National Parks Traveler

Summer officially kicks off at Valley Forge National Historical Park in Pennsylvania this weekend with a commemoration of the Continental Army's departure from the winter quarters in pursuit of the British Army.

Fifty years ago a section of forest in the Middle Fork of Lost Man Creek in Redwood National Park was logged. Now the National Park Service is drawing up a plan for managing that acreage and seeks your input.

Summer vacations at the Cape have long been an American tradition, dating back well before the national seashore was authorized in 1961. So popular is the seashore, in fact, that the vacation season has stretched out, going well beyond Labor Day and creeping into October. And why not? Waters, whether you’re talking about the Cape’s freshwater kettle ponds, Cape Cod Bay, or the Atlantic, remain relatively warm through September.

Nearly every day someone tells me that I have the dream job as a full-time wildlife photographer in Yellowstone National Park, but if they knew that a Dutch photographer nearly punched me out yesterday, when I was trying to assist a black bear in crossing the road on a blind curb, they might think again.