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National Park Service Denies Request for Bridge Across St. Croix River Between Minnesota and Wisconsin

Oct 19th - 07:39am | Jon Merryman

We have completely lost the ability to make compromise in this country. Make it a tunnel and keep the river wild and scenic in perpetuity. Looks like they already have a problem though, with a power plant (?) stinking up the view.

Reader Participation Day: Which National Park Is Your Favorite For Fall Colors?

Oct 18th - 23:35pm | Bogator

My wife and I have travelled through all of the major areas of the US in the fall, and, as far as National Parks are concerned, it is a toss-up between Shenandoah NP and Great Smokey Mountains NP. In fact, almost any NPS site in the Appalachian Mountains would qualify. Yes, the Aspens in the Western Parks are gorgeous, but they just don't have the variety of color that the Eastern parks have.

Visitor Survey: Bryce Canyon National Park

Oct 18th - 21:50pm | Trout Black

The last time I visited Bryce, four years ago, I guided four friends to Sunset Point for the sunrise. It was late April; there was still a good bit of snow. A little before the sun rose, we were greeted by a hovering, VERY LOUD ! TOURIST HELICOPTER !, whose presence impaled the experience for us, as well as for a busload of visitors from Japan.

Oct 16th - 19:23pm | y_p_w

Susan L.:

Oct 16th - 13:16pm | Susan L.

Bryce Canyon isn't a popular park for some reason, but to me, it's the most beautiful place on the face of the earth! The orangey-red hoodoos look even more beautiful in contrast to the most brilliant blue skies overhead. The blue sky is only rivaled by the sapphire blue of Crater Lake. Hiking there is usually not crowded, though I haven't been in a few years.

Oct 16th - 11:14am | Simone Cannon d...

This park was a lovely surprise. My husband and I planned on visiting a cluster of parks in this area, but didn't include Bryce on our route. However, so many people suggested that we visit, that we detoured and arrived right after a light snowfall. The red colored rocks were iced in shining snow and, as it was out of season, we had the park almost to ourselves.

Traveler's Checklist: Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Oct 18th - 21:08pm | Bob Janiskee

With thanks to Ranger Lana, the typos have been fixed. As Kurt has pointed out, the spelunkers criticism was uncalled for (you simply failed to read the sentence carefully).

Oct 18th - 12:29pm | Kurt Repanshek

Thanks for the additional notes, Ranger Lana. There seems to be some debate over the length of Lechuguilla Cave, however. While you say it's the third longest in the U.S., other sources list it as fourth.

Oct 18th - 11:32am | Ranger Lana

You need to double check your facts. The Natural Entrance is only about 1.3 miles, not 3. Carlsbad Caverns isn't the 3rd longest cave in the US; it's only about 30 known miles. Lechuguilla Cave is over 100 known miles and is the 3rd longest cave in the US (5th longest in the world).

Oct 18th - 08:14am | pkrnger

My preference is to visit in winter, when you will have this underground art gallery for yourselves (mostly). What makes this park experience so memorable is the underground quiet and the strategically placed shielded dim lights. Take the self-guiding "Natural Entrance" tour for starters.

Watch For Hunters Passing Through National Parks This Fall

Oct 18th - 17:25pm | Jon Merryman

Recently visited Breaks State Park in Virginia where bringing any sort of firearms into the park is strictly prohibited. So Virginia, the gun-lover's answer to east coast living, allows firearms in national parks but not in their own state parks. Go figure.

Velma Melmac Has Left Yosemite, Never to Return

Oct 18th - 16:08pm | Laurel

Thank you for rekindling my fond memories of Farley and of Phil Frank, Bob! I was lucky enough to work with Phil on several projects when he served on the Yosemite Association's board of directors. One day he called me out of the blue and started asking me all sorts of questions about the YNP Arch Rock Entrance kiosk, which was just a few miles up the highway from our office.

Oct 18th - 14:24pm | y_p_w

My favorite strip from the series was when Alphone the bear (a huge San Francisco Giants fan) had serious doubts about whether or not he should root for the Oakland Athletics. At the time they had the better team, the better stadium, and **gasp** better stadium food.

Oct 18th - 08:06am | Lee Dalton

Few people know that virtually all of Velma's descendants are now Republican members of Utah's state legislature.

Washington Man Dies After Encounter With Mountain Goat in Olympic National Park

Oct 18th - 15:46pm | Anonymous

Nothing like killing something because it was protecting what it thought was it's home. If the animal aggressively went into this gentleman's domain, I can see it. But it didn't. It's just wrong that the animals to blame yet when someone goes in the park and kills an animal they get a slap on the hand. Somethings really wrong with that.

Oct 18th - 14:46pm | Anonymous

My wife and I encountered the same goat over the July 4th weekend in 2007. The Park Service had a sign at the trailhead about "agressive goat on the trail, throw rocks/sticks/yell at him if he attacks". He was indeed very agressive and chasing some hikers. The hikers were just walking on the trail, nothing overly provactive.

Oct 18th - 12:32pm | Don Frogpaper

Bill it is now legal to carry a loaded gun, in the National Parks, to protect ones self from rogue animals and PETA-philes.

Oct 18th - 12:04pm | Random Walker

I have to say that the Klahhane Ridge hike and the Hurricane Ridge area is not really "WILDerness" as the human visitors usually out number the critters twenty to one on any summer day. I meet up with quite a few bears, elk, goats using the trails in our Olympic National Park. I stay a ways away, giving the critter all the time it wants on the trail.

Oct 18th - 10:13am | tahoma

I've been closely approached by goats in the Olympics on numerous occasions. They are formidably armed and muscular animals, as well as very fast in rough terrain. I can see why some might label their behavior as 'aggressive', but there is another explanation.

Oct 18th - 08:32am | pkrnger

My understanding is that the mountain goat was introduced to Olympic National Park during the 1920's; it is not a species that is endemic to the park's ecosystem. As such, I believe that there plans in place for eventual removal of this exotic species from the natural habitat of the Olympics:

Oct 18th - 07:15am | Connie Hopkins

Excuse me Anonymous but where did I villify the victim? I merely questioned that there had to be MORE to the limited information made available! Your sarcasm in your PHD comment is pathetic, stick to the facts-of which very little have been released!

Oct 18th - 07:04am | Jon Merryman

It's called WILDerness, not MILDerness. And if you walk into the wilderness, you are potentially provoking any number of animals, from bees to bears. They operate on instinct, not logic, or long-term thought processes. My sympathies go out to the family of the deceased, but come on, the goat was doing what the creator intended it to do.

Oct 17th - 19:36pm | Anonymous

A 60 year experienced hiker is attacked by a known aggressive mountain goat and Connie and Bill villify him for "tresspassing". He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This poor man was trying to enjoy nature and he did not provoke the animal. I am sure Connie and Bill are commenting based on their PHD's in animal behavior and know more than park rangers.

Oct 17th - 16:43pm | Anonymous

Domestic sheep have a disease called Scrapie, domestic cattle have been infected with bovine spongiform encephalitis, and deer and elk in Wyoming suffer from wasting disease--all very similar, and all causing problems in the brain. Could this unusually aggressive mountain sheep have a form of one of these diseases? If so, should hunters be warned?

Oct 17th - 15:42pm | mcghiever

The article Tahoma linked has an easily-missed sidebar on the right about the destruction of the goat. Apparently it had been known to be aggressive for several years but had never attacked anyone before now.

Oct 17th - 14:25pm | Random Walker

All this summer and fall, before and after many mosey meanders within the Hurricane Ridge environs, Rangers would warn me that there was a Mountain Goat exhibiting aggressive behavior toward visitors in the area. Just sayin'...

Oct 17th - 11:41am | Bill Hardy

I agree with Ms. Hopkins - any such encounter with a wild animal, on it's own turf, while although unfortunate does NOT deserve to result in the animals' death. It is man encroaching on the animal, in a protected setting for that animal, and one must realize & accept responsibility as well as the consequences for effectively "tresspassing".

Oct 17th - 09:12am | tahoma

There are more details in the local news, but nothing about why the goat was killed: http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20101017/NEWS/310179991/man-ki...

Oct 17th - 08:42am | Connie Hopkins

I am sure that there is a lot more to this story and I am anxious to hear more details. Having encountered Mountain goats frequently at Glacier NP, I still realize that they're wild animals and should be treated with respect. With the limited information so far, I don't understand the reasoning behind killing the goat.

Visiting Dry Tortugas National Park: The Logistics

Oct 18th - 13:37pm | jeffreymcohen

Thank you for your great and useful article on DTNP. I was born and raised in Miami and have been down to Key West many times, and have never done this. It is first on my list the next time I visit this part of the country.

Visiting the Parks: National Park of American Samoa Isn't Easy to Get To, But the Trek is Definitely Worth It

Oct 18th - 13:22pm | TLS

Too bad you couldn't make the journey to Ofu and the Manu'a Islands. Despite the lack of inter island air service to Ofu itself you could have flown to Ta'u Island to check out that section of the Park and then hopped on a local's boat for the quick ride across the channel to Ofu.

Pruning the Parks: Lewis and Clark Cavern National Monument (1908-1937)

Oct 18th - 13:18pm | Jono McKinney

The legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps continues at the Lewis and Clark Caverns with the active involvement of the Montana Conservation Corps, a nonprofit organization, which among hundreds of projects each year, works with Montana's State Parks division to sustain this park as the crown jewell of Montana's state park system.

Cables on Half Dome in Yosemite National Park Coming Down Tuesday

Oct 18th - 12:48pm | MRC

Liebe(r) Herr oder Frau Becker, [english summary below] Die Drahtseile gibt es seit 1919 und sie werden immer nur zwischen Frühling und Herbst aufgeständert. Seit dieser Zeit sind etwa fünf Menschen am Half Dome gestorben, wesentlich mehr Tote gab es auf anderen und vermeintlich einfacheren Wegen.

Oct 18th - 09:47am | Anonymous

Hallo, ich sah vor wenigen Tagen ein Bild über diese unsinnige und gefährliche Vorgehensweise von einem Teil der Besucher des Parks durch das Besteigen des Half Dome. Wie kann die Parkverwaltung nur dieses zulassen.

Life On the Fire Lines in Rocky Mountain National Park

Oct 18th - 07:16am | Kurt Repanshek

Lee, Zion Wildland Fire Module is an NPS firefighting team from southwestern Utah. "Modules" typically represent a small team of firefighters assigned to one truck. You can get more details here: http://www.nps.gov/zion/naturescience/fire-use-module.htm

Sections of Pacific Crest Trail Poached by Mountain Bikers; Could Problems Arise in National Parks?

Oct 17th - 23:47pm | mtbgirl

Someone please point me to one case in which an equestrian was injured by a mountain biker. Also please point me to one case in which a hiker was injured by a mountain biker. Please also tell me if you know of any cases in which a hiker was injured by an equestrian, and vice versa.

Flamingo Lodge is No More

Oct 17th - 23:08pm | Rich Parker

Not one more dime of foreign aid should be allocated until places such as this lodge are rebuilt by our so called government. Further, I can't understand why this place was not insured against damage from hurricanes, like every other building in Florida.

Shenandoah National Park Ranger Roy Sullivan Set the World Record for Being Hit by Lightning

Oct 16th - 09:28am | Anonymous

According to the 1992 Farmer’s Almanac Roy is buried at the Mount Horeb Cemetery, Mecklenburg County, Virginia

The Role of Partnerships in the National Park System

Oct 15th - 23:35pm | Anne Olsen

Thank you for sharing this information. The cooperating associations indeed make a very positive and significant impact on the national parks and visitors they serve.

Here's a Yellowstone Bear Story: Grizzly Sow Has Quads!

Oct 15th - 20:09pm | Connie Hopkins

Gerry and Pat, here's the link to that story on the Bison kill. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/10/the-day-and-a-half-st...

Oct 15th - 16:40pm | Gerry and Pat

My wife Pat and I traveled to Yellowstone Park Oct. 6 and 7. We specifically traveled south of Mammoth through the Swan Lake area but did not see grizzlies there. We saw two grizzlies ona bison that had been killed by wolves just west of the Lamar/Tower junction and also saw a sow and two grizzly cubs in the Hayden Valley.

Reader Participation Day: What Parks Lure You In Winter?

Oct 15th - 19:28pm | Elizabeth | The...

I'm originally from north Florida, and every few years I try to tack on a visit to go canoeing in the Everglades and snorkeling in John Pennekamp. Magical places both, and I always appreciate the warmth.

Judge Orders Cross Removed from Mojave National Preserve

Oct 15th - 18:15pm | anonymous

If people want to look at a cross in the desert they can go buy some one acre paradise on their own and erect one. Funny the same person who rants about the lack of a minority right to not be offended, majority rules, etc. become apoplectic when a majority wants something that he does not.

Oct 15th - 07:36am | Chaliapin

Read the First Amendment to the Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Behind the Scenes With Yosemite Nature Notes

Oct 15th - 14:44pm | George

Thanks for this great video. As a young seasonal naturalist, I participated in the 1961 glacier survey trip to Mount Lyell, and it has been an inspiration to me ever since. That grand wilderness landscape is my fondest memory of Yosemite National Park.

Gee Interprets a Settler in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Oct 15th - 12:30pm | Sharon McCarthy

Thank you for this in-depth look at this GSMNP volunteer. I particularly appreciate her dignified answer to the thoughtless question about "real hillbillies." She is a very humble and classy lady.

Oct 15th - 08:35am | Lee Dalton

Neat story! Neat lady! Y'know, some of the greatest resources in our parks are our volunteers. What did we ever do without them?

Dark Skies in National Parks Make It Easy to Spot the Space Station: Here's How to Look for It

Oct 15th - 08:51am | pkrnger

Larry, tell us more about the NPS night sky program at Badlands. 9000 participants for the summer season sounds like your program is very successful. How do you manage larger crowds for single nights?

Moving From Fall Towards Winter In the National Parks

Oct 14th - 20:01pm | Danny Bernstein

The colors in the Smokies are now at their peak. If not at their peak, certainly outstanding. Winter doesn't close the Smokies, just certain roads. Danny Bernstein http://www.hikertohiker.com

Isle Royale National Park's Wolf Population Loses Two Packs, Moose Population Steady

Oct 14th - 18:27pm | David Rolfes

I was up there this past August and Dr. Peterson mentioned that no packs had pups. There is a website for the study on Ilse Royale that should get you the information that you are looking for. http://www.isleroyalewolf.org/wolfhome/home.html

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.