National Parks Traveler

A ban on the use of drones in National Park Service areas has become a hot topic this summer, and that was literally the case last weekend at Yellowstone National Park when one of the unmanned aircraft crashed into the largest hot spring in the park. Park officials now have to figure out what threat the debris may pose to the spring itself.

In 1914, the Colorado Mountain Club, hoping to persuade Congress to support the establishment of a national park in the Estes Valley and Grand Lake area, arranged for Arapaho elders from the Wind River Reservation to provide Arapaho names for local landmarks. Part of that effort involved a two-week pack trip through the area, and the centennial of those activities is being celebrated with a series of events on August 9 at Rocky Mountain National Park.

Imagine, for a moment, that you're in charge of setting fees for the National Park System. What would you charge for, and how much would you charge? Or would you charge anything at all?