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Sea-Level Rise Threatens To Erase Park Units

Sep 18th - 17:51pm | Stan Chrzanowski

I paddle the Everglades and the 10,000 Islands regularly and video what I see because that's the only way my grandchildren will know what it looked like when they're my age.

Sep 18th - 12:54pm | ecbuck

Will - climate change has not created more "extreme" wildfires or hurricanes.  But don't let that stop you from visiting the parks.  It is well worth it.   

Sep 18th - 12:38pm | Will De Man

Reports like this make me feel a sense of urgency to visit these parks before they're gone. I know 2100 is a long way off, but even the near-term effects of climate change, such as extreme wildfires and hurricane seasons, create an imperative to see these places sooner rather than later. 

Sep 17th - 23:40pm | Loui

The article is grammatically well-written, pointing out that over the next 94 years what "could" "may" and "might" happen.  Just as soon as these computer models accurately predict next weekend's weather I'll take these sort of Nostradamus-esq end of world predictions a little more seriously.

Sep 17th - 19:30pm | ecbuck

Climate changes.  Also has, always will.  Nothing we can do about it.  As Snochasr says planning to adapt if necessary is the best call for today   

Sep 17th - 08:32am | Snochasr

 SSP 8.5 is the "Impossible worst case scenario" so any projections made from it are equally unlikely, tales told to frighten children.  Just do the math on Statue of Liberty, and it comes out to about 3mm/year, and that is indeed the historic global average.  That average has persisted over the last 20, 30 or 50 years and is not accelerating.  By that measure, Dry Tortugas (one of my f

Sep 17th - 06:42am | Kate B

You make these simple comments about individuals doing "their part" by becoming vegans when in reality its big corporations who have the politicians in their pockets who are the biggest offenders of climate change & they never get fined because they are lining the pockets of politicians. STOP blaming individual people like it's OUR fault.

The Presidio's Historic Public Health Service Hospital has Been Recycled into Luxury Apartments

Sep 17th - 17:36pm | Jennie Budge Garner

We lived on the station from 1964-1968. My dad was a radiologist. I have been back to see it twice - both times in the 90's. They had painted those cute pastel stucco duplexes brown. So ugly. They were tearing out the asbestos one time when we visited, and the other time, the houses were fenced off. The grounds seemed smaller than I remember. You can never go back. 

How North Cascades National Park Manages 400+ Miles Of Trails

Sep 17th - 16:43pm | Richard Bannerman

Glad to see the editorial respect shown the pack train, the horses and mules who as it sayhs, are friends and coworkers.

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 240 | Grand Teton State of the Park

Sep 17th - 10:37am | Joshua Israel

Kurt, great podcast on Grand Teton Park but I have two questions for you! 1.  What is current situation with the Kelly Parcel?  Will it be bought out by the park? 2.  Are there any design plans to put a fish ladder on Jackson Lake Dam for cutthroat trout migratio?

Marker Pinpoints 1943 Shootout At Joshua Tree National Park

Sep 16th - 11:09am | Chuck Ellsworth

The story is told in every detail in the book entitled AMBUSH, which I purchased at the smll gift center near the south entrance of the park.    In short, Bill Keys was ambushed by another rancher named Worth Bagley.   He was tried for murder and convicted in a sham trial, details of how it was a sham are fully disclosed in the book.    After being pardoned, Keys returned to his ranch, now a yo

Unplugged: National Park Service Struggling To Meet EV Challenges

Sep 15th - 12:15pm | EV-er

This article is undated but based on the comments it appears to be from early 2022. The EV charging situation in our National Parks doesn't seem to have improved much since. I tried to plan an EV drive to Sequoia NP but this proved to be impractical due to the complete absense of destination charging at the park's lodges or anywhere else in the park.

The Most Remote Outhouse In The Lower 48

Sep 15th - 10:09am | Bob Pahre

Thanks for the link Rob - I'd love to get to the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.

Reader Participation Day: Best National Park Campgrounds

Sep 14th - 15:13pm | A. Johnson

Yes ,the Needles CG at Canyonlands is great, but I think the Willow Flats CG in the Island Dist. is even better, with numerous overlooks just down the road.  It is FC, FS though.

Sep 14th - 07:03am | Loui

Doughton Park campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway may be the best in the East.  Huge grassy sites and The Bluff's Restaurant is right down the road.

Sep 13th - 16:47pm | Clean Hiker

St Mary Campground out in Glacier NP stood out to me as a campground with a brand shower facilities. Not just that, but it was extremely clean, and free! Free Showers in NPS campgrounds are hard to come by so this stood out to me, not to mention that the campground is located in Glacier NP and the scenery goes without saying.

Sep 13th - 14:20pm | y_p_w

As someone who has camped at Yosemite - that place is a zoo.  I've stayed in several campgrounds in Yosemite Valley, including Upper Pines and the old backpackers campground near North Pines.  For the most part, sites are all poorly defined where there's the chance that your neighbor is encroaching on your space.

Sep 13th - 13:09pm | Gila Monster

I really enjoyed Butte Lake Campground at Lassen Volcanic NP. Towering trees above us, no paved road for miles, easy access to fantastic hikes to Cinder Cone and the Fantastic Lava Beds. Loved it.    

The Challenges Of Recreation.gov

Sep 12th - 22:34pm |

Don't you guys get it.  It's a surveillance tracking system that keeps the history of everything you've done anywhere with Reserveamerica, builds a profile and sells the profiles back to the gov.  It's just facebook for parks.

Which Is More Hazardous To Yellowstone Visitors, Wildlife Or Hot Springs?

Sep 12th - 20:54pm | Barry Shelley

The most hazardous thing to Yellowstone visitors is their own stupidity and ignoring National Park warnings and regulations!

National Park Service Proposes To Raze Old Buildings At Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Sep 12th - 15:03pm | Bob Apfel

Agreed. These buildings did not exist at the time of the civil war and have no relevance whatsoever to the historical mission of preserving the structures then existing in order to capture the physical reality of the place as it existed at that time.

Sep 12th - 14:34pm | Mark R.

If we are going to "Preserve the Battlefield" then we need to dig out all the dirt that was dug off the school house ridge battlefield and used to build the rout 340 ramp up Alstadts Hill. Then put it all back on the battlefield where it came from. The Park seems to forget that this happened.

Sep 12th - 14:32pm | Mark R.

"The Parks Role"? The fact that the buildings, or any structure, were put in after the civil war or 1906 is not relevent. The historic nature of any structure should be considered and preseved. They should be preserved in some way because they are part of history. But the Harpers Ferry Park has made nothing but terribler mistakes over the years.

Sep 11th - 07:58am | M X S

 I have been to Harpers Ferry 3 times and have hiked that area. Any buildings post Civil War without any other cultural or historical significance should be removed. This park is rich in American history and is wonderfully told through the buildings and park employees.

Sep 10th - 17:19pm | Leo p

Exactly 

Sep 10th - 17:07pm | Ntx

These buildings all were built after the Civil War. They are not historically significants.

Sep 10th - 16:30pm | Zachary Salman

It's unfortunate to see old structures come down, but it makes sense here. Because Harpers Ferry's significance is the period of the Civil War, that's the story it's telling. If the goal is to tell a story through experiencing the place where it happened, then anything that's outside the scope of that story is harder to justify putting finite resources into.

Sep 10th - 16:03pm | RG

They're not of the historical era though.  They're also unsafe.

Sep 10th - 16:02pm | DM

The title of this article seems to be deliberately misleading ("clickbait").  Replace the modifier "old" with "out of era" to be more transparent. The point has been rightly made:. Building that are not from the historical era of interest, and which are unsafe, need to be removed.  This will enhance the historical site.  Get on with this good work.

Sep 10th - 10:38am | T.L. Murphy

The NPS should preserve the Civil War Era buildings in Harper's Ferry and not buildings built in the 1920s. Harper's Ferry changed hands 6 times during the Civil War in the 1860s and was the scene of John Brown's Raid in the late 1850s. The 5 buildings built in the 1920s should be torn down. They are an eyesore and potentially dangerous when they collapse.

Sep 10th - 10:12am | Victoria English

I agree with tearing down the structures. As everyone else has mentioned, these are not from the era the park was established to commemorate and actually obscure part of the historical landscape. Plus, their is dangerous for anyone exploring the area. 

Sep 10th - 08:23am | Gail Mackiernan

These structures, while old, are not from the era that the Park was established to commemorate. In fact, their presence interferes with  that mission as they occupy hallowed ground over which men fought and bled  And since they also present a hazard to the public, they should go. NPS funds are too scarce to be spent on restoring structures not present during the Civil War.

Sep 10th - 07:38am | Philip C

As an avid repeat visitor to Harpers Ferry for hiking, I applaud the removal of 20th Century derelict buildings from the site. Schoolhouse Ridge is famous as the Confederate line during the Battle of Bolivar Heights, and the removal of structures that were not present in the 1860s is actually a form of historic preservation and renewal.

Sep 10th - 07:12am | Cb

These historical buildings should be PRESERVED, not torn down!

Sep 10th - 05:46am | Les Kobrandon

The headline of the article should be " Park service to Erase old buildings" like they want to do with all of our history. 

Sep 9th - 14:26pm | Dave Parrish

I second that.

Sep 8th - 10:02am | Kurt Repanshek

The historical park was established to commemorate "important events and issues related to John Brown, the Civil War, and Storer College, the only institution of higher education available to Black people in West Virginia prior to 1891."https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/270

Sep 8th - 09:49am | A. Johnson

A NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK is tearing down historical structures.  Hmmm. And still many--many right here on NPT--advocate for the NPS to acquire more properrties to manage as parks! Until the NPS can get its act together, and meet its statutory oblgation to PRESERVE its properties, there should be no more funding incresses or property acquisitions.    Enough.

Reader Participation Day: What Was Your Most Unique Lodging Experience?

Sep 11th - 20:46pm | J. Sequoia

Bearpaw Meadow High Sierra Camp was always the concessionaire's responsibility, NPS had nothing to do with it.   Wonder if DNC trademarked the name, wouldn't surprise me the least.

Sep 11th - 20:15pm | y_p_w

J. Sequoia: Delaware North is the concessionaire for Sequoia NP, so i'm thinking nothing ever gets done in rebuilding it.

Sep 11th - 07:13am | J. Sequoia

Bearpaw Meadow High Sierra Cmp was wonderful, and sadly I say that in retrospect as the last season was 2018, for the heavy winter of 2019 damaged some buildings, Covid close it down from 2020-22, and the winter of record destroyed the remainder of the the 6 tent cabin platforms along with the dining hall/kitchen.

Sep 8th - 19:30pm | y_p_w

Another thing is that one doesn't necessarily have to stay at a national park lodge in order to experience and appreciate it.  I've certainly entered some of these building and even had lunch or dinner.  I don't think I've ever been to one east of the Rockies.

Sep 8th - 16:56pm | y_p_w

We didn't stay at the Lake Hotel, but did stay in the Lake Lodge cabins maybe 40 years ago.  Again - way past the statute of limitations but we crowded way too many people in there with sleeping bags.  The lodge building was nice and had several movie nights.

Sep 8th - 06:50am | Diane Morello

When we journeyed to Yellowstone in 2018, we were fortunate to get a three-night reservation at Lake Hotel, lake-side view. What a lovely hotel, stunning views, beautiful boardwalk, great restaurant, computer room.

Sep 8th - 00:35am | y_p_w

Mari Fekete: Most park visits have been in our own tent or trailer.  There is nothing like waking in the morning to the sun shadows on the cliffs at Zion.

Sep 7th - 20:02pm | Mari Fekete

Most park visits have been in our own tent or trailer.  There is nothing like waking in the morning to the sun shadows on the cliffs at Zion.

Reopening Of Death Valley National Park Will Take Time

Sep 10th - 16:13pm | BH

I'm really sorry to hear about the damage. I'm visiting from the UK in October and had planned to be in Death Valley on 11th-13th October - is there any chance anything will be open by then? Thanks

The Gate Lodges Of Acadia National Park: Rockefeller's Little Castles

Sep 10th - 09:05am | Jim Boyd

I've always loved the carraige houses and had met someone who spent part of his childhood in the jordan pond gatehouse. You mentioned Walter Damrosch. did you know he is buried in Bar Harbor?   All the Best

Sun Shades Designed To Protect Corals From Ocean Heat Wave

Sep 10th - 08:52am | ecbuck

Sillyness.   https://reefbuilders.com/2022/08/06/great-barrier-reef-records-highest-h...

Dozens Of Conservation Groups Oppose eBikes On Non-Motorized Trails

Sep 8th - 15:47pm | ML

This is such horse pucky. I invite this older "disabled" woman to try to walk on any Montana trail on weekends or holidays.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

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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.