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National park podcasts, best national park podcasts

Take a close listen next time you visit a national park. What do you hear? What can you hear? We’ll share some of the sounds in a minute in this week's episode with hopes they inspire you to let your ears play a greater role in your enjoyment during your national park visit.

To listen to more natural sounds from the National Park System, check out the Sound and Light Ecology Team's website at Colorado State University.

This week we also discuss a new paper just out that explores how climate change is influencing the type of forests we see in national parks in the Western United States. The researchers’ conclusion: the forests you see today in parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Glacier might not reappear after a devastating wildfire.

:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode introduction with Kurt Repanshek
1:10 Bass Harbor - Nature’s Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia
1:58 Grand Teton National Park Foundation promotion
2:31 Washington’s National Park Fund promotion
3:11 Listening to the acoustical side of national parks
17:55 Amaranth - Bill Mize - The Sounds of the Great Smoky Mountains
18:10 National Parks Traveler promotion
18:23 North Cascades Institute promotion
18:43 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation promotion
19:09 Friends of Acadia promotion
19:45 Wildfires are driving forest change in the West
35:48 The Offering - Bill Mize - The Sounds of the Great Smoky Mountains
36:24 Episode Closing
36:47 Orange Tree Productions promotion
37:24 National Parks Traveler footer

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 327 | Plight of the Parks

So much is happening so quickly to the National Park Service. There have been staff reductions, hiring freezes, spending freezes, orders from the Interior Secretary to make sure that visitors find national parks welcoming, no matter what it takes.

June 1st, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 326 | Environmental Partisanship

Is green a red and blue construct? Put another way, is there a political partisan divide over the environment?

That’s a particularly interesting question, no doubt more so in recent years as the country seems to have drifted farther and farther apart because of our political beliefs. To that point, a reader reached out the other day to say our stories shouldn’t be negative on the Trump Administration because the national parks are going to need the help of all of us - Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and everything in-between - to survive.

May 25th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 325 | Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility

News around public lands these days seems to revolve entirely around the Trump administration. In the case of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, many of the steps the administration is taking with the operational efficiencies of the National Park Service and other land management agencies certainly are keeping PEER busy.
 

May 18th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 324 | North American Bird Declines

True birders are some of the most determined and persistent hobbyists out there. If you want to call bird watching a hobby. For many, it’s more like a passion. Many look forward to “Big Day” competitions, where individuals and teams strive to see how many different bird species they can spot in a 24-hour period.

May 11th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 323 | Walt Dabney and Public Lands

It’s fair to say that the nation’s public lands, those managed by the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service and other federal land-management agencies are at risk under the Trump administration.

There’s no hyperbole in that statement if you pay attention to what the administration already has done in terms of downsizing those agencies’ workforces, and when you listen to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum say he wants to open more public lands to energy development and mining.

May 4th, 2025 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

FREE for iPhones and Android phones.