You are here

Welcome To Our Essential Park Guide For Summer 2018

Share

National Parks Traveler's Essential Park Guide, Summer 2018

We all need friends. And for the National Park System, there are some great friends groups out there. From Acadia to Zion and everywhere in between, friends groups work year-round to bring a “margin of excellence” to their namesake parks.

Well, at least that’s the way it used to be. These days, with inadequate Congressional funding, friends groups are finding themselves underwriting operational needs, from trail maintenance and visitor center rehabilitations to radio systems and facility maintenance and even resurrection.

Just look around the park system. The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is raising millions of dollars to rehabilitate places like Flat Top Manor and the Bluffs restaurant. Yosemite Conservancy dollars have gone to help the National Park Service rehab the Mariposa Grove of Sequoias and will help with a much-needed update to the Bridalveil Fall area of Yosemite National Park and even trail maintenance at Tenaya Lake.

These are not always the projects friends groups want to fund. They’d much rather focus on that margin of excellence for a park. And it’s a delicate line, as Congress could decide it doesn’t have to invest so much in the parks because friends groups will step up.

Turn to page 10 to get a look at this issue and learn what friends groups are being asked to do and what their executive directors think of this turn of events.

And then turn to page 5, where photojournalist Colleen Miniuk-Sperry outlines a fun three-day visit to Acadia National Park. Sure, you should spend more time there, but it’s always good to start with a game plan and build around it.

With summer quickly approaching, you can get details on camping in the park system from Kristen Pope with her story beginning on page 16, and learn from Patrick Cone whether an RV, or perhaps a pickup camper, is a great choice for exploring the parks. His story starts on page 20.

And before you put the issue down, read about staying safe in the parks this summer. National parks truly are incredible places for your vacation, but you can jeopardize your safety if you’re not aware of what to watch out for or get too carefree. See you in the parks! — Kurt Repanshek

Traveler footnote You can download a digital copy of the guide for $1.99 from this page, or order a print version for $10.95 from Magcloud. We'll also be rolling out each story individually in the weeks to come.

 
Essential Park Guide Summer 2018

By Kurt Repanshek in National Parks Traveler

46 pages, published 5/14/2018

Your guide to exploring the National Park System during the Summer of 2018.
 
Featured Article
Park Guide

Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

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.