National Parks Traveler Podcast

National Parks Traveler is the world's top-rated, editorially independent, nonprofit media organization dedicated to covering national parks and protected areas on a daily basis. Traveler offers readers and listeners a unique multimedia blend of news, feature content, debate, and discussion all tied to national parks and protected areas.

bootstrap

National Parks Traveler Episode 189 | Saratoga National Historical Park

Saratoga National Historical Park/NPS

If you want a bang for your buck, especially when it comes to American history, you can’t beat the offerings of the National Park Service found in the state of New York. There are more than 20 National Park System units there, ranging from the Women’s Rights National Historical Park in western New York to Sagamore Hill National Historic Site on Long Island.

September 25th, 2022 Read More

National Parks Traveler Episode 188: Fat Bear Week At Katmai National Park

Fall is here. Snow has fallen in the Rockies, the days are getting shorter, and some animals are realizing that winter isn’t that far away. 

With the change of seasons underway, you should mark your calendar for the most unusual competition in the National Park System and get started on your bracket. Not your NCAA basketball tournament bracket, but your fat bear bracket.

September 18th, 2022 Read More

National Parks Traveler Episode 187: Kenai Fjords’ Glaciers

Among the most amazing settings in the National Park System are glacial landscapes. From Glacier National Park in Montana and Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state to Alaska, these rivers of ice are captivating to see and, if you’re lucky enough, to walk upon or watch as they calve blocks of ice into Pacific waters.

September 11th, 2022 Read More

National Parks Traveler Episode 186: Rewilding The American West

Professor William Ripple from Oregon State University, Michael Phillips from the Turner Endangered Species Fund, and Elaine Leslie, who was the National Park Service’s chief for biological resources, discuss a proposal to expand the territories of wolves and beavers in the American West.
September 4th, 2022 Read More

National Parks Traveler Episode 185: Acadia's Friends

It’s been said time and again, the National Park Service is not adequately funded. There’s just not enough money in the agency’s annual budgets to address all the needs across the National Park System. And those needs are many, from maintaining facilities, keeping wastewater treatment plans operating smoothly, managing wildlife, and tending to ever growing throngs of visitors. 

August 28th, 2022 Read More

National Parks Traveler Episode 184: Is Recreation.gov Exclusionary?

As the inscription on the Roosevelt Arch at the north entrance into Yellowstone National Park reminds us, the national parks are for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. They are wild, scenic, and historic spaces that belong to all of us. But are they in reality exclusive places with reservation systems that aren’t providing equitable access to the diverse population wishing to use parks?   

August 21st, 2022 Read More

National Parks Traveler Episode 183: Adventuring To Alaska

Alaska is a big state, and within that big state are 17 units of the National Park System spanning more than 100 million acres. Denali, Glacier Bay, Kenai Fjords, Katmai, Wrangell-St. Elias are just some of those units. But if you want to visit the parks in Alaska, how do you decide which ones to explore? Contributing editor Kim O'Connell recently spent 10 days in Alaska with her family, and is here to discuss her travels in Denali and Kenai Fjords and offer some suggestions on how to decide where to go in Alaska.
August 14th, 2022 Read More

Audio Postcard From The Parks: The Shadow Mountain Lookout

On the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park, where the Colorado River drains out of Shadow Mountain Lake and heads down a short course to fill Lake Granby, is a path that leads to the shoulder of Shadow Mountain. There, in an opening in the piney forest, stands a fire lookout built in the 1930s.

August 10th, 2022 Read More

INN Member

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.