You are here

Exploring the Parks

Traveler peels back the layers to help you enjoy your national park experience to the max.

Inside The Lavish D.C. Home Of An Abolitionist Who Escaped Enslavement

It’s an 85-step climb to the hilltop home of Frederick Douglass in D.C.’s predominantly African American Anacostia neighborhood. For me, it’s just a brief cardio challenge. For Douglass, it must have served as a constant reminder of his journey from enslaved child to leading voice in the abolitionist movement, equal rights advocate and statesman.

For 60 Years, This International Park In Canada Has Celebrated The Roosevelts

In the name of cross-border relations, I sip on King Cole orange pekoe tea from New Brunswick and eat gingersnaps connected to one of America’s favorite First Families while hearing what Eleanor Roosevelt accomplished as a diplomat, activist, United Nations spokesperson and political force.

See D.C.'s Other Famous Blossoms — Water Lilies And Lotus Flowers

It’s a rare double heron day at the only national park dedicated to preserving aquatic plants. A Yellow-crowned Night Heron is stalking crustaceans in a water lily pond straight out of a Claude Monet painting. A Green Heron clutching a lotus stalk stands surrounded by pink and white flowers, huge, cup-shaped leaves and bright green pods that look like shower heads.

On The Ground On The Ice Age National Scenic Trail

Somewhere in the ten miles from the visitor center at Mississippi National River and Recreation Area in St. Paul, Minnesota, across the river to Minneapolis, I crossed an invisible line. It would have risen like a wall of ice, perhaps a mile high, just 15,000 years ago – a line demarcating the extent of the last glaciation.

The easiest way to explore RV-friendly National Park campgrounds.

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

Here’s the definitive guide to National Park System campgrounds where RVers can park their rigs.

Our app is packed with RVing- specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 national parks.

You’ll also find stories about RVing in the parks, tips helpful if you’ve just recently become an RVer, and useful planning suggestions.

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

FREE for iPhones and Android phones.