You are here

Home » Exploring the Parks

Exploring the Parks

Interesting Facts You Didn't Know About Dry Tortugas National Park

Located 70 miles west of Key West, Florida, Dry Tortugas National Park is one of the most remote national parks in the United States. Visitors can only access the park via boat, seaplane, or aboard the official Dry Tortugas National Park ferry, the Yankee Freedom III. As a result, the park boasts some unusual facts that not all park travelers might know.

Photography In The National Parks: Padre Island National Seashore In Early Summer

While on assignment to Padre Island National Seashore for the Traveler, contributing photographer Rebecca Latson compared and contrasted the difference between her early spring visit to this early summer visit. In her latest article, Rebecca offers up those comparisons as well as more photographic tips for you to apply if you decide to visit this national seashore in Texas during the summer.

On Your Feet In Yosemite

Just like John Muir, be sure your vacation sets aside some time to tramp around the spectacular mountains of Yosemite National Park and enjoy this incredible scenery. Just steps from your car you’ll leave the crowds, traffic, and bustle behind, and enter a wilderness unlike any other.

Exploring The Parks: Valles Caldera National Preserve

New Mexico Highway 4 climbs steadily, sometimes steeply, west out of Los Alamos, through forests scorched by wildfire in recent decades, and over a pass at the top of Bandelier National Monument. The road drops slightly then bursts out of the trees. Spread suddenly before us is a vast grassland, the Valle Grande, in Valles Caldera National Preserve, a recent addition to the national park system. This huge meadow seems the bottom of a bowl and we are on its south rim. Eleven miles to the north is the north rim of the caldera, rising to 10,000 feet. The 87,000-acre National Preserve, established in 2000, was placed under the care of the National Park Service in 2015.

3 Days In Heaven

Known as the “Crown of the Continent,” I prefer to think of Glacier National Park as the Crown Jewel of the National Park System. I was born 24 miles away from this setting of pine-, cedar-, and fir-fragrant forests, rugged mountains, glacial U-shaped valleys, abundant wildlife, flower-filled fields, pristine lakes and trail choices suitable for all walks of life.

Sandy Solitude On Memorial Day

Memorial Day is the traditional start of the summer tourism season. In places like the Four Corners region, it may be the busiest time of the year as people try to visit the national parks before the summer heat arrives. I love the region but I dislike crowds. So, when I found time for a week off at Memorial Day last year, the challenge was clear: could I visit a Southwestern national park without the crowds? As a lover of wilderness, the challenge was even greater: could I find solitude in that park?

Exploring The Parks: Quitobaquito Springs At Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

In far south Arizona, so far south that you could cross into Mexico if you wanted, there's an oasis in this prickly Sonoran Desert landscape that has been drawing thirsty travelers for centuries. Protected by Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Quitobaquito Springs has many stories to tell.

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.