Natchez Trace Parkway

Few units of the National Park System are open to hunting, but there are fears that legislation now working its way through Congress could clear the way for hunting across dozens of parks in the system.

On April 26th and 27th, a 300-mile stretch of the Natchez Trace Parkway was impacted by several major storm systems that inflicted heavy property damage and killed a camper in his tent.

The more than 200 national parks established to preserve nationally significant cultural-historical resources "tell America's story" by interpreting about ten broad themes that increase our awareness and understanding of what American culture is and how it got that way.

Jim Bunning, Kentucky's contrary U.S. senator, singlehandedly has shut down road construction projects across the nation, including many in national parks, because he doesn't want to help middle-class families weather the economic storm, U.S. Department of Transportation officials said Monday.

The National Park Service is using economic stimulus funds to make extensive improvements to the Meriwether Lewis Site on Natchez Trace Parkway.

Fall is officially here in the northern hemisphere, and for many travelers that means getting outdoors to enjoy the weather—and some fall color. Most of us are familiar with areas that are justifiably famous for their annual display of red and yellow leaves, so here are a few suggestions for some lesser-known options.

Famed explorer Meriwether Lewis is said to have committed suicide while overnighting at an inn along the old Natchez Trail in 1809. Many skeptics, however, believe he was slain. The Lewis descendants want his remains exhumed for examination, but the Park Service won’t allow it.

Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site celebrates its 80th birthday today. The battle fought there in June 1864 yielded a Confederate victory that was tactically brilliant but strategically wanting.

George Washington may not have slept here, but Davy Crockett, Andrew Jackson and plenty of other notables passed this way. A fall trip on the Natchez Trace Parkway provides a leisurely drive through a colorful landscape.

Along with "parks," "seashores," "lakeshores" and "battlefields," the National Park System counts a number of "parkways" that fall under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. Though most are incredibly scenic byways, there also are two major metropolitan arterials in this collection.