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A goat on a hillside near Logan Pass, at Glacier National Park, by Kurt Repanshek

With nearly 430 units in the National Park System, of which 63 are National Parks, we all probably could use a little help in planning our adventures into the park system. But do you simply visit a park’s website to plan your trip? Find an online guidebook? Buy a hardcover guidebook? Or simply wing it when you reach your destination?

This is Kurt Repanshek, your host at the National Parks Traveler. I must confess, I’ve taken all three approaches, and I’ve even written a guidebook to the parks, and there’s probably a fair amount of guidebook material on the Traveler.

Today we’re reaching out to two writers who make their living writing national park guidebooks. Becky Lomax is the author of “USA National Parks: The Complete Guide to All 63 National Parks” from Moon Travel Guides, as well as her latest titles “Best of Glacier, Banff and Jasper: Make the Most of One to Three Days in the Parks”, which she co-wrote with Andrew Hempstead, and “Glacier National Park: Hiking, Camping, Lakes, and Peaks”.

Michael Oswald is the author of “Your Guide to the National Parks”, “National Park Maps: An Atlas of United States National Parks”, and “The Day Hiker’s Guide to the National Parks”.

0:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
0:12 Episode Intro with Kurt Repanshek
1:19 Sieur de Monts - Nature’s Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia
1:34 Interior Federal Credit Union
2:00 Smokies Life
2:26 Episode 264 - National Park Guidebooks
27:33 Flamingo - Tim Heintz - The Sounds of the Everglades
27:50 NPT Promo
28:01 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
28:24 Episode 264 - National Park Guidebooks Continues
44:54 Almost Home - Randy Petersen - The Sounds of the Great Smoky Mountains
45:49 Episode Closing
46:03 Orange Tree Productions
46:36 Splitbeard Productions
46:47 National Parks Traveler footer

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National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 313 | National Parks in Crisis

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Rising sea levels, stronger storms, eroding shorelines, and sinking terrain are taking a toll on the fragile ecosystems and historic resources at Cape Lookout National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  A new study by the U.S. Geological Survey takes a close look at these threats and predicts how they will impact the national seashore over the coming years.
 

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National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 310 | Parks Under Pressure

Here we are, a week into the second administration of President Donald Trump. It’s certainly a time of change, some of which is expected, and some perhaps not. Do we really need to rename North America’s tallest mountain, Denali in Denali National Park and Preserve?

There is much going on in the federal government, and not all is good. Hiring freezes are underway. There’s much talk about reducing the federal budget, which requires cutting agency funding.

January 26th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 309 | Yellowstone Wolves at 30

There are sounds that wake you up out of a deep sleep, only to be dismissed as you fall back to sleep. And then there are sounds that rivet you, make you sit bolt upright.

That was the type of sound that woke us while we were deep in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park. Sunrise hadn’t yet come, yet we were wide awake, listening to one of the most mesmerizing sounds you can encounter in the wilds: The melodious rising and falling howl of a wolf.

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