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Exploring the Parks

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

Irresistible Distractions At Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

The beginning of winter found me feeling torn between the sleepy comforts of home and the satisfying challenges of rugged wilderness camping. As usual, the mountains won. “I’m headed north on Highway 15 out of Silver City, New Mexico,” I had texted my family. “No service for a few days, until I get back.”

Where Will You Explore Winter In The National Park System?

Winter, the season with cold, snow, short days and long nights, can be a challenging season to explore the National Park System. Yet it also holds surprises that reveal themselves in shimmering lights darting across the night sky, in tracks of what passed the night before across the snowscape, and in congregations of wildlife.

Into The Badlands Of El Morro And El Malpais National Monuments

El Morro and El Malpais national monuments preserve rugged, demanding landscapes that nevertheless attracted travelers, from ancestral Puebloans to early 20th century homesteaders. Today visitors study the signatures at El Morro, or peer into the lava tubes that worm beneath El Morro's surface. But there's also the backcountry of both that attract visitors who look for beauty, solitude, and perhaps a connection with those who came long before.

Mesmerized By A Petrified Forest

There is just one road through Petrified Forest National Park, a road that most visitors stick to as they stop at overlooks, maybe hike to Agate House, and check out the Rainbow Forest Museum. But if you're adventurous, the Painted Desert with its backcountry trails holds surprises if you take the time, and have the skills, to explore this wild side of the park, as Barbara Jensen did.

Three Days In Redwood National And State Parks

While on assignment for the Traveler, photographer Rebecca Latson visited Redwood National and State Parks in California. She returned from her trip with many photos and the realization that while Redwoods is mostly about the trees, this collaboration of national and state parks also offers prairie and coastal venues, all with enough to do and see for at least three days.

Running The Volcanoes At Petroglyph National Monument

The distinctive silhouettes of the “Three Sisters” are an Albuquerque landmark, low peaks on the high West Mesa. Part of Petroglyph National Monument, this free day use area is jointly managed by National Park Service and the city. Instead of turning left out of the visitor center parking lot to go find ancient rock carvings, I turn right in search of volcanoes.

On River Time: Three Days In Dinosaur National Monument

My wife and I are staring at a lizard that must be four feet long, holding our breath in astonishment. Light tan in color, this creature is vividly outlined against an overhanging wall of sandstone. Painstakingly chipped out of the rock by some nameless Native American artisan, it has been on display here for at least seven hundred years, or longer than the Giotto frescos in Florence’s Santa Croce church.

Exploring The Parks: Big Bend’s Outer Mountain Loop

The park’s website tries to warn you off. “Sections of this trail are extremely steep and there is limited flat or level hiking.” As a result, “The route is extremely strenuous and is not recommended for inexperienced hikers.” Many people do not finish the route because they underestimate the challenges; some require rescue.

Essential Guide To Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is home to the world’s most extensive Permian fossil reef, the four highest points in Texas, various ecosystems, and historic stories of bloodshed and survival all waiting to be explored. From forested mountains and desert dunes, Guadalupe Mountains offer various ways to explore the area through hours of hiking and backpacking trails not for the faint of heart, or via beautiful settings of flora and wildlife within reach of families.

La Historia Del Monumento Nacional De Chamizal

Cuando el Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo de 1848 puso fin oficialmente a la guerra mexicano-estadounidense que se libró por la anexión de Texas por parte de los Estados Unidos, contenía un acuerdo de que el río Río Grande definía la frontera internacional entre los Estados Unidos y México. Sin embargo, este tratado también creó la disputa Chamizal.

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.