You are here

Home » Latest News

Latest News

The latest news from around the National Park System.

Entrance Fee-Free Days To National Parks Dropping By A Half-Dozen In 2017

The party must be over in 2017. The number of entrance fee-free days in the National Park System is dropping by 40 percent, to just 10 from the 16 you could have taken advantage of this year. Gone are the weeklong free days during National Park Week in April, and a long fee-free weekend in August to celebrate the founding of the National Park Service.

10 New National Historic Landmarks Illustrating America's Diverse History, Culture

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis have announced the designation of 10 new national historic landmarks, including properties that honor LGBT and civil rights history. The designation recognizes the properties as places that possess exceptional value and quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States.

Order A Digital Version Of The Essential Park Guide For Winter 2016-17

$1.99
Wondering how to enjoy the national parks through the winter? Download a digital version of the Essential Park Guide, Winter 2016-17, for a nice variety of ideas. You could consider visiting Big Bend National Park in Texas, exploring the newest national monument, Katahdin Woods and Waters, or go ice climbing at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Public Comments Favor Removing Enchanted Valley Chalet From Olympic National Park's Backcountry

"Wilderness ethics" received far more support than emotional ties in public comments on what to do with the Enchanted Valley Chalet that stands in designated wilderness in Olympic National Park, with most people calling on the National Park Service to remove the historic structure.

Fire Conditions Merit Bans, Restrictions In Shenandoah And Great Smoky Mountains National Parks

With wildfires burning in many places of the Southeast, and extremely warm and dry conditions in the forests, Great Smoky Mountains National Park has banned all campfires and use of fire grills in the park, while to the north in Shenandoah National Park fire restrictions have been put in place in the South District.

Young Explorer's Guide To Wildfires

$2.99
A winter with little snow has been followed by a summer of drought. Tall, white storm clouds tower above the mountain peaks throughout the long, hot afternoon. A few raindrops splatter onto the pine needles which cover the forest floor. Then, strong winds rush through the forest, rocking the treetops back and forth. The scene has been set for a destructive force of nature: a forest fire.

Losing Eden: An Environmental History Of The American West

The Western landscape is in flux. Populations are swelling, sprawl is expanding population centers, water is becoming more precious as a result of drought and diversions, land-management philosophies and practices are generating political frictions. In her latest book, Sara Dant brings perspective to these changes by examining the factors that precipitated them.

Archaeology Report Released On Parker’s Revenge Battle From The Opening Day Of The American Revolution

Nearly 250 years after the American Revolution, an archaeology report provides new details on one of the first battles between the Colonials and British Regulars near Lexington, Massachusetts. Along with describing battle tactics likely used by both sides, the researchers presented artifacts recovered from the battlegrounds, including musket balls fired by both sides.

Bridge And Boardwalk To Span Brooks River At Katmai National Park Gets Park Service Approval

A plan to spend more than $5 million on a bridge and boardwalk across the Brooks River in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska that drew criticism will move forward, as the National Park Service has issued a contract to an Anchorage construction company to build the structure.

Solar Panel Seen As Sustainable Power Solution For Great Smoky Mountains National Park Communications

Sunshine is being viewed as a powerful solution for keeping communications online in the backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where officials are considering the use of solar panels to generate electricity for communications equipment atop Mount Sterling in North Carolina.

Photography In The National Parks: Focus On The Eyes, Focus On The Light

Have you ever experienced frustration at not getting a clear head shot of wildlife during your national park visit? Have you ever experienced frustration at not being able to capture that perfect, luminous shot of a forest interior? What do these two items even have in common? Focus! Photographer Rebecca Latson explains how focusing on the eyes and focusing on the light can help you achieve great images of wildlife or forest interiors during your next national park photographic foray.

Zion National Park Shuttle Buses To Run During Long Thanksgiving Weekend, And Other Weekends Through November

Steady visitation has led to a decision at Zion National Park in Utah to keep the park's mandatory shuttle buses running on weekends through November 20 and also on November 24, 25 and 26. Both the Springdale Shuttle and Zion Canyon Shuttle lines will be operational to help with the Thanksgiving holiday traffic. All shuttle bus operations will end for the 2016 season on the evening of Saturday, November 26, park officials said.

Groups Hope To Prevent Nuclear Power Plant Expansion Next To Biscayne, Everglades National Parks

Florida Power & Light, which earlier this year had to deal with water pollution from its Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant near Biscayne and Everglades national parks, is proposing to add two units to the facility. A review of the plans by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission cited various adverse environmental impacts that could occur, but didn't view any as calamitous.

UPDATE: Men Pay More Than $52,000 For Cutting Down 400 Trees In Ozark National Scenic Riverways

Two men who accidentally logged some 400 trees from across 31 acres of Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri have paid restitution of more than $52,000 to the federal government, which declined to seek criminal charges as the men exhibited no criminal intent.

Between Two Fires: A Fire History Of Contemporary America

No one knows more about the history of wildland fire in the United States than Stephen Pyne, a prodigious scholar, prolific writer, and former wildland firefighter who spent 15 years on the ground with the North Rim Hotshots. His encyclopedic knowledge and personal experience of wildland fire are exceptional credentials for writing this book, which traces the history of wildfire in America over the past half century.

Why Preserve One Square Mile Of State Land Inside Grand Teton National Park?

Since June, the Grand Teton National Park Foundation and the National Park Foundation have been working to raise $23 million to help the National Park Service buy one-square-mile of land owned by the state of Wyoming inside Grand Teton National Park. This video shows why that purchase is important.

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.