While the main attraction is underground at Mammoth Cave National Park, there's quite a bit of history to appreciate above ground. Long before the park was established, homesteads dotted the heavily forested rolling hills. The land that was acquired for the national park displaced small communities that left their mark in the more than 80 cemeteries, churches, and homesteads that can be found within the park's borders.
Comparatively few people think of visiting national parks during the winter months, and that's unfortunate for a variety of reasons. Not only does this season present an entirely different view of the parks than the one you normally experience during spring and summer, but lodging typically is less expensive, as the following offers demonstrate.
With more than 150 documented paranormal events, many of them experienced by credible witnesses such as rangers and scientists, Mammoth Cave National Park easily qualifies for the title “most haunted natural wonder in the world.” Park rangers Colleen O’Connor Olson and Charles Hanion have recorded many of the park’s creepiest tales in their book Scary Stories of Mammoth Cave, a must read for anybody intrigued by the park’s supernatural history.
Time and use have taken a toll on the tour routes that wind through the subterranean labyrinth of Mammoth Cave National Park. And so, not surprisingly, park officials say there's a need to rehab some of those routes.
Hoping to leverage the buzz over Ken Burns' 12-hour documentary on national parks, a public television station in Kentucky is preparing to release its own documentary, one focused entirely on Mammoth Cave National Park.
Geologically similar parks with strikingly different perspectives -- Mammoth Cave National in the United States and China's Shilin Stone Forest National Park, Libo Zhangjiang National Park, and Wulong National Park -- have signed sister park agreements that open up avenues for the sharing of research and management styles.
To those who love mushrooms, what could be finer than sauteing up a mess of freshly collected 'shrooms to go along with your freeze-dried dinner or the trout you hooked in the backcountry of a national park? A teaspoon of garlic, a dash of salt, and a couple cranks of the pepper mill and you'll have a wonderful complement to your meal. Unless, of course, you picked the wrong mushroom, in which case this could be your last meal.
You won’t need to be a genealogist to enjoy Quiz #66. Answers are at the end. If we catch you peeking, we’ll make you write on the whiteboard 100 times: “Contrary to popular opinion, there is no letter ‘a’ in the word cemetery.”
The Park Service co-sponsored this year’s International Congress of Speleology (ICS), which has been going on all week in Kerrville, Texas. Many of the 1,300 participants signed up for field trips that included guided tours of developed and wild caves within NPS units.
There's a growing problem with national park visitation. In short, too many people are returning to the parks, creating problems for staffing and people management.
Not only can you gain free entrance to Mammoth Cave National Park on two more weekends this summer, but you'll also be able to partake in some free tours of the cave.
There will be quite a bit of activity in the backcountry of Mammoth Cave National Park during the next month as crews clean up from storms and make repairs to trails and bridges.
White-nose syndrome continues to be a serious problem in many bat populations in eastern states. Fortunately, the disease has not appeared at Mammoth Cave National Park, and the underground tours are continuing as usual.
There are some underground trails in Mammoth Cave National Park that are supposed to be rough and rugged. The routes followed for the popular "wild cave" tours, for instance. But most of the other trails should be relatively easy on visitors, and park officials say it's time to do some rehab work.
Rangers at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area were just the latest in the National Park System to resort to the use of a Taser to resolve a potentially combative situation.
Managers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park have closed all of the park's caves to public entry until further notice. The move is in response to growing concern about white-nose syndrome, a new malady that the Fish and Wildlife Service calls "a wildlife crisis of unprecedented proportions."
With all the economic doom and gloom of late, it'll be a miracle if anyone goes away for a vacation this year. At the very least, folks will be looking for bargains, and that's where the National Park System comes into play.
Crews at Mammoth Cave National Park have their hands full trying to clean up the park after last week's powerful storm, which downed trees and power lines throughout the park. For the time-being, the park is open under "emergency status."
An ice storm that transformed into a snowstorm early Wednesday has prompted officials to keep Mammoth Cave National Park closed so crews can deal with downed trees and power lines.
Yes, yes, I know that you always consult the Superintendent’s Compendium of designations, closures, permit requirements and other restrictions as required under Title 36 Code of Federal Regulation § 1.7(b) before visiting a national park. But do you really know all you need to know to be a responsible park visitor?
After much work and public input from nearly 3,000 folks, Mammoth Cave National Park officials have released their comprehensive trails plan. And the solution they've chosen is not the park's preferred alternative, but rather one supported by the public comments.
What do you get with 54 tons of concrete, 3,500 stainless steel bolts, and 35,000 pounds of structural steel? A new way to head toward the surface at Mammoth Cave National Park.
Long before anyone thought of national parks, folks were heading down into Mammoth Cave to see the sights. And if you've ever visited this incredible underground labyrinth, you'd understand why.
On a clear day, you often can see for miles and miles. But as a report from the National Parks Conservation Association points out, clear days are harder and harder to find in our national parks under the Bush administration's relatively laissez-faire approach to coal-fired power plants.
National Park Week is being celebrated this year from April 20 through April 26. Across the system there are dozens, if not hundreds, of special events planned. Here's a look at some of them.
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