National Park tips

Senior Director of Content Laura Motta loves the American West for its intense beauty, endless layers of human and natural history, and its full-on sense of weirdness. She took a road trip from Las Vegas to Great Basin National Park. Here's what she encountered on the way.

Wander through a prehistoric wonderland of colorful rock formations, fossils, and prairies in southwest South Dakota.

California is home to more national parks than any other state in the country, covering over 7 million acres of desert, volcanic peaks, seashore, and mountain ranges. Since moving to the Golden State in 2016, I've seen them all — a few more than once.

The National Park Foundation announced the launch of the 'Adventure Awaits' sweepstakes, with the grand prize winner earning the trip of a lifetime.

The National Park Service is warning visitors to Sequoia National Park to take care around rivers following recent incidents. 

A national park known for hiking, cave exploration and fishing will be undergoing several upgrades this summer, and park officials are urging visitors to plan accordingly. 

The idea of a South African safari often conjures up images of five-star lodges and luxury game drives — but a holiday in the bush doesn't have to be out of reach for travelers on a tighter budget.

Seeing wildlife is one of the best parts of exploring a national park, but officials are warning travelers it’s important to always keep a safe distance.

“Over the last 200 years, we humans have moved away from our daily and direct interaction with the natural world—even though we know this slowly evolving predicament is perilous for our survival,” writes Kris Tompkins.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, which secured access for everyone to some of our wildest and most beautiful places. There are now 15 national parks across the UK, covering a staggering variety of landscapes, from the heather-clad uplands of the Cairngorms in Scotland to the chalky grasslands of the South Downs, England’s newest national park. We’d love to hear about your favourite beauty spots and outdoor activities, whether it be paddling the tranquil waterways of the Norfolk Broads or birdwatching on the craggy Pembrokeshire coast.

There’s something truly spectacular about the Northern Rockies, and more specifically, Glacier National Park. From its striated, sky-high peaks to its thundering waterfalls and alpine meadows brimming with wildflowers, there’s a little something for everyone at this Montana haven. Wildlife seekers will enjoy the chance to witness grizzly bears and moose in their natural habitat, and hikers will appreciate the opportunity to lace up their boots and tackle the park’s hundreds of miles of trails.

A piece of Canadian history, Banff National Park is the world’s third-oldest national park and, over the course of its 140-year existence, has managed to walk a fine line between easy access and careful environmental protection.

Since time immemorial, Mother Nature has been hard at work in Arches National Park, famous for its namesake rock formations that splash soaring arcs of red-orange sandstone against the bright blue sky of Utah. True to its name, Arches has the highest concentration of natural stone arches of anywhere on Earth, from the graceful 306ft-long Landscape Arch to tucked-away Delicate Arch, a Utah icon so photo-worthy that it’s emblazoned on the state’s license plates.

A mind-boggling glimpse into layers upon layers of Earth’s planetary past, Canyonlands National Park is Utah's largest – and least visited – national park, even though part of it sits a short distance away from Arches National Park, a 40-minute drive from the town of Moab.

Redwoods is one of my favorite National Parks and it shares one aspect with my other favorites: otherworldliness. Being there really feels like you’ve been transported to another world, because there’s no other place like it on this one. Sure, there are forests elsewhere. There are even forests on coasts, but not like this. Coastal redwoods, the trees that give the park its name, are the tallest in the world.

The smallest of Utah’s "Mighty 5" national parks, Bryce Canyon packs a big punch. The first time you clap eyes on its iconic hoodoos – those otherworldly rock spires striped with orange, pink and red – is a moment you’ll never forget, even if you’ve seen photos of them before. This incredible park is home to more hoodoos than anywhere else in the world.

Heavenly Zion National Park is the holy grail of Utah’s "Mighty 5" and one of the most-visited national parks in the country. 

National parks are hotter than ever. In fact, the National Park Service saw over 325 million visits in 2023 — the highest visitation since 2017. However, not everyone who visits the parks likes to hike.

Growing up in Tucson, Arizona , I was used to the desert.

Officials in Namibia have threatened to blacklist a group of tourists who posed for nude photos atop the Big Daddy dune at one of the country's national parks.

Whether you celebrate Earth Day, National Park Week or World Environment Day, you can’t escape the many ways these celebrations strive to bring more attention to the damage the industrial world can wreak on our planet. But after the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic brought the travel industry almost to a standstill, American travelers rushed back to their airports as soon as they could.