National Parks Traveler

Once upon a time in the Midwest, almost a century ago, there was talk of creating a "Great Plains National Monument" that would preserve a slice of grasslands that once dominated that part of the nation. Today there's talk of rescuing the grasslands that once swept the horizon in a wide belt ranging from Canada to Mexico.

Those who have visited Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota know it gets dark there at night, and now it's official. The park has been designated as an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association.

A large, private collection of century-old documents from the desk of Civil Rights icon Maggie Lena Walker is now public, thanks to a generous donation from Margaret Stallings and family.

This month’s quiz and trivia piece is all about Acadia National Park. For those of you who have been to this park, just how much do you really know about it? For those of you who have not yet visited, after reading through the questions and trivia, you’ll want to put Acadia on your national park bucket list.

While poaching continues to be a problem at some units of the National Park System, off the coast of California poaching isn't an issue and the fisheries are thriving in marine protected areas around Channel Islands National Park, according to an analysis by an Oregon State University researcher.

If you want to learn more about issues specific to Glacier National Park, you now have a podcast to download.

A stay-at-home order issued in California in a bid to slow the spread of Covid-19 has led to the closure of some campgrounds and overnight stays in national parks in the state.

You can enjoy a small slice of Alaska's national parks this holiday season and help out Alaska Geographic at the same time.

Vandalism in its many forms, seems to be continuing unabated in the national parks. The Leave No Trace Seven Principals don’t appear to apply to those who wish to let others know they were there in the form of acrylic paint on 180-million year old sandstone and gouges into rock and living trees in places like Zion, Joshua Tree, Olympic, and Redwood national parks? Is modern graffiti on protected lands considered art and future history for archeologists, much like the ancient petroglyphs and pictographs now safeguarded within the boundaries of natural parks, national memorials, and other park units? Or is it a despoiling of protected National Park Service lands by a selfish few who apparently learned no respect for keeping the landscape unblemished for the enjoyment of present and future generations? Contributing editor and photographer Rebecca Latson offers her own thoughts on the subject.

More than a year after informational safety signs were installed at Graveyard Fields in Pisgah National Forest, Haywood County (North Carolina) Emergency Services recorded a 50 percent decrease in search and rescue calls on federal land in the county.