The unofficial ambassador of Signal Hill National Historic Site is basking in the late summer sun and being fawned over by strangers. He's getting pats galore, and even some hugs and kisses, while while posing for too many photos to count.

The seagulls give it away every time. All eyes aboard the Coastal Explorer are tracing their movements because these wily birds know—moments before we do—where the humpback whales will emerge in their amazingly synchronous behavior called bubble-net feeding.

Overhead, turkey vultures and hawks circle looking for prey. Underfoot, snakes, salamanders and turtle hatchlings do their best to stay hidden. All around, young trees — thousands of them — dot the landscape of what was once a rock quarry and is now part of a project to plant two billion trees across Canada.

As far as National Park Service passport cancellation stamps go, the one I'm given at Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site is historically significant. “Sep 14, 2024,” it reads. “Buffalo, NY.”

“Salt. Fish. Salt. Fish.” Heritage presenter Richard Street is regaling a bus tour group at Ryan Premises National Historic Site with the story of how Newfoundland fishing families traditionally turned cod into salt fish for the global market.

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park is famous for its large rhino population and yet — more than 60 years after Operation Rhino showed conservation world that the near-impossible could be achieved — the future of these iconic creatures seems less assured than ever.

It’s just one tree, but it’s a balsam fir that I planted and get to watch grow knowing I’ve helped Terra Nova National Park boost the biodiversity of its forest.

A pilgrimage from persecution led the Latter-Day Saints along the Mormon Trail from Illionois to Salt Lake City in the Utah Territory.

What to do with feral horses, a hot button topic across the National Park System, is being debated over Cape Hatteras National Seashore's Ocracoke ponies.

As far as pollinator gardens go, the one at St. Andrews Blockhouse National Historic Site is barely bigger than a queen-sized bed. But that’s actually a good thing since it proves the point that anyone with access to an outdoor space — no matter how small — can create a garden and make a difference.

In the only U.S. national park with a roller-skating pavilion, Akiima Price strolls around the monthly Late Skate event making sure the community is happy. DJs provide the soundtrack as young skaters wobble in between adults with serious skills. Extended families watch from the sidelines. Vendors sell bubble tea and volunteers dole out apples and oranges. As always, skate rentals are free.

Slovenia’s most famous legend explains the unusually jagged peaks, about a dozen lakes, glacier-carved valleys and gorges in Triglav National Park, its only national park, as well as the Triglav rose.

It’s just a titch late in the breeding season and the elusive Bobolinks are nowhere to be found in a rare grasslands patch of Rouge National Urban Park that’s off-limits to the public. But that doesn’t stop ecologist team lead Leonardo Cabrera from setting up his high-definition soundscape recording system and calling for quiet as he captures some audio.

A four-mile sea kayaking trip amid the backdrop of Acadia National Park's rugged, pine-tree-covered coastline and small rocky islands and outcrops brought us to water fowl, migratory birds, raptors and even a seal.

Across the country and below the surface of the National Park System rest a surprising number of ships that went down in rough weather.

When it comes to volcanoes, the U.S. National Park System offers explosive drama, famously blasting with regularity from a couple of high-profile parks. Both have lately been rumbling away.

Danny Cram moves jauntily between the forge and anvil, heating steel on the fire and hammering it into shape while keeping up a running banter with the crowd. With a flourish, the blacksmith presents a hefty-sized nail to a young visitor to Fort Langley National Historic Site. It’s longer than the width of her hand and quite fierce looking.

At Cape Hatteras, coastal erosion creates costly challenges for residents, tourists, and the National Park Service.

Wilsons Promontory National Park is on a path to become a conservation sanctuary to preserve and protect flora and fauna and serve as a climate change refuge.

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.