| Page 1273 | National Parks Traveler

Went to the Grand Canyon Skywalk on the Hualapai reservation shortly after it opened in '07. At any given time one could easily spot as many as seven helicopters flying nearby. I didn't find them annoying but with that much uncontrolled air traffic in a fairly restricted area, there's no way in h**l you could get me on one of those things.

Apr 6th - 11:46am | Anonymous

In my heart I agree with the views already presented, however, I don't agree with the characterizations of those who avail themselves of air-tour opportunities. The person who introduced me to the wonder and beauty of our national parks had to limit her visits to wheelchair accessible parks and views.

Apr 5th - 11:56am | Random Walker

Unlike the "DisneyWorld" atmosphere of Grand Canyon, Crater Lake or Grand Teton National Parks, 97% of Mount Rainier National Park is designated Wilderness. Which also happens to border on the Glacier View, Clearwater, Norse Peak, William O Douglas and Tatoosh Wilderness's.

Apr 5th - 11:00am | Valerie

When hiking in the back country in Glacier, I find the helicopter flights very intrusive. I would think the same would hold true to Mt. Rainier. You want to hike to find solitude. Hiking miles into the back country only to be buzzed by a helicopter would truly be a shame.

Apr 5th - 09:00am | Wendy Andrews

As an regular visitor and advocate of this country's national parks, it is with dismay that another short term idea is presented for revenue and profit for the NPS.

National Park Mystery Photo 20 Revealed: A Door Knob At Scotty's Castle In Death Valley National Park

Apr 6th - 16:30pm | Present Scotty ...

I take an informal poll with the visitors and many think it is an armadillo?

Apr 5th - 13:56pm | Former Scotty's...

I just agree that say it's not Scotty's Castle is misleading. If you say "can you be more specific" then people don't get confused like they did here.

Apr 5th - 10:28am | Kurt Repanshek

Sorry former Scotty's Ranger, we aim for the Mystery Photos to be challenging. If they're too easy they're solved five minutes after they're posted and others don't always get a chance to showoff their knowledge of national park trivia.

Apr 5th - 10:15am | Former Scotty's...

I agree that it was unfair to say it wasn't Scotty's Castle - I mean, how specific do you want people to be? I would have said Scotty's Castle was right, and I should know what is in there pretty well, since I worked there for 3 years.

National Park Service Renews Partnership With Mountain Bike Community

Apr 6th - 16:06pm | RangerLady

Mike, I do have to say that some of your comments can be applied towards hiking as well. If I don't look where I'm placing my feet and 'keeping control' then I happen to crash....and I do so quite often. That's why when I'm both biking or hiking I always stop every so often and just take a look around.

Apr 6th - 12:41pm | imtnbke

You're right, I should be reading it every hour. But who can tear himself away from the latest about Tiger Woods? :-) (Actually, I regard that as the ultimate nonstory.)

Apr 6th - 12:40pm | imtnbke

Substantively, and in reply to toothdoctor, this is essentially a cultural problem, not an environmental one.

Apr 6th - 12:33pm | Kurt Repanshek

C'mon, imtnbke, you should be reading the Traveler daily and not need any email notifications;-) We have noticed some issues with the email notification system, and hope to cure them soon.

Apr 6th - 12:29pm | imtnbke

This is off-topic, but I'd like to mention to Kurt that if it weren't for Google I would not have encountered this discussion. If Kurt's site wants to reach out to a wider audience, it should do what mtbr.com and New West do and enable people to be signaled by e-mail when they get a followup comment in a particular thread to which they posted.

Apr 5th - 13:57pm | Zebulon

Mr. dentist, the court said that there is no mandate to make access universal to cyclists, but it also did not say that there is mandate to ban cyclists as well. So, basically, all it's saying is that the NPS can do as it wants with our parks.

Apr 5th - 10:52am | Mark E

What an odd notion -- unfettered bicycles roaming free in national parks. Not only grammatically suspect but plainly not what the NPS/IMBA partnership has achieved. As the IMBA press release makes explicitly clear, there are now dozens of successful examples of well-planned mountain bike venues in national parks.

Apr 4th - 17:11pm | toothdoctor

Mike---Thank you for pointing out the Federal Court verdict at http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/mtb10. Quite a long read, but very informative. But, after having read it, I find myself confused. Why is there a new memorandum of understanding to explore cycling opportunities in the National Park System? Can someone explain this to me?

Apr 4th - 14:41pm | Zebulon

FYI, MVD is a well known mountain bike hater from the San Francisco bay area who has been spreading the same misinformation for the last 20 years. A quick look at his website will give you a good overview of the character. :) For those interested, there is a fun Mike Vandeman FAQ floating around the web.

Next Time You're In Washington, Stop By the Old Stone House

Apr 6th - 16:01pm | Rebecca Johnson

@Raoul Pop

Can Hunting of Grizzly Bears in British Columbia Hurt Grizzly Populations in Glacier National Park?

Apr 6th - 15:10pm | Anonymous

Ericka-- May I ask what planet you reside upon?? Hunting is NOT allowed in Yellowstone!! Free pizza with a paw?? Where did you hear that from--PETA??Believe it or not hunters are one of the main champions of wildlife conservation in this country.Please try to get your facts straight as your wolfing down your soy burger. Thank You

Apr 6th - 10:38am | Ericka Shimkonis

Hunting the Wolves in Yellowstone, Idaho & Montana has devastated them. Whole packs are no more! Town people were advertising FREE Pizza with every for paw brought in! I will never buy Idaho potatoes, or visit Yellowstone Park ever! These idiots are crazy! People have screwed up Mother Nature & the Balance so bad that it will never recover!

Photo-shopped or Actual?

Apr 6th - 14:17pm | justinh

Kurt, Thanks! I think there are some issues of access regarding areas managed by the Nature Conservancy, but it's great to know that there are ample opportunites. Thanks again.

Apr 6th - 14:12pm | Kurt Repanshek

I'd have to say there are ample backpacking opportunities there, Justin. You can check out this page for what the park says upfront, http://www.nps.gov/grsa/planyourvisit/hiking.htm, but if you're good at cross-country navigation I'd think the options are fairly endless.

Apr 6th - 14:07pm | justinh

I'm heading to GSDNP this summer and hope to explore the grasslands/wetlands. I guess there are some limited backpacking opportunities there. Any suggestions from anyone about how to access these areas, and what might be the best plan? (I'll check with a ranger when I get there, but was wondering if anyone had some advance information.) Justin

Apr 5th - 18:02pm | Chas S. Clifton

Yes, those are the Great Sand Dunes (like Connie Hopkins, I recognized them), and elk do wander down into the surrounding San Luis Valley.

Apr 5th - 14:57pm | Ryan

Stunning photo, seeing the sand dunes lodged between the mountains and grassland it looks completely doctored but after reading Connie's comments I'm happily stunned. Great Blog.

Apr 5th - 09:22am | Connie Hopkins

We lived in Trinidad, CO for 3 years and The Great Sand Dunes (I recognized it immediately!) was a favorite spot of ours. The kids always enjoyed Medano Creek and the surges in water! We hiked to the top numerous times enjoying not only the views but our accomplishment. I have never seen an elk in the park, deer have always been the norm.

Here's An Update On the Wildflower Bloom at Death Valley National Park

Apr 6th - 12:42pm | Anonymous

We visited Death Valley the last week of March. It's an amazing place! We saw some beautiful flowers. I've posted some pictures on the flickr site.

Apr 6th - 09:57am | Lee Dalton

Just back from several wonderful days in DEVA. The wildflowers were better than the weather. Winds up to about 70 or 80 on Monday afternoon and all night. Most tent campers gave up and just blew away. Photographing a wildflower is very difficult when the poor little thing is whipping madly in the wind. And from there back to northern Utah yesterday, it was one blizzard after another.

Snowmobile Numbers Decline, Snowcoach Traffic Up in Yellowstone National Park

Apr 6th - 10:55am | Anonymous

We had to take a snowcoach into Yellowstone because we couldn't get a snowmobile rental in West Yellowstone during the New Years. There is more demand but the current system stops some from visiting by snowmobile because the current quota system just doesn't get a person hooked up with a rental place that does have snowmobiles still available to get into the park.

Add Zion National Park to the List Of Parks With Road Construction Nightmares Planned

Apr 6th - 10:05am | Lee Dalton

Grit your teeth. Grin and bear it. It has to be done and it can't be done in summer. Hopefully, a lot can be accomplished at night. Cooler for construction workers, too. I hope they will continue using the red aggregate that has made Zion's roads blend so well with their surroundings. It would be pure sacrilege to swap that for plain old blacktop.

Apr 4th - 23:15pm | Anonymous

The repairs are needed. The road is sagging and rocks are falling. This area is loose soil and continues to sag. It's a wonder it is there at all.

Summering in Yellowstone National Park: The Logistics

Apr 6th - 07:37am | Connie Hopkins

y_p_w On April 5th, 2010 Well - I may not have made it clear, but I was describing the trip my family made in 2006. We saw plenty of bear jams, although we only stopped once - near Tower Fall. Yes - we did find a legal parking spot. At Roosevelt we took in the Old West Cookout, which I'd highly recommend

Apr 5th - 21:30pm | stormy

We spent close to 3 weeks in the park in 2008 w/our trailer. Started at Mammoth for 4 days, then over Dunraven Pass to Fishing Bridge for 4 days, then on to Grant for 4 days, then to Madison for 4 days. At each stop we were able to really explore the area and sight-see to our heart's content plus had time for side-trips (Jackson & Teton, Cody, Livingston MT for a few).

Apr 5th - 10:39am | y_p_w

YNPGal: YPW,

Apr 5th - 07:35am | YNPGal

YPW,

Apr 5th - 07:02am | Anonymous

Old Faithful Inn is our favorite place place to stay in the park (or anywhere else, for that matter), but it is rather far from some sections in the park. On our last visit, we stayed two nights at Old Faithful and two nights in a cabin at Mammoth. This worked out really well and cut down on the amount of driving we had to do.

Apr 4th - 13:43pm | Bogator

My wife and I visited Yellowstone in September, 2008, staying at the Old Faithful Inn and the Yellowstone Hotel. Everything that Carl said about the Beartooth Highway is right on and more so. It truly is a spectacular drive. We spent the night in Red Lodge (a delightful little town) and drove through the pass the next morning.

Apr 4th - 12:11pm | y_p_w

It's not that far to drive if you pick a central location. My original plan on my family trip was to stay at one of the Canyon cabins for 4-5 days. I personally prefer a single location compared to moving around all the stuff in the car. Canyon is actually pretty much within 50 miles of major sites in Yellowstone.

Apr 4th - 11:44am | Kurt Repanshek

Carl,

Apr 4th - 07:16am | Connie Hopkins

I agree, West Yellowstone is one of our favorite gateway towns as well. On our recent Christmas trip we stayed there awaiting to board our snowcoach the next morning to enter the Park. They have a wonderful IMAX theatre there, with interesting movies like, ALASKA, BEARS, LEWIS & CLARK, YELLOWSTONE, etc.

Reader Participation Day: Which National Park Are You Heading to This Year?

Apr 5th - 21:15pm | Anonymous

My husband and I will be visiting Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks this May!

Apr 5th - 15:16pm | RangerLady

Looks like this summer I'll also be spending a lot of time at Lake Powell as my fiance is now working at Bull Frog. He has access to kayaks so I'm looking for some great trips that he and I can take from the Bullfrog Marina. I'm an experienced kayaker but he is not so be easy on us!

"Upper Lot" At Ridge Trailhead on Old Rag in Shenandoah National Park To Be Permanently Closed

Apr 5th - 17:48pm | Anonymous

As I'm planning to hike Old Rag tomorrow, good to find that they haven't closed the upper lot yet. I never hike Old Rag unless I can go on a weekday because I don't want to share it with 500 other people, so I've rarely had any difficulty in getting a spot in the upper lot.

4-Year-old Dies in Fall off South Rim of Grand Canyon

Apr 5th - 13:03pm | Michael

C'mon people! Of course the Grand Canyon is Dangerous. This is NOT Disney Land! Its a Mile Deep hole in the Ground. But, don't let that ruin your excitement for going there. If you ever thought that the Grand Canyon or any canyon or wilderness area wasn't a potentially dangerous place, then it is good that you finally realized that.

Are National Park Brochures Beginning to Rely on the Internet For Depth?

Apr 5th - 10:19am | Kurt Repanshek

>>when there's less text, people are more likely to read it.<< Ah, yes, the USA Today effect on America's attention span...sigh.

Apr 5th - 10:05am | A Ranger (at an...

What is obvious when you look at the new and old brochures side by side is that the text is bigger - this is a new standard across the park service for the brochures, which is slowly being rolled out park by park when they get revised. The reason is that it makes the brochure easier to read, especially for people with bad eyesight.

Voyageuers National Park Officials Mulling Reservation and Fee System for Campsites

Apr 5th - 08:29am | Mike Ward

Thank you for your question. You may walk into any visitor center and be assisted in reserving sites. We will not refuse this as we are a service agency. We are discouraging it for several reasons. One, you may not get a site by walking in. They may all be reserved.

Creature Feature: The American Crocodile is Florida’s Comeback Kid

Apr 5th - 01:57am | Reptiles Alive

What a great article on American Crocs. I especially like the alligator croc comparison. Sans counting the teeth of course, not recommended:)

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