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.

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National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 353 | Threatened and Endangered Species Intro

After more than 50 years as one of the country’s landmark environmental laws, the Endangered Species Act has gone from one of the most popular measures before Congress to one fueling demands that it be revised, if not discarded.

The National Parks Traveler is reviewing the Endangered Species Act's work and its record, spotlighting individual species that it's protected, those that it failed, and those that it recovered.

December 14th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 352 | Endemic Haleakalā

Haleakalā National Park is deceptively wonderful and rich in biodiversity. But if we're not careful, we could lose some of that biodiversity. 

Located on the island of Maui in Hawaii, the first thing you notice about this national park is its towering dormant volcano, Haleakalā, which rises from sea level to more than 10,000 feet.

December 7th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 351 | Staffing and Funding the Park Service

It’s Thanksgiving Weekend, usually interpreted as a bountiful time of year when we can all sit back and be thankful. But can many who work for the National Park Service feel thankful in the wake of the staff reductions this year?

This year has been hard on the Park Service, what with the loss of roughly a quarter of the full-time workforce and questions around how the agency has long interpreted history.

November 30th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 350 | Shrinking Mount Rainier

Gazing up at mountains from their valleys down below, it’s hard, if not impossible, to detect any change on the top of the mountains. But change is ongoing, especially in recent history as the climate continues to warm. 

From Tacoma or Seattle in Washington state, the snowy summit of Mount Rainier National Park appears unchanged from how it’s always looked. Snowy. But is that truly the case? What would you think if someone told you the top of the summit no longer is 14,410 feet high, that the high point of the park has actually shrunk?

November 16th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 349 | Park Friends Under Pressure

The government shutdown has been record-setting in terms of its length. So, too, has been the time that many employees of the National Park Service have been furloughed without pay.
 

November 9th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 348 | November NewsMatch Fundraiser

What is a "typical" day at the National Parks Traveler like? When you surf over to the website there's always content there, ready to update you on news from around the National Park System. How is it generated, and who generates it?

Editor Kurt Repanshek and Contributing Editor Kim O'Connell dive into the logistics of running a news operation that's focused on national parks and protected areas.

November 2nd, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 347 | The Battle of Saratoga

Though the Revolutionary War didn’t officially end until September 1783 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, a key turning point in the war for independence occurred six years earlier in a small corner of today’s New York state.

The Battle of Saratoga stretched out from September 19 until October 7, 1777, and marked the first time the British Empire had been forced to surrender. British General John Burgoyne had stretched his forces too thin in marching down from Canada with the intent of capturing Albany and wound up with huge losses in his army of nearly 7,000.

October 26th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 346 | Government Shutdown Blues

The federal government is shut down, but the national parks – most of them, anyway – are open.

Back during his first term in office President Donald Trump also kept the parks open during the government shutdown that stretched from the end of 2018 into early 2019. That led to some vandalism to the parks and damage to some park resources. 

How are things going this shutdown? To explore that question, our guest today is Kristen Brengel, the senior vice president of government affairs with the National Parks Conservation Association. 

October 19th, 2025 Read More

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The easiest way to explore RV-friendly National Park campgrounds.

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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 

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