| Page 9 | National Parks Traveler

A lesser known unit of the NPS is Prince William Forest Park in Virginia. It is an NPS park which is part of the National Capital Region and is 15,000 acres in size. It is pristine, and has a verdent forest and excellent camping. I like to go hiking over its gentle hills and flat terrain. Please visit this park when you are in northern Virginia.

Feb 1st - 06:59am | Will De Man

It's going more popular thanks to influencers on Instagram and TikTok, but the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore underrated It's got great camping, an incredible section of the North Country Trail, and some of the most stunning views of Lake Superiior anywhere along the north coast of Michigan. As a Michigander, I've been there many times and try to fit it in every summer.

Exploring Petrified Forest National Park's Backcountry

Jan 31st - 15:09pm | Stephen Kibbey

Whatever happened to the proposed upgrade to the Chinde Point Picnic area to add overnight front country camping?

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 259 | Manassas Battlefield Threats

Jan 31st - 13:41pm | Hunter

Here's what people need to understand about national parks. The park land was made to specifically protect and preserve an area. If the intent was to keep the land surrounding the parks preserved from being developed then the park service should have purchased the surrounding land as well. The whole point of a park is to protect that land and that land only.

Lewis And Clark National Historic Trail Now Stretches East To Pennsylvania

Jan 31st - 11:39am | mark donaho

if you look at journals timeline lewis and clark has to spend more time along illinois borders of ohio & mississippi because , they desends ohio easily till cairo,il but then they had to hire more and more people from illinois because of opposite current of mississippi+missouri river flow .

Creature Feature: The American Marten

Jan 31st - 11:09am | Lee Russ

I don't find this to be a balanced review.

Get Your Free National Parks "Owner's Guide" From The National Park Foundation

Jan 31st - 09:44am | Carol Schnaiter

Looking for guides

Climbing is Capped at Mount McKinley and Climbers are Left to Wonder What’s Next

Jan 30th - 17:32pm | Ann Fothergill

Bob, "In July of 1976, Jack O Horton climbed Alaska's Mount McKinley, America's highest mountain, to plant a bicentennial flag at the summit. That same year he ran and finished the Boston Marathon". (taken from a note HF Bar Ranch 1/26/2016 Facebook)

National Park Service Drawing A Line On Fixed Climbing Anchors In Wilderness

Jan 29th - 16:11pm | shane

I am now teaching my 4 and 7 year old sons how to climb. It has been a crucial part of outdoor activities in my life and has taught me real-life problem-solving skills. Fixed anchors are by far the safest way to climb and keep this legacy alive for my kids. I believe that fixed anchors should be color matched to the rock and well-maintained.

Two Hikers Rescued From Mauna Loa At Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park And Cited

Jan 29th - 15:59pm | Cisco

You are right on with your comment. Maybe a higher fine would be in order but if everyone was left to die because of a stupid decision our population would be much reduced

Jan 21st - 11:40am | chris...

Letting people die because they violated a permit? Holy christ my fellow Americans have become hateful people. Try working in the parks- you would need to build jails to house all the people in violation of the "law" People make mistakes. Shouldnt we be thankful the hikers were not injured and the foray ended without furhter incident?

Jan 19th - 09:09am | Loui

Lives were risked. Equipment was risked. Fuel was expended. $250 hardly seems like the price of "accountability" for 2 emergency callouts in a closed area above 10,000' in bad weather. It would not seem unreasonable to decline to risk lives and property to coddle individuals who are breaking the law, and seem pretty pathetically out of their league doing it.

Reader Participation Day: How Are The Parks Doing?

Jan 28th - 11:49am | A. Johnson

My biggest let-down was Canyon de Chelly NM. Agreed. The solution to the mess that is Canyon DC NM is for the NPS to buy the property from the Navajo "nation" in order to preserve it as it should be. These public-private partnerships just don't work for a myriad of reasons, one major contributor being the merry-go-round that is tribal politics.

Jan 28th - 11:44am | A. Johnson

"vulture capitalists in Three Rivers howled!" I've been through Three Rivers,CA many times. And yes, it is centered and focused on tourism--tourism confined to 3-4-5 months of the year. So yes, prices are inflated in those months so as to carry the owners over until the next tourist season--that's not "vulture capitalism", it's common sense economics.

Jan 28th - 11:33am | John Watkins

We visit national parks every year and visited Death Valley, Lassen,Yellowstone, Arches, Canyonlands, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verde, the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountans. The rangers are always polite and helpful.

Jan 27th - 08:08am | Sequoian

A trying year in 2023 for Sequoia NP, lots of damaged roads from the winter of record for the past 125+ years in the Southern Sierra, the Generals Highway didn't open until July (oh how the AirBnB vulture capitalists in Three Rivers howled!) and everything floral was delayed about 6 weeks, and when the FTD bouquet was revealed, perhaps the best wildflower year ever, oh so bountiful, along with

Jan 27th - 08:07am | Sequoian

Jan 26th - 06:13am | Gila Monster

I visited quite a number of parks in 2023. I found - as often - the lesser-known parks to be more rewarding. For example I had a great time at Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS, Knife River Indian Villages NHS and FDR Home NHS. I mostly stayed away from the bigger parks, although I enjoyed my first visit to Theodore Roosevelt NP.

Jan 25th - 16:35pm | Ben of Virginia

I visited Wolf Trap, Shenandoah, and Great Smoky Mountains, and they were all great. The NPS were visible and doing great work. I was not able to go camping this year unfortunately. I did see a bear in Cades Cove and that made my year.

Jan 25th - 11:20am | Anonymous

I'm a low consuming, low impact visitor to nat'l parks and nat'l forests. so I have no basis to evaluate most of the amenities. I do use campgrounds and did so in 2023.

Jan 25th - 10:38am | Kyle Liechty

In 2023, I visited over 48 NPS sites. I went to Mammoth Cave, Shenandoah, Indiana Dunes, Isle Royale and Cuyahoga Valley NP's in 2023. Overall most of these parks were not crowded with the exception of Mammoth Cave on Labor Day weekend. One of the most impressive things I've consistently encountered about the NPS is the rangers.

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 258 | National Park Reservation Systems

Jan 24th - 19:38pm | Jim Medlock

Unfortunately it sounded like Ms. Jones had never had the privilege of attempting to enter a National Park using a permit issued by recreation.gov. Ms. Jones sounded like a promoter of daily permits and not representing an organization that works to make National Parks better.

Microplastics Turning Up In Galápagos Penguins

Jan 24th - 15:51pm | Angie Rayborn

Thank you for a great article on an important subject! I am not sure how we can over come the world wide use of plastics and contain it as it breaks down. Glad there is this research happening in a critical habitat . Great pictures!

Legal Battle Over Caneel Bay Resort Drags On

Jan 24th - 11:34am | chris...

If only the Park Service had such zeal in fighting the takeover of its visitation facilities by recreation gov. How may NPS workers have been lost who used to book backcountry permits, campgrounds, and other such amenities the NPS used to run? I guess it depends on who is giving who political money in terms of what corporation can do what in today s "public" lands

Jan 24th - 10:13am | James Kevin Roche

Thanks to National Parks Traveler for continuing to follow the fate of Caneel Bay. What seems to be at stake here are the wishes of those donating property to the Department of Interior and the National Parks System.

Gone Missing In The National Parks

Jan 24th - 04:19am | Howard Desmond

86 SAR at Bryce Canyon!? It's only a small place

The Frenzied Completion Of The Transcontinental Railroad In Utah

Jan 23rd - 13:34pm | A. Johnson

I must correct my comment: there are photos of the Golden Spike ceremony with Chinese workers in attendance. The Stanford Historical Photograph Collection at Stanford University has several GS photos with Chinese workers in attendance. Posts to the contrary are inaccurate.

Jan 22nd - 10:56am | A. Johnson

While the Chinese did contribute a great deal to the TC railroad, let's not exaggerate their contributions--it was not "most of the work." While the Chinese were recognized at the golden spike ceremony, it is important to note their absence from the "official" photo. Citing NPR is always a risky proposition.

Jan 21st - 10:50am | Steve Weiss

This account is missing that Chinese laborers completed most of the work on the railroad and were excluded from the completion ceremony.

Remains Of Man Who Went Missing At Mesa Verde National Park Found

Jan 20th - 10:49am | Jessica

Things like this happen all the time at national parks, there's books and Series about people going missing in the parks.

Support Growing To Rename Clingmans Dome At Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Jan 18th - 16:37pm | Earlmuck

Actually, it was Denali for many years prior to being called McKinley. So, in effect, the act of naming it Mt. McKinley was "re-writing" history.

Jan 16th - 15:02pm | Dworley

How's it a new name when that was the original name long before settlers arrived? It's restoring history if anything.

Jan 16th - 00:45am | Mike B.

I notice that the Cherokee Nation and both local counties are in favor of a change. If a name is just a name, why not change it if that's what people want? Names change all the time for a variety of reasons. Do you think the original inhabitants of this region referred to it as Clingman's Dome?

Jan 15th - 15:44pm | Daniel

I agree, these woke people want to change in a little time what took many years of deliberation to do. I think we should leave the names as is and, revert all the names and moved statues back to original state.

Traveler's View | Musings About The Parks And Related Topics

Jan 17th - 13:42pm | Sequoian

Interestingly enough, those same National Parks & National Monuments that have gone cashless, are still hectoring me to make a cash donation inside the visitor centers, odd that!

Jan 17th - 12:06pm | john928gt

Will the National Park Service act on suggestions that it charge international visitors more to enter the National Park System than U.S. citizens?

Jan 16th - 11:19am | A. Johnson

Overall, a good list of questions that likely will not be answered by the NPS.

Jan 15th - 09:48am | chris...

The biggest question is will 2024 be the year that manned kiosks at entrances are removed in favor of electronic scanngers that will check your reservation via apple, or google app to be allowed entry. Cashless parks are already a thing. How long before digital entry is required?

The Past, Present, And Future Of The Endangered Species Act

Jan 17th - 01:17am | Mike B.

AJ said: "For eons, specie (sic) after specie has been changing the environment and themselves (via evolution), leading to the extinction of 95%+ of species prior to "modern man". And "modern man" is just the latest NATURAL specie/phenomena to change the environment. Man is as natural as a meteorite or a volcano. The cause of extinction(s) continues to be 100% natural."

Jan 16th - 11:47am | A. Johnson

Grey wolves introduced into Yellowstone: c.l. occidentalis native Yellowstone wolves: c.l. irremotus scientifically accepted proof We all know that one scientist's "proof" is another's ideological or political agenda. Science is not subject to acceptance or rejection, or a vote. I look to science, not scientists or "accepted proof".

Jan 16th - 11:30am | A. Johnson

What is different now is the cause(s) and the rate. Not really. This is only true if one considers humans to be "unnatural". For eons, specie after specie has been changing the environment and themselves (via evolution), leading to the extinction of 95%+ of species prior to "modern man".

Jan 16th - 11:28am | Kurt Repanshek

Do you have scientifically accepted proof that gray wolves are not native to the park?

Jan 16th - 11:22am | A. Johnson

the gray wolf has been returned to Yellowstone National Park, The gray wolf is not native to Yellowstone NP, so I'm not sure that one could claim it was "returned". I'm not opposed to wolves in Yellowstone, but it's important to be scientifically accurate.

Jan 16th - 00:34am | Mike B.

Yes, species have been coming and going as long as there has been life on earth. What is different now is the cause(s) and the rate. The extinctions that occurred before humans radically altered the biosphere were generally at a slower or background rate, except for the effects of the occasional supervolcano and meteor impact, and other species rose to replace them by natural selection. But

Lawsuit Filed To Block Data Center Next To Manassas National Battlefield

Jan 16th - 13:55pm | Steve

Follow the money! Obviously a bad move. From the information you presented the county, from taxes, seem to be the only one profiting, except PW Digital Gateway. Please keep us informed and what to do to help with the fight. Follow the money?

Dog Falls 60 Feet At Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Rescued In Good Condition

Jan 16th - 12:07pm | A. Johnson

If the dog slipped her leash, why is her collar still on? Uh, I call bs on the dog slipping her leash.

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