You are here

All Recent Comments

The Most Remote Outhouse In The Lower 48

Sep 15th - 10:09am | Bob Pahre

Thanks for the link Rob - I'd love to get to the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.

Reader Participation Day: Best National Park Campgrounds

Sep 14th - 15:13pm | A. Johnson

Yes ,the Needles CG at Canyonlands is great, but I think the Willow Flats CG in the Island Dist. is even better, with numerous overlooks just down the road.  It is FC, FS though.

Sep 14th - 07:03am | Loui

Doughton Park campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway may be the best in the East.  Huge grassy sites and The Bluff's Restaurant is right down the road.

Sep 13th - 16:47pm | Clean Hiker

St Mary Campground out in Glacier NP stood out to me as a campground with a brand shower facilities. Not just that, but it was extremely clean, and free! Free Showers in NPS campgrounds are hard to come by so this stood out to me, not to mention that the campground is located in Glacier NP and the scenery goes without saying.

Sep 13th - 14:20pm | y_p_w

As someone who has camped at Yosemite - that place is a zoo.  I've stayed in several campgrounds in Yosemite Valley, including Upper Pines and the old backpackers campground near North Pines.  For the most part, sites are all poorly defined where there's the chance that your neighbor is encroaching on your space.

Sep 13th - 13:09pm | Gila Monster

I really enjoyed Butte Lake Campground at Lassen Volcanic NP. Towering trees above us, no paved road for miles, easy access to fantastic hikes to Cinder Cone and the Fantastic Lava Beds. Loved it.    

The Challenges Of Recreation.gov

Sep 12th - 22:34pm |

Don't you guys get it.  It's a surveillance tracking system that keeps the history of everything you've done anywhere with Reserveamerica, builds a profile and sells the profiles back to the gov.  It's just facebook for parks.

Which Is More Hazardous To Yellowstone Visitors, Wildlife Or Hot Springs?

Sep 12th - 20:54pm | Barry Shelley

The most hazardous thing to Yellowstone visitors is their own stupidity and ignoring National Park warnings and regulations!

National Park Service Proposes To Raze Old Buildings At Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Sep 12th - 15:03pm | Bob Apfel

Agreed. These buildings did not exist at the time of the civil war and have no relevance whatsoever to the historical mission of preserving the structures then existing in order to capture the physical reality of the place as it existed at that time.

Sep 12th - 14:34pm | Mark R.

If we are going to "Preserve the Battlefield" then we need to dig out all the dirt that was dug off the school house ridge battlefield and used to build the rout 340 ramp up Alstadts Hill. Then put it all back on the battlefield where it came from. The Park seems to forget that this happened.

Sep 12th - 14:32pm | Mark R.

"The Parks Role"? The fact that the buildings, or any structure, were put in after the civil war or 1906 is not relevent. The historic nature of any structure should be considered and preseved. They should be preserved in some way because they are part of history. But the Harpers Ferry Park has made nothing but terribler mistakes over the years.

Sep 11th - 07:58am | M X S

 I have been to Harpers Ferry 3 times and have hiked that area. Any buildings post Civil War without any other cultural or historical significance should be removed. This park is rich in American history and is wonderfully told through the buildings and park employees.

Sep 10th - 17:19pm | Leo p

Exactly 

Sep 10th - 17:07pm | Ntx

These buildings all were built after the Civil War. They are not historically significants.

Sep 10th - 16:30pm | Zachary Salman

It's unfortunate to see old structures come down, but it makes sense here. Because Harpers Ferry's significance is the period of the Civil War, that's the story it's telling. If the goal is to tell a story through experiencing the place where it happened, then anything that's outside the scope of that story is harder to justify putting finite resources into.

Sep 10th - 16:03pm | RG

They're not of the historical era though.  They're also unsafe.

Sep 10th - 16:02pm | DM

The title of this article seems to be deliberately misleading ("clickbait").  Replace the modifier "old" with "out of era" to be more transparent. The point has been rightly made:. Building that are not from the historical era of interest, and which are unsafe, need to be removed.  This will enhance the historical site.  Get on with this good work.

Sep 10th - 10:38am | T.L. Murphy

The NPS should preserve the Civil War Era buildings in Harper's Ferry and not buildings built in the 1920s. Harper's Ferry changed hands 6 times during the Civil War in the 1860s and was the scene of John Brown's Raid in the late 1850s. The 5 buildings built in the 1920s should be torn down. They are an eyesore and potentially dangerous when they collapse.

Sep 10th - 10:12am | Victoria English

I agree with tearing down the structures. As everyone else has mentioned, these are not from the era the park was established to commemorate and actually obscure part of the historical landscape. Plus, their is dangerous for anyone exploring the area. 

Sep 10th - 08:23am | Gail Mackiernan

These structures, while old, are not from the era that the Park was established to commemorate. In fact, their presence interferes with  that mission as they occupy hallowed ground over which men fought and bled  And since they also present a hazard to the public, they should go. NPS funds are too scarce to be spent on restoring structures not present during the Civil War.

Sep 10th - 07:38am | Philip C

As an avid repeat visitor to Harpers Ferry for hiking, I applaud the removal of 20th Century derelict buildings from the site. Schoolhouse Ridge is famous as the Confederate line during the Battle of Bolivar Heights, and the removal of structures that were not present in the 1860s is actually a form of historic preservation and renewal.

Sep 10th - 07:12am | Cb

These historical buildings should be PRESERVED, not torn down!

Sep 10th - 05:46am | Les Kobrandon

The headline of the article should be " Park service to Erase old buildings" like they want to do with all of our history. 

Sep 9th - 14:26pm | Dave Parrish

I second that.

Sep 8th - 10:02am | Kurt Repanshek

The historical park was established to commemorate "important events and issues related to John Brown, the Civil War, and Storer College, the only institution of higher education available to Black people in West Virginia prior to 1891."https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/270

Sep 8th - 09:49am | A. Johnson

A NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK is tearing down historical structures.  Hmmm. And still many--many right here on NPT--advocate for the NPS to acquire more properrties to manage as parks! Until the NPS can get its act together, and meet its statutory oblgation to PRESERVE its properties, there should be no more funding incresses or property acquisitions.    Enough.

Reader Participation Day: What Was Your Most Unique Lodging Experience?

Sep 11th - 20:46pm | J. Sequoia

Bearpaw Meadow High Sierra Camp was always the concessionaire's responsibility, NPS had nothing to do with it.   Wonder if DNC trademarked the name, wouldn't surprise me the least.

Sep 11th - 20:15pm | y_p_w

J. Sequoia: Delaware North is the concessionaire for Sequoia NP, so i'm thinking nothing ever gets done in rebuilding it.

Sep 11th - 07:13am | J. Sequoia

Bearpaw Meadow High Sierra Cmp was wonderful, and sadly I say that in retrospect as the last season was 2018, for the heavy winter of 2019 damaged some buildings, Covid close it down from 2020-22, and the winter of record destroyed the remainder of the the 6 tent cabin platforms along with the dining hall/kitchen.

Sep 8th - 19:30pm | y_p_w

Another thing is that one doesn't necessarily have to stay at a national park lodge in order to experience and appreciate it.  I've certainly entered some of these building and even had lunch or dinner.  I don't think I've ever been to one east of the Rockies.

Sep 8th - 16:56pm | y_p_w

We didn't stay at the Lake Hotel, but did stay in the Lake Lodge cabins maybe 40 years ago.  Again - way past the statute of limitations but we crowded way too many people in there with sleeping bags.  The lodge building was nice and had several movie nights.

Sep 8th - 06:50am | Diane Morello

When we journeyed to Yellowstone in 2018, we were fortunate to get a three-night reservation at Lake Hotel, lake-side view. What a lovely hotel, stunning views, beautiful boardwalk, great restaurant, computer room.

Sep 8th - 00:35am | y_p_w

Mari Fekete: Most park visits have been in our own tent or trailer.  There is nothing like waking in the morning to the sun shadows on the cliffs at Zion.

Sep 7th - 20:02pm | Mari Fekete

Most park visits have been in our own tent or trailer.  There is nothing like waking in the morning to the sun shadows on the cliffs at Zion.

Sep 7th - 19:26pm | John D

My wife and I stayed at the Blue Ridge Parkway's Rocky Knob Cabins a few years before they closed. Very small, rustic, and quaint. 

Sep 7th - 18:44pm | Kay Murphy

Have stayed at the Volcano House at Hawaii Volcanoes NP watching Kilauea through the night. Camped in Denali at the Teklanika Campground. I also stayed at the Back Country Lodge at Wonder Lake In Denali. Mammoth Hot Springs and the Old Faithful Lodge in the winter, as well as the Lamar Buffalo Ranch in Yellowstone.

Sep 7th - 16:12pm | y_p_w

I enjoyed Bryce Canyon Lodge, although it was relatively expensive compared to other places I stayed on that trip.  I guess it's way past the statute of limitations, but we snuck in our own alcohol into Utah and was drinking a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on the front porch of our Bryce Canyon cabin.

Sep 7th - 12:41pm | john928gt

Spent the night at the Granite Park Chalet in Glacier National Park on an over night hike from Logan Pass to SwiftCurrent with my then 15 year old daughter. Basics accommodations, but watching the night sky, the sunrise shadows on the mountain range and seeing the mule pack bring supplies was one of many wonderful memories of that trip.  

Sep 7th - 11:14am | Gila Monster

So many to choose from. How do you compare getting visited by a moose right in front of our window at Isle Royale's Rock Harbor housekeeping cabins with a Mount Rainier Inn room where you witnessed a stunning Alpenglow sunset? Unforgettable experiences. Speaking of sunsets, the one at Kalaloch Lodge was amazing, too. I loved the atmospheric Historic Cottages at Mammoth Cave as well.

Sep 7th - 09:11am | Kelly Angstadt

My daughter and I were lucky to be able to stay 4 nights in the Fred Harvey Suite in El Tovar at the Grand Canyon in 2021. It was amazing! The deck overlooking the canyon - we ordered room service for most every meal and ate on the picnic table while enjoying the views. We also LOVE LOVE LOVED the rooms without private bath in the Old House at Old Faithful Inn.

Reopening Of Death Valley National Park Will Take Time

Sep 10th - 16:13pm | BH

I'm really sorry to hear about the damage. I'm visiting from the UK in October and had planned to be in Death Valley on 11th-13th October - is there any chance anything will be open by then? Thanks

Sep 5th - 19:53pm | Abby Wines (Dea...

Joshua Tree got a lot less damage.  Here in Death Valley, we can't promise, but hope to have some sections open by Thankgiving. Caltrans is targeting fully opening CA-190 by December 1, with segments opening earlier.

Sep 5th - 19:51pm | Abby Wines (Dea...

It's too early to know. The Caltrans contractor is working from Death Valley Junction towards Towne Pass. Meanwhile, another contractor is working from US-395 to Towne Pass. Caltrans is targeting having CA-190 fully open by December 1, but are likely to open segments earlier than that. So, a solid "maybe" that the '49er Encampment can happen in early November.

Sep 5th - 19:48pm | Abby Wines (par...

I don't know when Caltrans will be able ot reopen CA-190 to the junction with Dantes View, but NPS crews are currently working on Dantes View Road. It was one of the few with only light damage. It will open when the adjoining part of 190 opens. Thanks for your patience!

The Gate Lodges Of Acadia National Park: Rockefeller's Little Castles

Sep 10th - 09:05am | Jim Boyd

I've always loved the carraige houses and had met someone who spent part of his childhood in the jordan pond gatehouse. You mentioned Walter Damrosch. did you know he is buried in Bar Harbor?   All the Best

Sun Shades Designed To Protect Corals From Ocean Heat Wave

Sep 10th - 08:52am | ecbuck

Sillyness.   https://reefbuilders.com/2022/08/06/great-barrier-reef-records-highest-h...

Dozens Of Conservation Groups Oppose eBikes On Non-Motorized Trails

Sep 8th - 15:47pm | ML

This is such horse pucky. I invite this older "disabled" woman to try to walk on any Montana trail on weekends or holidays.

Where Will You Retire? Imagine How Ideal That Destination Would Be If It Had A National Park In The Backyard

Sep 7th - 19:25pm | Muhammad Azam

I know this is old posting but we find ourselves in similar situation .... how can I find a good real estate agent?

Biden Administration Cancels Seven Oil And Gas Leases In Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Sep 7th - 16:44pm | A. Johnson

The Gwitchin don't actually live on ANWR, although they do hunt caribou on ANWR.   Maybe we should listen to the Inupiaq who do live on ANWR and many, if not most, of whom support oil development on ANWR.  Many Inupiac  and TESTIFIED in support of the leases.  Why have their voices been ignored?

Sep 7th - 16:33pm | A. Johnson

Clearly, Biden's executive action violates federal law.  The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, as duly enacted--the LAW REQUIRED no fewer than 2 lease sales of no less than 400,000 acres each along the coastal plain of ANWR.   The first sale was in Jan. of 2021 and the next  before Jan. of 2024.  

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.