National Parks Traveler

A water trail that flows above abandoned frontier towns, waters that Lewis and Clark traveled, and a popular water trail that follows an international border were added to the National Water Trails System this week.

A road paving project at Everglades National Park has prompted the delay, until mid-December, of Long Pine Key Campground's opening for the season.

The sailing ship Friendship of Salem is a popular attraction at Salem Maritime National Historic Site, but visitors to the park in coming months shouldn't be concerned if it appears the vessel has been "demasted." Removal of sections of the masts and rigging began last week as part of a two-year project to inspect key parts of the ship, and make any repairs that are needed.

The weather outside might be frightful, but in the parks, the birding’s delightful. With Thanksgiving still on the horizon, we shouldn’t be talking about Christmas yet, but the Christmas Bird Count spirit has overwhelmed me!

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have defended their decision to put down a young bull elk who took to butting a photographer sitting on the road in the Cataloochee Valley.

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park will offer a pair of special events with a Christmas theme on Saturday, December 14. Afternoon activities will include live music, refreshments, ornament-making, and a special visit from Santa Claus. During the evening, join costumed Living History players as they turn the clock back to Christmas in the year 1901.

A glance around the National Park System finds efforts to legislate paddling in some waters of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, GOP requests for list of possible national monuments, and a new director for the National Park Service's Intermountain Region.

One of the most intriguing, and exciting, new aspects of National Parks Traveler is the Parkipedia section open to all NPT members. What is Parkipedia? Let me explain.

A celebration of the various cultures that have lived in the Santa Cruz Valley in southern Arizona will be held December 7-8 during the 43rd annual Fiesta at Tumacácori National Historical Park.

Congress, not the Obama Administration, must shoulder the blame for the 16-day closure of the National Park System last month, according to a recent survey of voters.