM for 8 yrs. I am still captivated by the beauty of the Jemez Mountains and surrounding area. Although my previous visits (4) were relatively short term, 3- 6 days apiece, I have managed to walk and fish in reasonably uncrowded conditions in the caldera.

Big Bend National Park Helps Protect Night Skies. You Can, Too—Here's How!

Sep 29th - 13:04pm | Anonymous

thats amazing that its that much of a change in the glare form artificial lighting! =] I love the new lighting systems that are appearing. <3

Decision to Ban ATVs from Little River Canyon National Preserve Rankles Alabama Legislator

Sep 29th - 12:50pm | Anonymous

Good. The ATVs just tear up the environment and disturb wildlife.

Legislation Would Allow Small Hydro-generation Operation in Denali National Park and Preserve

Sep 29th - 12:24pm | Kurt Repanshek

Perhaps that's why the land swap is required, Marco.

Sep 29th - 12:13pm | Marco Garcia

Putting a 50 watt generator will require NEPA approval. Congress can not side step this procedure to hurry along a project, especially if Lisa Murkowski is backing it.

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