National Parks Traveler Episode 178: Walking Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

There are 423 units in the National Park System, but a surprising number of people focus on about two dozen parks. Last year, when roughly 300 million visited the park system, just 25 units – the Yellowstones, Grand Canyon’s, Zions, Cape Cods, Blue Ridge Parkways – got 50 percent of the traffic. There are so many overlooked units in the National Park System worthy of a visit. They might not be your final destination, but they’re certainly worth becoming a destination on your traveling itinerary.

This is Kurt Repanshek, your host at the National Parks Traveler. Recently I had the opportunity to tour four of those overlooked units. I started this audible road trip last week with my visit to Scotts Bluff National Monument in western Nebraska. Today’s stop is at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas, an unusual park rich in both cultural and natural history. I’ll be back in a minute with my walk through the tallgrass with Ranger Eric Patterson.

 

02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode Intro with Kurt Repanshek
1::03 Shenandoah - Randy Petersen - The Sounds of Shenandoah
1:19 Interior Federal Credit Union
1:50 Eastern National Passport
2:31 Wild Tribute
2:52 The Everglades Foundation
3:03 Grand Teton National Park Foundation
3:30 Friends of Acadia
3:59 Editor Kurt Repanshek walks through Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve with Ranger Eric Patterson.
49:20 The Horsemen - Randy Petersen - The Spirit of South Dakota
49:48 Episode Closing
50:06 Yosemite Conservancy
50:26 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
50:46 Potrero Group
51:13 Great Smoky Mountains Association
51:32 Washington’s National Park Fund
52:05 Orange Tree Productions
52:36 Splitbeard Productions
52:46 National Parks Traveler footer

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National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 378 | Wilderness Lost

Across the United States, from Alaska to Puerto Rico, there are about 112 million acres of officially designated wilderness. That amounts to about 5 percent of the country’s land mass. It might appear to be even smaller when you consider that more than half of those 112 million acres protected as wilderness are in Alaska.

June 21st, 2026 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 377 | Don't Erase History So Fast

It was a little more than a year ago when Interior Secretary Doug Burgum asked the public to help him identify interpretive materials in the National Park System that disparaged Americans past or living or which contained content that detracts from viewpoints of scenic grandeur.

Well, it appears that the public didn’t share his concerns.

June 14th, 2026 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 376 | ESA's Future

Since this past December here at the Traveler we’ve been bringing you a series of stories on the Endangered Species Act and the threatened and endangered species it’s intended to keep from going extinct.

For me, it’s been an eye-opening series because of what our editors and writers have learned about threatened and endangered species — from birds to trees and even to grasses — and the work being done to help them recover. It’s certainly not an easy task, and one that often takes decades before you can see progress.

May 31st, 2026 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 375 | Rethinking Public Lands Stewardship

Public lands stewardship has most definitely changed under the second presidential administration of Donald Trump. Land-management agencies such as the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management have lost thousands of employees, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is on a mission to turn the country’s public lands into a cash cow of sorts.

May 24th, 2026 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 374 | Cook Inlet's Beluga Whales

A fast-track proposal to develop a gold mine near Alaska’s Cook Inlet and Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is alarming scientists, environmental groups and local communities because of the devastating effects it is expected to have on the region’s critically endangered beluga whales.

May 17th, 2026 Read More

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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 

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