National Parks Traveler

Great Smoky Mountains National Park recently received help to restore key elements of the historic Palmer Barn. Asheville building contractor Sean Perry and his crew partnered with the park and Friends of the Smokies to preserve the structural integrity of the barn and improve visitor safety through the renovation project in Cataloochee in the North Carolina section of the park.

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By Kurt Repanshek - June 3rd, 2018 2:00am

A Daring Journey Into The Big Unknown Of America’s Largest National Park

With a trekking pole in one hand and an ice ax in the other, I am naked except for the rigid mountaineering boots on my feet. With all my clothes in my backpack, I cross three braids of the glacier-fed Chitina River in Alaska, stopping to partially recover from the cold on the gravel bars in between. But I know the last ford is going to be the trickiest.

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By NPT Staff - June 3rd, 2018 1:45am

New Junior Ranger Activity Book Encourages Kids To Go Fish

The Interior Department, along with the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is publishing a free booklet to help kids get hooked on fishing. Aspiring anglers can download the Junior Ranger “Let’s Go Fishing!” activity booklet, which will introduce them and their families to fishing and encourage healthy and responsible outdoor recreation.

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By NPT Staff - June 3rd, 2018 1:15am

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Climbers Fall To Deaths From El Capitan At Yosemite National Park

Two climbers tackling the Freeblast Route on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park fell to their deaths Saturday morning.

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By Kurt Repanshek - June 2nd, 2018 3:44pm

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Clingmans Dome Tower Temporarily Closed June 4-15

The Clingmans Dome Observation Tower at Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be closed Monday, June 4, through Friday, June 15, to complete a rehabilitation project that began last year. Workers need to apply a final surface overlay along the tower ramp.

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By NPT Staff - June 2nd, 2018 2:00am

Interior Secretary Designates 19 National Recreation Trails

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has designated 19 national recreation trails in 17 states, adding more than 370 miles to the national recreation trails system that counts more than 1,000 trails in all 50 states.

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By NPT Staff - June 2nd, 2018 1:15am

Acting National Park Service Director Says He's Cleared Of Harassment Charge

While the acting director of the National Park Service says grabbing his crotch in an Interior Department hallway was inappropriate, he told the agency's employees Friday that he's been cleared of behavior that constituted harassment.

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By Kurt Repanshek - June 1st, 2018 3:13pm

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Remembering Richard West Sellars

Historian Richard West Sellars died at home in Santa Fe on November 1, 2017. Born in Decatur, Texas, in 1935, he was the son of oilman Robert Thompson Sellars, Sr. and schoolteacher, Johnnie Mae Blankenship Sellars. He graduated from Baylor University with a degree in geology in 1957.

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By NPT Staff - June 1st, 2018 9:54am

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Snake Hunters Sought To Remove Pythons From Everglades National Park

With hopes of removing more non-native Burmese pythons from Everglades National Park, the park is working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to attract paid contractors to catch the big snakes.