National Park tips

Nearly 200 miles of roads have reopened in Death Valley National Park after they were damaged by a hurricane last year.

Banff National Park might be one of North America’s top ski destinations, but that doesn’t mean non-skiers should stay away until summertime. In fact, winter is arguably the best time to visit Banff—even if downhill skiing isn’t your thing.

Maine’s Acadia National Park has temporarily closed several trails so peregrine falcons can nest in peace in the area.

With its own professional field guide and safari vehicle, guests have complete flexibility on safari.

Over the past decade, I've traveled to nearly every US national park solo, many of them multiple times. At several parks, I started planning a return trip before I even left.

A major winter storm has closed Yosemite National Park and is bringing other parts of the Sierra Nevada region to a full stop.  Meteorologists are forecasting some areas of the region, including Lake Tahoe, to receive at least 12 feet of snow, or higher, as the system slowly moves through mountainous regions.  Other parts of the region including Mammoth Lakes, the Sierra National Forest, and Yosemite National Park receive severe winter storms and advise the public to stay off the roads. The National Weather Service (NWS) has already placed most of the region on an Avalanche Watch, Avalanche Warning, and Blizzard Warning through at least March 3 at 10:00 am PST.  Yosemite National Park officials have already closed the park, and are asking all visitors currently in the park to «leave no later than noon» today, according to the park's website.  “A significant winter storm will impact much of the West heading into the weekend, including dangerous, blizzard conditions for the Sierra Nevada,” the NWS shared in an advisory.  In response to the upcoming storm, airlines have begun issuing travel waivers to accommodate the rebooking of passengers. United Airlines has issued a travel waiver for several airports in the region including Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE) in Aspen, Colorado; Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE) near Vail, Colorado; Yampa Valley Regional Airport (HDN) near Steamboat Springs, Colorado; and Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Alaska's Kenai Fjords National Park is all about water. This unique national park features stunning glaciers and icy waters.

Utah's Zion National Park is popular, and its towering sandstone cliffs, narrow slot canyons, and diverse landscapes make it especially busy in the summertime.

A four-hour drive from Denver, the rural town of Granada, Colorado, is home to just 450 people—and, at the end of a bumpy dirt road, the now-empty barracks and haunting buildings of “Camp Amache.” Also known as the Granada Relocation Center, Amache was once an internment camp for nearly 10,000 Japanese Americans who were forcibly removed from their homes between 1942 and 1945. Now, after decades of preservation efforts by local volunteers, this site has officially become America's newest national park.

Death Valley National Park, which usually known for its record-setting temperatures is making headlines for something truly unique — lots and lots of rain.

A federal grand jury indicted a California man accused of stealing a Yosemite National Park ranger's vehicle and leading a "high-speed chase" before driving off a cliff.

Temporary closures, parking issues, and entrance delays are to be expected at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park as it's about to undergo a “major” construction effort.

There is no shortage of nature-driven euphoria in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Hidden beneath an overhang on steep cliff walls above the Pinturas River Canyon are more than 800 stencilled handprints and painted images of animals. Nobody fully understands why Patagonia’s nomadic hunter-gatherers crafted the graffiti, but we do know they were created around 9,300 years ago using mineral pigments mixed with blood and fat, and that they provide a glimpse of early life in the glacier-carved province of Santa Cruz.  

With its immense buttress roots and leathery green leaves, the northern rātā tree isn’t to be underestimated. Carried on the wind, its seeds land in the canopies of neighbouring trees and begin to germinate. Then, over hundreds of years, each individual seedling’s spidery roots wrap around its host, eventually entombing it and consuming the rotting trunk. 

Are you, like 300 million Americans and international visitors, thinking about visiting the US National Parks this year? Do you like to plan your summer vacation several months ahead?

When hearing the term national park, many think of places like Yosemite, Great Smoky Mountains, Acadia, and Grand Canyon.

America's national parks continue to draw big crowds. In fact, attendance has bounced back almost to pre-pandemic levels, with nearly 312 million visitors in 2022, according to the National Park Service. Visiting one of the U.S. park sites remains an incredibly popular travel choice for many people.

Sporting a descriptive and undeniably epic name, Death Valley National Park is a unique location with an absolutely stunning landscape. Not just flat plains, but towering mountains, remarkable rock formations, and more. While you can visit in the summer if you’ve never experienced ultra-hot temperatures before, it’s far more beautiful and hospitable in the winter, early spring, and late autumn.

Of Arizona’s three national parks, Petrified Forest is the least visited. That’s a shame, since it is absolutely stunning. Though named after the fields of petrified wood, that’s only one reason to visit. Vibrant multi-layered and colorful sedimentary rocks look like few other places on earth.

For the past few months I’ve been converting a 2014 Ford Transit Connect into a campervan. I installed solar panels, batteries, built a bed, and more. Now it was time for a test run. I had intended to take more time with the build, but I had an important work-related trip coming up that required the van to be in at least livable condition.