National Parks Traveler

I woke up one morning thinking about wolves and realized that wolf packs function as families. Everyone has a role, and if you act within the parameters of your role, the whole pack succeeds, and when that falls apart, so does the pack. -- Jodi Picoult

The approximately 15 million visitors expected this year on the Blue Ridge Parkway—the most visited unit of the national park system—will find fewer ranger-led walks and talks, reduced facilities at campgrounds, picnic areas, and visitor centers, and perhaps a shorter full-service season. Superintendent Phil Francis says the goal is limiting the impact on visitors.

A 600+-acre track of land near Joshua Tree National Park that was to become a housing development instead has been purchased by two conservation groups that intend to leave it undeveloped and used for educational and recreational purposes.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis have announced the designation of 13 new national historic landmarks, including an Alabama bridge that was the site of “Bloody Sunday” during the civil rights movement.

Campers might not be too happy come mid-summer or so at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, where budget cuts could leave vault toilets at some island campsites full.

It's been proven that spending time in nature helps ground us. To that end, a group of war veterans are heading out on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail to "Walk Off the War."

Railroads were around at the very start of the National Park System, and posters and paintings pairing the parks and trains once were common. Landscape artist J. Craig Thorpe preserves these two, parks and trains, in a number of artworks involving Glacier National Park and the Empire Builder passenger line.

Creating a conservation strategy for the Southern Canadian Rockies between Glacier National Park in the United States and Banff National Park in Canada would help wildlife endure climate change, according to a report from the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada.

Hunters who participate in the annual elk reduction hunt at Grand Teton National Park better be great shots, as they'll be limited to how many shots they'll be able to take.

Three public meetings have been scheduled for next week to discuss preliminary alternatives and climbing management options for wilderness areas at Lake Mead National Recreation Area.