October 31 isn't just about pumpkins and goblins anymore. The date also marks the anniversary of the California Desert Protection Act, a major milestone for Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks and the Mojave National Preserve. The day will be celebrated at a special event on Saturday at the Mojave National Preserve.

Though most associate mining with the Rockies or the Sierra Nevada, in the late 19th century the lure of gold and silver ore bodies lured miners into the southern California desertscape now claimed by Joshua Tree National Park. Few prospectors made strikes, but left in their wake hundreds of mine openings that the park slowly is closing for public safety.

It's just too hot to enjoy camping in some parks during the summer, but fall and winter are prime times for outdoor activity in those areas. Here's a sampling of NPS sites where the "off season" in the rest of the country can be the best season for camping.

Most of us are familiar with the adage for visits to parks: "Take only photos, leave only footprints." Unfortunately, a California man decided to leave something else during repeat visits to Joshua Tree National Park: thousands of golf balls.

Officials at Joshua Tree National Park in California announced that the Jumbo Rocks Campground has been temporarily closed due a rather unusual wildlife safety problem - swarming bees.

National parks very well may be one of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein's loves, but oysters seemingly trump her view of national park values.

Joshua Tree National Park, which grew by more than 600 acres in 2008 thanks to the Mojave Desert Land Trust, could gain nearly 1,000 more acres thanks to the group's efforts.

In what could be a sign of what's to come, a court has blocked Wal-Mart from building a Supercenter near Joshua Tree National Park because the company did not adequately consider its greenhouse-gas impacts.

When you think about threats to national parks, you can point to air pollution, water pollution, development on a park's boundaries, and genetic bottlenecks affecting a park's wildlife. But few people seem to think about climate change. Well, the National Parks Conservation Association wants you to start thinking about it.

A 67-year-old icon of the southern California climbing community has died in a fall at Joshua Tree National Park.

A massive lands bill, one that would have added nearly 1 million acres of national park lands to the national wilderness system, has failed to gain passage in the U.S. House of Representatives. But it could live to see another vote.

A benefit concert is planned for mid-April to raise funds to continue the fight against a dump proposed to be located next to Joshua Tree National Park.