| Page 3 | National Parks Traveler

When I was stationed at Ft. Jackson SC, I rode my bike to Congaree National Park, May 14,1995. I observed a Ivory-Billed Woodpecker on this date. I tried to report it, but nobody believed me. They stated that I observed a Pilieated Woodpecker. I have observed the Pileated Woodpecker and know the difference between the two species. I have been observing birds for most of my life.

Coalition Urges Senate Not To Open Wilderness Areas To Mountain Bikes

Apr 7th - 17:38pm | Jeff Royal

Wow. So many people here just have no idea what they are talking about. Mountain bikers neither want nor expect access to all wilderness areas - only informed decisions made on a case-by-case basis. Mountain bikes do no more damage than hikers and a lot less than horses. I get it that people fear change and grow conservative when the status quo is challenged, but come on - it is 2024 now a

Zion National Park's South Campground To Be Rehabilitated

Apr 7th - 16:17pm | Ben from Virginia

I find most NPS campgrounds to be very nice, rustic, but spacious and well appointed. My favorite campgrounds are Loft Mountain in Shenandoah, Owens Creek in Catoctin, and Riley Creek in Denali. Of course funds spent on campground upgrades is money well spent.

Apr 7th - 10:28am | chris...

EVERY campground in the parks is a overcrowded joke. Can we get some spaced out campsites please? Why do the feds have to have the peasants on top of one another? I find these campsites so poorly designed they are not even worth staying in for one night.

Aramark Leisure Wins Concessions Contracts At Denali National Park

Apr 7th - 12:45pm | elk54

How ironic indeed considering that Aramark just lost the contract for services at Crater Lake due to their poor management, etc. Is this another case of LOW BID wins when dealing with Government contracts? You have to wonder how the various National Park/Dept of Interior personnel administering/selecting these providers determine what is acceptable.

Apr 6th - 15:06pm | Anna Davis

I worked for ARAMARK in Denali last year and it was a HORRIBLE experience. ARAMARK management there was blatant with their prejudices, discrimination and manipulation. The facility is subpar at best, not Safe as a norm and so ran down it is pathetic. They are milking it for all they can and avoiding any improvements they can.

NPS Draws Criticism For Allowing Oil Recovery Within Big South Fork National River And Recreation Area

Apr 6th - 11:03am | John Co

Private mineral rights exist with many designated wilderness areas as well.

Apr 4th - 09:47am | Public Land Owner

This is yet another example of the reality that designating public land as a national park fails to offer the highest level of protection for a parcel of land and the ecosystem it is part of. The protections extended by National park designation pale in comparison to the level of protection offered by roadless wilderness area designation in terms ecological security and biological diversity.

Apr 4th - 09:37am | A. Johnson

NPCA staff, though, was not satisfied with the finding. "Oil and gas development has absolutely no place in our national parks.

Birding And Other Adventures In Costa Rica

Apr 5th - 07:20am | Jennifer Bain

thanks for that catch - i have fixed it to Great Potoo!

Apr 3rd - 18:52pm | Edward Boyd

The Snowy Owl image is actually Great Potoo,

Apr 2nd - 19:51pm | August Armstrong

I took a Tropical Biology class at the local community college. The lab was a two week trip to Costa Rica. Mount Verde was my favorite stop. We also visited the other places you mentioned. The Sky walk at Verde was amazing as you got to walk among the tree tops and appreciate the iimportance of just one tree.

Legal Battle Over Caneel Bay Resort Drags On

Apr 4th - 14:22pm | Islandgirl

April 4th and still no word from the Court!

Valles Caldera National Preserve Seeking Cattle Wrangler

Apr 4th - 11:40am | Enclave

I'd think you could find a group of volunteers to help with this. One day a week is hardly worth it, cow's are smarter than that. Why not full time and include fence repair duties? This effort is window dressing only.

NPS Ordered To Create Marine Reserve Zone At Biscayne National Park

Apr 4th - 09:24am | Randolph Smith

Also known as Bouncer, I was lucky enough to travel to France 10 years ago for an international convention on Marine reserves and protected areas. It was the last bit of convincing me how valuable and needed more marine reserves are needed along the Florida coast. Every where reserves exist the fish populations and marine environment has improved.

UPDATE | Cedar Breaks National Monument Increases Entrance, Campground Fees

Apr 3rd - 10:58am | ecbuck

And still the amount of fees collected is invisible to the public. How much more is collected in fees today then say 10 years ago?

Apr 3rd - 10:21am | A. Johnson

With the push to cashless entrance and fee payments at more and more NPS units, one might also ask what NPS employees are doing instead of collecting and transporting the cash. Let's see the documentation of the effects of these changes.

Apr 3rd - 07:15am | chris...

Well fees have drastically increased under the Biden admin. Does anyone thing the NPS has improved their visitiation services to justify such rate increases across the board Other than privatizing the parks- what benefit has this been for the American people who OWN THIS PUBLIC LAND?

Reader Participation Day: Where Is The Most Breathtaking View In The National Park System?

Apr 3rd - 09:09am | Lori B

Coming into the Jackson Hole Valley from Rt.26 near Moran. The panoramic view of the Tetons is jaw-dropping!

Apr 2nd - 22:40pm | Gary Hack

The view from the Keyhole on the way to Longs Peak.

Apr 2nd - 19:27pm | Daryl Sullivan

Katmai NP watching the Grizzlies at Brooks Falls.

Apr 2nd - 15:08pm | Gail Lindeman

Flying over Denali on a sunlit day and landing on Ruth Glacier just below the peak.

Apr 1st - 17:52pm | Kathy Curlee

The summer wildflower display at Mt. Rainier NP is unbelievablly beautiful!Z5

Mar 30th - 10:13am | Karen Scribe

The most breathtaking view for me was in Denali National Park. We went on a tour of the glaciers and mountains in a small plane and landed on Ruth Glacier right below Mt. Denali. The view of the Ruth Glacier amphitheater was one of THE most beautiful things I have ever seen! It's huge, and almost undescribable because you just have to witness it in person!

Mar 30th - 10:01am | Kelly Bryan

Grand Teton Natl Park: Most breathtaking view, from just about anywhere in the Park. Katmai Natl Park & Preserve: Most breathtaking experience, needing to step off the hiking trail so the Brown bear mama and 3 cubs can walk past you within 25 yards.

Mar 28th - 07:36am | Harold Keith Duke

Sunrise and sunset at Bryce Canyon National Park. #2: Delicate Arch and the entire Arches National Park trail.

The 1959 Madison Slide, Part 2: Recovery And Remediation

Apr 2nd - 14:23pm | WaltD

Thanks, Mike! Very interesting bit of geologic history.

Your Artificial Travel Agent For A Yellowstone Vacation

Apr 2nd - 12:48pm | Bob Pahre

Thanks, Martin. That's especially interesting since Microsoft is behind both companies. I have asked ChatGPT to tell jokes about some historical events. Let's just say that the corpus on the Civil War is much larger than the corpus on the War of Jenkins' Ear.

Apr 1st - 22:59pm | Martin Desmond

I have been asking ChatGPT and Microsoft's CoPilot to tell me jokes about different national parks. Interestingly, CoPilot tells better jokes about than ChatGPT about the national parks.

How Do You Move a 25-Ton Cannon? Dry Tortugas National Park Found an Ingenious Answer

Apr 2nd - 11:50am | Student

I remember thinking that the men who built the fort brought them on boats through harsh storms. Maybe I just missed that in the paragraph though.

Time To Reserve Your Mount Rainier National Park Trip For July

Apr 1st - 07:12am | chris...

There is little to no public support for this. Who is paying who to implement these for profit scams using OUR public lands? Needing to own a computer to book an NPS reservation is illegal under the ADA

Death Valley National Park Backcountry Permits Going Online

Apr 1st - 07:02am | Chris…

This is only benefits apple and google. The tech takeover of the nps continues..

National Park Service Sued Over Termination of Indian Trader at Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site

Mar 30th - 19:23pm | R Eugene Rockey

I stopped many times on my travels of living in calofonia working for the US Forest Service. In the 50s and 60s. Traveling t0 visit parents in Colorado. It was a pleasure to stop and see the goods from the Navaho residents. Both Paun goods and crafts for sale. The documentation of source and description of the origin. Bill Malone was always helpful.

Mar 30th - 00:36am | Lowell Snyder

Connected with Bill Malone several times in the late 1990s and early 2000-2001. My high personal opinion of him, was due to his professionalism and love for his job. It was obvious he had alot of appreciation and respect regarding the Hubbell Trading Post. He took time out from his busy schedule on more than one occasion to show my family and visiting friends around the Hubbell.

Thank A National Park Ranger on July 29

Mar 30th - 14:08pm | Steve Delamarter

I would like to commend Park Ranger R. Pena fir saving our day and tripartite Big Bend National Park. We gad stopped at Castolon visitor center and notice we had a low tire. We are 7 septagenarians and needed assistance with our tire situation. Ranger Pena came to our rescue. He assessed the situation and determined our tire needed repair. He went and got an air compressor.

Biden Administration's Changes To ESA Rules Criticized For Being Industry Friendly

Mar 30th - 09:37am | Snochasr

So, we have a rule that birds are not permitted to have accidents, that they may not die "unintentionally" like running into windmills? Gee, if all we need is a rule, why don't we simply prohibit Climate Change? Or sea level rise?

Agencies Propose Return Of Grizzly Bears To North Cascades Ecosystem

Mar 30th - 08:17am | Albert R Gutierrez

Has nothing to do with politics----its about retoring an ecosysystem------there is plenty of room for bears --its works in Wyoming --people can live with wolves and bears---it's greed that stand in the way---not politics....

PEER: NPS Remains Plagued By Low Morale, Rising Attrition

Mar 29th - 18:16pm | Former NPSer

Empty platitudes and unfulfilled promises are all the NPS leadership has the offer. They've known the problems for years now - It's upper management and their undue ruthlessness towards anybody who dares question them. I was blacklisted by my supervisor, who was a bad reference for me BEHIND MY BACK for months before a hiring manager finally notified me of this happening.

Mar 28th - 00:11am | Tru Story

There was this manager once at a National Park who would regularly undercut their direct report in front of the direct report's staff. They also did it behind their back. Anyways, after nearly a year of this the direct report got a job elsewhere and the manager and direct report's staff harassed them so badly they had to take leave until the new job started.

National Park Service Sued Over Eagle Killing At Valles Caldera National Preserve

Mar 29th - 11:47am | Sean

Why would you trust in that? Corruption is everywhere, so sunshine is always the best ingredient in public decisions. Japan and Norway used to slaughter a huge amount of whales, claiming that it was part of their "cultural tradition". They've managed to fulfill their cultural needs in other ways now.

Mar 28th - 12:21pm | Bryn

Your opinion is just that, your opinio; to which you're entitled to. But in my opinion you have no voice for what should be allowed for one's culture and religion, especially for those that have been here prior to the creation of the United States.

Mar 28th - 12:18pm | Alex Makowicki

There is a lot of anti tribal sentiment and high horsing going on and it's scary. Most of these comments are about fairness and they shouldn't be allowed to do something I can't. Most people have no reason to kill an eagle so maybe it's hard to understand.

Mar 28th - 12:15pm | Bryn

Do a little research before making an entitled comment saying that the Valles Capdera belongs to all.

Mar 28th - 09:14am | A. Johnson

Actually, NAs do not have any federally protected rights over golden or bald eagles---the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) makes that clear. Who else says? The US Supreme Court...40 years ago! US v. Dion (1986)

Mar 28th - 07:39am | chris...

the idea that a citizen has more "rights" than another US citizen as a result of group membership based on ethinic origen is inherently racist and not in line with the US constiutition. A tribal member has no more right to kill an endangered species than a member of a biker club, or a Jiu Jitsu club or supremecist party of your liking.

Mar 28th - 01:59am | Robert Savala

Native Americans have federally protected rights over eagles that supersede local and non native rights. They won't win the law suit.

Support Journalism about National Parks!

National Parks Traveler is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Donate Now!

The Essential RVing Guide

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.

National Parks Traveler

Search