How do you grow the next generation of park supporters? One formula is a cookout, s'mores around a campfire, a ranger-guided hike complete with exciting wildlife sightings, and an overnight camping trip. Colorado National Monument recently used grant funding to make it possible for a group of youngsters to enjoy those classic outdoor experiences.

Experiencing our national parks’ grandeur from the saddle of a road bike is a bit like summiting a high peak. The arduous pedal through the park is rewarded with the scenery and equally thrilling descent from the park roads’ high points. Fall is sublime for cycling in national parks, so with the season quickly approaching, now is the time to experience the Mountain West’s greatest national park road cycling routes.

Last Saturday afternoon, 65-year old Stanley Dodson, an avid cyclist and freshly-retired university professor, became the first person in the 98-year history of Colorado National Monument to be fatally injured while bicycling in the park.

A building at Colorado National Monument constructed by Civilian Conservation Corps crews in 1941 and long popular with visitors to the monument has been vandalized.

Every now and then, you have to thank your lucky stars. That, no doubt, is what's going through the mind of a Colorado man who narrowly avoided serious injury, if not certain death, at Colorado National Monument.

If you're a serious photographer—or just an average one who got lucky—you might want to consider entering some of your shots of national parks in one or more photo contests that are currently accepting entries.

Each year nearly 100 people attempt suicide somewhere in the national park system. That's a troubling statistic for the National Park Service.