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Yellowstone National Park

UPDATED: National Parks Working To Figure Out How Best To Manage Crowding

Hours spent in a line waiting to enter a national park. Crews working to maintain trails that climb through piny forests and are blighted by piles of human waste. Visitors taking out their rage against fellow visitors and park staff when they can't find a parking spot at their favorite trailhead or overlook. These are some of the issues National Park Service staff are trying to solve as they cope with record visitation.

Guest Column: The Impact Of Wolf Hunting Near National Parks

The recent shooting by a hunter of 926F, a collared female admired by wolf watchers, has reignited the debate on hunting wolves near national parks. Protected in parks—as 926F was in Yellowstone—wolves can hunt, breed, and raise families without fear of humans. Watching them do so excites and educates tens of thousands of park visitors and informs many scientists. But once wolves step outside a park they can become trophies—as 926F did—for a few hunters or trappers.

House Votes To Strip Wolves Of ESA Protections; Will Senate Follow?

Lame duck congressional sessions are pretty much a crapshoot, as the politicians rush to wrap up business and try to force through legislation that might otherwise not fly. So while there was much concern when the U.S. House of Representatives voted to remove Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves, it's not a sure thing that the Senate will go along.

Yellowstone Officials Propose Replacement For Aged Lewis River Bridge

If the Lewis River Bridge in Yellowstone National Park becomes too unsafe for traffic, the South Entrance to the park will essentially be a dead-end for tens of thousands of visitors, who instead would have to make an hours-long detour to reach one of the park's other entrances. That's the scenario the park staff has drawn in an environmental assessment calling for the 58-year-old steel-and-concrete span to be replaced.

Most Roads In Yellowstone Close For Winter On Monday

This coming weekend, November 3-4, provides the last chance for visitors to drive to many iconic locations in Yellowstone National Park. The West, South, and East entrances and all roads, with one exception, will close to vehicle travel at 8 a.m. Monday, November 5, so the park can prepare them for the winter season and snowmobile and snowcoach travel, which are scheduled to begin Saturday, December 15.

Traveler's View: Politics Vs. Public Interest In National Parks

While the National Park Service Organic Act directs the National Park Service to be a guardian of the parks and the flora and fauna within them, politics don't always make that easy. Proof of that can be seen in Alaska, where the agency has done a complete reversal in trying to protect wolves, bears, coyotes and other predators from rampant hunting and trapping.

National Parks Well Represented On List Of Volcanoes Posing Highest Threats

Have you visited Hawai'i National Park and gotten close to the Kīlauea Volcano, enjoyed Paradise at Mount Rainier National Park, climbed to the top of Lassen Peak in its namesake park, or hiked down to Crater Lake? If so, you've placed yourself in the midst of some of the country's most dangerous volcanoes in terms of the threats they pose, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Where Are The Scariest Places In The National Park System?

There recently was a story about the scariest, or spookiest places in the 50 states, and the one chosen for Wyoming was Old Bedlam at Fort Laramie National Historic Site. Old Bedlam, of course, was a barracks built for bachelor officers, and doesn't seem that scary. There certainly are scarier places in the Cowboy State, such as the Old Faithful Inn.

Yellowstone's Rivers—Key To Monitoring Hydrothermal Activity

We often talk about monitoring Yellowstone. To most people, this implies tracking earthquake activity over time, or how the ground moves up and down, or how temperatures change due to thermal activity. But did you know that the river systems are also monitored? It turns out that tracking changes in river chemistry is a good way to identify overall changes in Yellowstone's hydrothermal system.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.