He is buried at the park's Old Guides' Cemetery.
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- Zeke, Ky and the Lightning Rod.
In popular culture, Mammoth has inspired a short story, an early computer game, poetry and rock-music lyrics. Today, park rangers continue to guide cave visitors through tours of varying length, style and level of physical demand — from easy to extremely strenuous. Tours include Gothic Avenue, which has historically significant passageways where 19th-century signatures are preserved. Interior temperatures average about 54 degrees. Bring a jacket or sweater and wear shoes suitable for walking.
Aboveground activities include hiking and fishing. But now that I've moved away, with each return it all becomes almost hallucinatory. The oldest national park east of the Mississippi is one of the first places in the country to see the sunrise about 50 minutes before dawn in the D. Park visitors trek to Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak on the Eastern Seaboard, to greet the day.
Early visionaries who sought to protect this carved granite, coastal landscape included John D. He is responsible for carriage roads and trails that meander for use by hikers, horseback riders and bicyclists. Despite that early observation, the park's glacially carved landscape is quite rich in nature and scenic panoramas, with many pine forests, ocean views and nine birding areas.
Avian occupants include peregrine falcons and sharp-shinned hawks. Moviemakers have flocked here, as well. This is a shoreline park next door to the seaside resort town of Bar Harbor. Two beaches one ocean with water temperatures for thick-skinned swimmers and one warmer, freshwater site are available. National monument, ; national park, originally named Lafayette National Park. Rugged, remote and relatively untouched, this park possesses the ingredients for rare 21st-century solitude.
It's a designated U. To the moose and the dwindling population of wolves, it's home. They're among the animals that have shared this Lake Superior island with sporadic humans for thousands of years. Today, visitors arrive by ferry from Michigan's Upper Peninsula or Minnesota. It carries passengers and offers interpretive programs, dining and lounges on indoor and outdoor decks. Isle Royale is the least-visited of the national parks in the lower 48 states, and the only one completely closed in winter. In season, it attracts hikers and campers, who pluck and eat the wild blueberries and thimbleberries in late July and August.
Scuba divers explore shipwrecks that date to as early as The sunken vessels are protected by the Park Service. Licensed scuba charters serve the area, where a wet suit is necessary and a dry suit recommended due to water temperatures of about 35 degrees at depths below 50 feet in the world's largest freshwater lake.
Island comforts include rustic cabins and the Rock Harbor Lodge, which has accommodations and a restaurant that serves fresh lake trout. This park comprises 30 lakes and islands that once were traversed by the Native Americans, European explorers, fur trappers and gold miners who navigated the U. Today, much of the park remains reachable only by water. Sightseeing boats staffed by park naturalists depart from visitor centers. Hiking trails some reached by water also meander the wilderness. They range from easy to strenuous. Some trails are groomed for snowshoeing and skiing.
Trail users may see moose or a blue heron rookery, as well as aspens, pines and rock outcroppings. Loons may be seen diving for fish in deeper parts of the lakes. In addition to camping, accommodations are available in the nearby resort communities of Kabetogama Lake, International Falls, Crane Lake and Ash River. The storied Kettle Falls Hotel is the only lodging within the park. Built by a timber baron in , it served a region where commercial fishermen sold their catch and bootleggers sold whiskey.
Today, the hotel offers 12 rooms, a restaurant and the Lumberjack Saloon. This pristine landscape does more than feed the appetite for scenic adventure. It quenches the thirst of the American continent. Here, miles from Missoula, in northwestern Montana, the park and neighboring wilderness lands are called the "Crown of the Continent," a headwaters for three rivers leading to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as the Hudson Bay.
The lush region includes lakes within park boundaries, including four on the Wilderness Society's list of the prettiest lakes in wild lands. Among them, Lake McDonald is so clear that it's possible to see, from the surface, to 30 feet below. The list of plant and animal species living here has remained unchanged since the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition, the Trust for Public Land notes. Not unchanged are the 25 glaciers, which are shrinking. The panoramas remain verdant, however, and a popular way to view the vistas is by taking a two-hour drive on Going-to-the-Sun Road.
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It appears in the opening of "The Shining. Expect two tunnels, steep drop-offs, tight curves and spectacular views — including mountain goats and bighorn sheep. Non-driving activities include hiking on miles of trails, boat tours and backcountry camping.
Hotel accommodations also are available. Ancient trees and dramatic cave formations highlight this park, which is miles from Las Vegas near the Utah border. The trees, bristlecone pines up 4, years old, are contorted, as if twisted from the sheer effort to survive harsh conditions. The cavern, Lehman Caves, is a geologic remnant of an ancient, shallow inland sea — a paradoxical image in this arid setting. Tourists can sightsee at various levels: Two guided cave tours are offered: Of note among the many subterranean formations is the Parachute Shield.
At least 80 U. Lehman Caves has As for the park's namesake, this region is part of a ,square-mile area that drains internally, rather than into rivers that feed the Pacific Ocean or Gulf of Mexico. For a wider view of the basin, visitors may hike an 8. The Great Basin Observatory is scheduled to open there on Aug. National monument Lehman Caves , ; national park, Beneath that roof is a subterranean mansion with limestone caves and a "chandelier" in the Big Room.
It's naturally air-conditioned to a constant 56 degrees, which is welcome during New Mexico summers, when July days average 95 degrees. Self-guided tours are available to visitors. They include the Natural Entrance Trail, which begins with a steep descent from the entrance to the Big Room. It lasts one hour and is more physically demanding than the Big Room Trail, which is accessed via elevator. Other, more strenuous tours are available, including one of Slaughter Canyon Cave.
Guides lead the way into an underground wilderness. Here, darkness is broken only by the flashlights and headlamps of rangers and tour members. Sights include the foot-high Monarch column, which is one of the world's tallest, and the Christmas Tree, a sparkling, crystal-studded column. The limestone rock that holds Carlsbad Cavern contains ocean fossils of plants and animals dating from a time when this area, miles from El Paso, lay beneath an inland sea. Every year here, for a few weeks in late spring, there's a twinkling light show, courtesy of synchronous fireflies.
Also in spring, an annual wildflower pilgrimage showcases blooms so prolific and diverse that this landscape is nicknamed "Wildflower National Park. Although this is the most-visited U. This area was part of the Cherokee homeland before the tribe was forced west. Some remained in what is now the park, either by hiding or by lobbying the government, and their descendants live in the nearby Qualla Boundary. Today, visitors hike, bike and drive the history-steeped land. Visitors who arrive via Cherokee, North Carolina; Gatlinburg, Tennessee or Townsend, Tennessee, enter an area that's percent forested with the largest block of virgin red spruce on Earth.
And if they visit Clingmans Dome, the highest peak in the Smokies, on a clear and rare pollution-free day, they can see for miles and possibly take in seven states. This park is a memorial to one man's love of the American landscape. Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president , established five national parks and help found the U. His first cabin Maltese Cross is on park grounds and open for touring. The foundation of his second, at Elkhorn Ranch, also is here in a remote area. Three separate sections make up this park.
They include a badlands area populated by bison, pronghorn, elk, wild horses and bighorn sheep. Roosevelt, a New York native, found this land restorative and wrote extensively about his time in the West. Contemporary visitors can experience this windswept territory, due west of Bismarck, from their cars, on bicycle, on horseback, on foot or by canoe or kayak on the Little Missouri River.
Prolific wildflowers, which appear from May to September, soften the stark landscape. June and July are their peak months; later-season tourists will find sunflowers, asters and rabbitbrush. In late September, cottonwood leaves turn a brilliant gold. Most national parks preserve and protect pristine lands. This park is an example of restoring what once was. Land and water along miles of the winding Cuyahoga River between Cleveland and Akron were reclaimed from industrial pollution and other environmental abuses. Today, beavers have returned to the marshes. Animal inhabitants here include muskrats, coyotes, red and gray foxes, peregrine falcons, river otters, bald eagles and great blue herons.
Visitors hike, bike, run, snowshoe, ride horses and observe wildlife. The scenery includes waterfalls, farmland, forest and wetlands. The Wilderness Society lists this park among its 15 national parks for fall color. History also is highlighted here. For example, there is the 19th-century Everett Covered Bridge. And it's possible to walk or bike the same path that mules trod while towing canal boats loaded with goods and passengers.
Canal locks and other structures built between and are still visible. The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad operates here during summer and autumn months. Paralleling the history of the park, the rail was opened in as a means to transport coal, as well as passengers. In , it became a scenic excursion route for leisure, as well as railroad preservation. Photographs simply cannot depict the majesty of the lake in its setting, the depth of the blue. Williams, former park superintendent, just before his retirement in , from quotes collected by the Crater Lake Institute.
Vacations give us stories to tell. And sometimes the places we visit tell us stories. That's true of this legend-steeped ancient lake. The deepest one in the United States 1, feet , it is also deep blue, a hue that inspired Native American legends claiming that the mountain bluebird was gray before dipping into the lake's water. Indigenous people could have witnessed the formation of this lake about 7, years ago, when a volcanic eruption of Mount Mazama triggered its collapse.
Rain and snow filled the crater — and continue to feed the lake today. Visitors to this park in southern Oregon, 85 miles from Medford, may view the lake by car on the mile Rim Drive, except in months with heavy snow, or by hiking. Cleetwood Trail leads to the lake's shore. Boat tours, with park-ranger narration, are another option. A longer boat excursion includes a three-hour hike of Wizard Island, a volcanic cinder cone rising feet above the lake. Tourists should watch for the Old Man of the Lake, an ancient hemlock stump that has confounded visitors and scientists by floating upright in the lake, unanchored, for more than a century.
Local lore claims that "he" can control the weather. Contemporary Crater Lake storytelling includes an appearance in the movie "Wild," based on the Cheryl Strayed memoir about walking the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from Mexico to Canada and crosses this land. The Story of Congaree National Park" There is a bald-cypress tree with a name in this old-growth bottomland forest. It's called Harry Hampton, named after the man who began lobbying to protect this land in His effort gained momentum when college students, enthused by the first Earth Day in , joined in.
Today, the park visitor center also bears the name of Hampton, who died in Visitors to the park, which is near Charleston and Columbia and named for Native Americans who lived in central South Carolina, may walk, paddle, camp and fish here. The interior is accessible via boardwalks, which provide views of Spanish moss, bald cypress and a forest of water tupelos. Canoeing or kayaking Cedar Creek bring your own boat or take a guided tour with park vessels takes visitors past some of the tallest trees in eastern North America. Also part of the scene are river otters, deer, turtles, wading birds and the occasional alligator.
Several species of woodpeckers can be found in the park, including the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. Badlands are good for movies, and the land here is sheer drama. This park provided the asteroid surface for "Armageddon," and scenes from "Dances With Wolves" were filmed here. Visitors aim their cameras at the same austere beauty, which includes buttes isolated steep hills , canyons, pinnacles, spires and prairie. That sculpting began 80 million years ago.
The resulting view — 75 miles east of Rapid City Regional Airport and 90 minutes from Mount Rushmore — can be seen via hiking, backpacking, camping or driving the Badlands Loop. Animal inhabitants roaming the landscape include bison, bobcats, badgers and butterflies. Of the estimated 14, butterfly species in the world, the Park Service says 69 have been documented in Badlands, where wildflowers support them. The butterflies include the distinctive two-tailed swallowtail, whose wingspan reaches five inches.
The , acres of the Stronghold District were added to Badlands National Monument in , before the monument became a park in The land is full of history. And that story is memorialized, in part, at the nearby site of the massacre at Wounded Knee. Wind was blowing out of the cave entrance with such force it blew off Tom's hat. For most tourists, the road less taken is the path that leads underground.
Here, beneath the prairie, this cave runs miles long and feet deep. The subterranean maze 54 miles south of Rapid City is rich in formations with names that will provide a new sightseeing vocabulary: A variety of ranger-guided cave tours are offered, from family friendly to more adventuresome, even candlelit.
Among them, the Wild Cave Tour may provide the most impressive postcard copy. Much of the trip involves crawling. The park provides hard hats, lights and kneepads. Aboveground, sights include a large herd of bison the official national mammal. As with all national parks, this comes with a history lesson.
It is a culturally significant and sacred site to the Lakota and Cheyenne people and to many other tribes.
There is no evidence of anyone entering the cave until Alvin McDonald was the first to explore the cave extensively, in Using candlelight and string, he covered eight to 10 miles, named rooms and passageways, and kept a detailed journal. At one point, McDonald noted: Three Steps to the Sky" For a clue to the character of this sprawling landscape, consider this: It was used for astronaut training because of its harsh terrain and climate.
But this park is also hospitable. It's home to 75 species of mammals, nearly species of birds, 56 species of reptiles and more than 1, species of plants. The wide-ranging flora and fauna is due to the ecological diversity: Taking it all in can be done via car on miles of paved road, or by hiking and rafting. This park has miles along the Rio Grande. When first lady Claudita "Lady Bird" Johnson visited the park in , her stay included rafting.
The trip was part of her campaign to highlight the 50th anniversary of the Park Service. In this centennial year, her words still speak to the wonder of the parks. Johnson reportedly stood on a ridge in the Chisos Basin and said, "This looks like the very edge of the world. Fifty years later, park visitors can honor "Lady Bird" by doing a little birding. Cactus wrens, curve-billed thrashers, black phoebes, Lucifer hummingbirds and greater roadrunners are among the year-round avian inhabitants. Park staffers also suggest stargazing. To the uninitiated, sightseeing in sun-bleached desert landscapes may seem like a "Where's Waldo" challenge.
On close inspection, however, nature and beauty appear. Creatures show themselves in the morning or late evening. And even park staff make new discoveries, including a little, yellow violet that was an unknown species until There are obvious assets, of course, including Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas 8, feet. In addition, visitors find canyons, a high-country conifer forest and lush streamside woodlands.
More than species of birds either nest or migrate here. Depending on season and location, birders may spy western bluebirds, violet-green swallows, white-throated swifts and red-naped sapsuckers. Nature here in West Texas miles from El Paso lives among layers of history. There are remains of ancient cultures projectile points, baskets, pottery and rock art. From the displaced Mescalero Apache inhabitants, there are agave-roasting pits. And from later years, there is a memorial to the Butterfield Overland Mail stage line.
A stainless steel pyramid on Guadalupe Peak commemorates the line , which passed south of the mountain as it carried mail from St. Louis to San Francisco. Such overland driving does not happen here, now. There are no car tours of the park. Caribbean Islands are synonymous with surfside leisure. And that's true here, where Trunk Bay is one of the most photographed beaches in the world.
But also here, just east of Puerto Rico, are hiking trails, historical sites and fragile coral reefs. Virgin Islands include St. Thomas, which has the nearest airport. The park covers more than half the island of St. John and most of the small, neighboring Hassel Island. Within the boundaries are more than historic sites and undisturbed Caribbean landscapes. Significant archeological sites — on almost every beach and in every bay — date from as early as B. Today, visitors may hike 20 trails suited to a variety of interests and physical abilities.
Sights along the way include carved petroglyphs and ocean views. Snorkeling opportunities include the Underwater Trail, which has plaques explaining the marine life. More than 40 percent of this park is under water. Among the architectural remains are structures from plantation estates and the days when sugar was king. Ruins include windmills, factories, great houses and at least 2, house sites once occupied by the enslaved plantation workers and their graveyards, as well.
This landscape is actually a collection of natural amphitheaters — stone bowls — rather than canyons. Bryce Amphitheater covers six square miles. Inside the hollows are hoodoos, which are tall spires of rock protruding from the bottom of arid basins. The park has more hoodoos than any other spot on Earth. Visitors gazing at hoodoos from the basin rim or trails below see stoic, sometimes human-shaped rock forms ranging from as tall as adults to taller than story buildings. Observing the upright shapes gives a sense of being a spectator in a Greek amphitheater.
It's understandable why Paiute inhabitants here said the hoodoos were "Evil Legend People. The dramatic figures of Bryce were shaped by water's freeze-thaw cycle and by erosion from rain as opposed to by a river carving a canyon. And they continue to be eroded. Here, about miles from Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, this landscape can be seen by car or on foot, as well as on snowshoes or cross-country skis and by winter backpacking.
This park is named for homesteader Ebenezer Bryce, a Scottish immigrant who arrived in and reputedly once said, "It's a hell of a place to lose a cow. A less practical take on this land today includes such annual events as Prairie Dog Day and geology and astronomy festivals. And because park visitors aren't tending cattle like Mr.
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Bryce, they can stop to appreciate the colors of the rock, which are said to be especially vibrant after a rainstorm. When traces of blood begin to mark your trail you'll see something, maybe. A Season in the Wilderness," on how best to experience the park. It's no surprise the U. Postal Service chose to depict this park on one of its commemorative Park Service centennial stamps.
Cameras love the complementary combination of red-orange sandstone against high-desert blue skies. Photographers flock here, miles from Salt Lake City, to capture the 2, arches, as well as the fins, balanced rocks, pinnacles and spires in their best light. It's alluring to filmmakers, as well. The story of the arches begins 65 million years ago, when the area was a dry seabed and the rock was still uncarved, raw material. Because the resulting natural beauty draws crowds, the Park Service suggests visiting before 8 a. And they advise treading with care.
The formations are more delicate than their rocky foundation would suggest. That's also true of the ground. Visitors should avoid stepping on the crusty cryptobiotic soil, which is alive and prevents erosion.
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That said, seeing the park on foot is suggested and hiking options — from family friendly to strenuous — are plentiful. Among the more physical hikes is a ranger-guided, three-hour one to Fiery Furnace, which includes rock scrambling up and through narrow cracks and along steep ledges above drop-offs. Sightseeing by car is also possible; popular features, such as Balanced Rock, are visible from the main road.
In this park so dominated by stony beauty, wildflowers may get overlooked. The Park Service provides an interactive wildflower guide to help visitors to determine what they'll see and when at nps. At this landscape in southeastern Utah near Moab, the rock art petroglyphs and pictographs in the Great Gallery here is a sort of a message in a bottle sent centuries ago.
The well-preserved, life-sized figures with intricate designs are hailed as the most significant rock art in North America. As the human parade crisscrossing this region evolved, European explorers found Canyonlands to be more of an impediment than a destination. Today, this land may be appreciated in as little as an hour, with a drive to Grand View Point for a panoramic vista.
Add another hour, and there's also time for a half-mile hike to Mesa Arch, one of the most popular sites here. Canyonlands' geographic districts include Island in the Sky and the Needles district. Island in the Sky is a mesa on sheer sandstone cliffs with spectacular views. The Needles district offers variegated spires of cedar mesa sandstone. Activities include hiking and four-wheeling. Kayaking on calm stretches of the Green and Colorado rivers provides another perspective.
The Maze district ranks among the most remote areas in the United States. Backpacker Magazine included the Maze on its "America's 10 Most Dangerous Hikes" list, noting that route-finding is tough among "sandstone fins and interconnecting canyons that all seem to look the same. It's no wonder outlaws, including Butch Cassidy, made use of Horseshoe Canyon in the late s, taking refuge in the confusing network of canyons.
The Complete Hiking and Touring Guide". This remote landscape is a wrinkle in time. Its main feature, the Waterpocket Fold, is a wrinkle in the Earth's crust known as a monocline. Here, the folding and tilting of rock layers opened a glimpse into millions of years of geologic history. The park gets its name from white domes of Navajo sandstone that resemble capitol domes and rocky cliffs that form a land barrier reef. Such features earned the park a place on the Wilderness Society's "America's best kept secrets" list.
At night, its starry status as a Dark Sky Park is revealed. This craggy topography, miles from Salt Lake City, attracts rock climbers. Hiking day and backcountry and car tourism also afford ample views. Various walking trails may lead into a narrow gorge, to cliff tops, under a stone arch or to historic inscriptions. Road routes are paved and unpaved. Rustic roads require four-wheel-drive vehicles. Despite the rocky terrain, this area has an agricultural past.
Fremont and ancestral Pueblo people added farming to their hunter-gatherer ways about 2, years ago, growing corn, beans and squash. Petroglyph panels throughout the park depict stories of the early inhabitants. Today, there are no restaurants or lodging here. However, an oasis of hospitality exists at the Gifford Homestead a farmhouse on the National Register of Historic Places.
Now a museum and store, it sells reproduction household tools, jellies, rag dolls and books. Without a shred of disguise, its transcendent form rises preeminent. There is almost nothing to compare to it. Dellenbaugh, early explorer-topographer of the American West. Americans look anything but sedentary here among the formations of sedimentary rock. The terrain invites climbing, scrambling, hiking, wading and canyoneering.
Although shuttle buses and cars can access views, sightseeing here can seem a bit like a competitive sport. Among the challenges is the Subway, a slot canyon that requires route finding, rappelling and swimming. Lower-exertion paths are also available among the trails that meander throughout the varied landscape of desert, mountains, forests, valleys and river. The Narrows, a canyon-network trek along the Virgin River that involves wading and, sometimes, swimming, is less challenging.
The visual reward for such efforts is evident in this: Zion is one of the most Instagrammed places in the country. Spectacular sites include a man-made addition. Interior Department puts it, "Zion is home to one of the greatest engineering feats of modern times. Carmel Highway and Tunnel, completed in , includes a 1. The tunnel has windows to provide views of Zion Canyon. Early inhabitants called this land Mukuntuweap, meaning straight canyon in the language of the Southern Paiute.
Zion is the Mormon name. Monkey flowers and hanging gardens created by water seeping from sandstone and feeding ferns and mosses are part of a diversity that's made possible by the park's location at the intersection of the Colorado Plateau, Basin and Range Province and Mojave Desert. This park is open all year, and fans of snowshoeing and cross-country skiing flock to Zion in winter. Peterson, Park Service landscape architect, circa s. A classic road trip lies within the boundaries of this park.
Skyline Drive runs like a mile spine along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With 75 scenic overlooks and a leisurely speed limit, traveling end to end takes three to four hours. The roadsides bloom with a seasonal progression of wildflowers — from early trillium through azaleas and mountain laurel to black-eyed Susans and goldenrods. The Wilderness Society listed Shenandoah among its best parks for fall color.
The annual Fall Foliage Bike Festival coincides with that display. Although the park can be driven in a day, accommodations and dining are available for those who linger to explore the paths, including miles of the Appalachian Trail. Overnight options include the Big Meadows Lodge, a stone and wormy-chestnut structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Before the area was designated as a park, homeowners here kept farms, orchards and grazing animals. Traces of former residents include garden-patch daffodils and more than family cemeteries, some still maintained by descendants.
Here, 70 miles from the White House on wooded acres, the president, first lady and friends relaxed and held meetings. The guest book of the cabin compound includes such names as Lindbergh, Ford and Edison. In , the compound became part of the park; its three remaining buildings are open for ranger-led tours. Today, summer visitors may catch a view of a more ethereal variety.
Mount Rainier is an icy volcano, which sounds contradictory. But this icon, which reaches 14, feet above sea level and last erupted in , is the most heavily glaciated peak in the lower 48 states. Its glaciers feed six rivers as well as wildflower meadows and forests. Mount Rainier is a Pacific Northwest landmark. And the surrounding landscape is rife with flora and fauna. But another notable aspect of this park is man-made.
Mount Rainier Park was designated a National Landmark for its collection of structures built in the Park Service's rustic style of architecture. Examples here include the built Paradise Inn, which still accommodates guests. It's built of timbers that had weathered naturally for 30 years before they were used in the construction. Other rustic buildings dotting the parkland include three lates structures in the Longmire Village area, made of large, glacial boulders and logs for an appearance designed to fit the surroundings.
Although rustic and rugged, this park was the first to allow visitors to enter with cars. Today, vehicles may go no higher that the Sunrise area. Because Sunrise is at 6, feet, the road doesn't typically open until late June or early July. It usually closes by early October. Sunrise offers views of Mount Rainier and other Cascade Mountain volcanoes, as well as wildflower meadows and valleys. Climbers seeking to summit Mount Rainier should be in good physical condition, with expertise and proper equipment.
The aptly named Paradise area of the park is popular year-round and also is a prime area for winter sports. The Paradise Inn was one of the earliest ski resorts in the United States. Although just a two-hour drive from Seattle, Paradise is listed among the snowiest places on Earth. This portion of the Cascades Range, dubbed the American Alps, feels much farther removed than its three-hour distance from Seattle.
There is a depth of wilderness here due to its rugged terrain, as well as to its neighbors: Ross Lake and Lake Chelan national recreation areas.
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Running through this land is a stretch of the famed Pacific Crest Trail, which extends from the U. Along with climbers, equestrians, backcountry hikers and day tourists, a wide-ranging ecosystem thrives at various elevations here. Mammals include the reclusive and, some argue, threatened wolverine, as well as the mountain goat. A note for postcard writers here: Mountain goats aren't really goats. They're members of the antelope family. Mountain goats are "generalist herbivores," that eat most plants, the Park Service says. Like that wide-ranging diet, this park bills itself as a "hikers' smorgasbord.
Such an unadorned nature experience evokes the words of writer-conservationist Wallace Stegner, who once noted, "We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. Few people think "United States" when they hear the words "rain forest. UNESCO cites this park's longest undeveloped coast in the contiguous United States and its complex ecosystems, which range from Pacific shore through temperate rain forest, from Alpine meadows to glaciated mountain peaks.
In addition, it claims one of the world's largest stands of virgin temperate rain forest and many of the world's largest species of coniferous trees. This water-rich place is prime for boating. Visitors may kayak or canoe on a various lakes, rivers or the ocean. Multi-day visitors may stay inside the park at the vintage Lake Quinault Lodge, built in , or Lake Crescent Lodge The Park Service suggests bringing binoculars and looking for wildlife at dawn and dusk.
Bald eagles, marmots, black oystercatchers and sooty grouse are among the denizens. One researcher suggests that visitors also explore with their ears. Gordon Hempton, an acoustic audiologist and proponent of limiting noise, identified a spot on the Hoh River Trail that he calls "One Square Inch of Silence.
At one time, the Hoh Rainforest edged the Pacific Coast from Southeastern Alaska to California's Central Coast and abundant resources sustained a number of indigenous dwellers, including the Hoh people. Today, eight Olympic Peninsula tribes have a relationship with the park.
As Mount Olympus National Monument, ; national park, The superlatives "awesome" and "amazing" have been diminished by overuse. But we still have "majestic. Majestic might also apply to the creatures that populate the ground that surrounds the Teton peaks. Park inhabitants include bison, weighing in at as much as 2, pounds, and calliope hummingbirds, as light as two paper clips. The tiny calliope breeds in the chilly mountain environments and is remarkable for being the smallest bird in the United States and Canada and the smallest long-distance avian migrant in the world, according to Cornell University.
The beauty that surrounds such creatures is, like them, both grand and subtle. This vast network of flora, fauna and geology is a significant interconnected environment. Here, grass is essential for the soil and for the animals it feeds. Tickle grass and tufted hair grass, among others, tint the vistas with subtle hues.
The land here beside the city of Jackson Hole also fed early tribal inhabitants. Native Americans roasted camas bulbs, for example, in underground pits. Today Grand Teton, named for the main peak, feeds visitors' hunger for nature and recreation. Activities include mountaineering, hiking, backpacking, bicycling, fishing, boating, floating, skiing, snowshoeing and, of course, sightseeing. Among the hiking trails is the Paintbrush and Cascade canyons' mile loop.
The Wilderness Society says this route offers "winning views" of the Cathedral Group, which are the tallest peaks in the Teton Range. The panoramas here have attracted moviemakers. This, the first U. Smith has described the park as "an active geologic laboratory — and the laboratory is alive. That living landscape speaks through 10, hydrothermal features: Old Faithful geyser, the most well-known, erupts about 17 times a day.
The subterranean side of Yellowstone is what the Park Service has called a pressure cooker. Aboveground, much of Yellowstone is a protected paradise. Its beauty became widely known when photographer William Henry Jackson documented the region for the U. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories. His images helped inspire Congress to establish the park. Yellowstone is large, with 17 rivers, waterfalls, five entrances, 4, bison and acreage spanning portions of three states 96 percent in Wyoming, 3 percent in Montana and 1 percent in Idaho.
It has the largest lake on the continent at a high elevation 7, feet. Yellowstone is home to the largest concentration of mammals in the lower In addition to bison, those inhabitants include grizzly bears, wolves, lynxes, foxes, moose and elk. Humans also have left their mark on this western range. It has 26 associated Native American tribes, miles of roads miles paved and more than historic buildings. Included among those vintage structures are Old Faithful Inn and the Lake Hotel, built in , the oldest operating hotel in the park.
Also here is an unexpected category: As the Park Service explains, the green, brown and orange mats are cyanobacteria, which can thrive in waters as hot as degrees. Pam Glisky had just had surgery on nerves in both feet and was slow getting to the phone. One of the best parts about visiting national parks is seeing preserved natural wonders, and each park offers unique views.
Recently a former National Geographic photographer visited every national park and tabulated the ones most likely to take your breath away. This list is not about those parks. Those numbers are expected to increase as the agency approaches its centennial on Aug. Trump is in power, and one of his first acts has been to gag government agencies. National parks are some of the most scenic, historic places you can visit. National Geographic photographer Jonathan Irish visited every U. Big Bend National Park in Texas is well off the tourist trail, unheard-of by many Americans and miles from the nearest settlement.
It is a green desert landscape, dotted with exotic vegetation that thrives in a dry climate. The trees are so big that it would be cowardly not to deal with their bigness head on. They are very, very big. But in person, their bigness still feels unexpected, revelatory. The blood is still drying on Clay McCann's hands when he walks into a remote ranger station, slides a warm gun across the desk, and informs the ranger that he's just killed four campers. Box's thriller Free Fire, the seventh in a book series about a Wyoming game warden.
Amid dangers from the Trump administration and climate change, sites including the Grand Canyon and Zion national park are facing yet another threat: National parks in the US are already seeing the effects of climate change — glaciers are melting, whitebark pines are under attack by pests, and wildfires are eating away at acres of land across the US. Story highlights The best lodges offer gourmet food, personalized service and rustic yet often elegant interiors Guests can see black bears and moose from rooms at Glacier Bay's Bear Track Inn Some rooms at the Volcano House lodge overlook one of the world's most active volcanoes You pull yo.
At first, Kaden Anderson thought it meant that there was a group ahead of his party, but when he called down no one answered. Pack your hiking shoes, your camera and some camping gear, because some of the most epic drives in the United States are hidden inside National Parks or are scenic routes managed by the NPS. Yellowstone National Park, now years old, was the first national park established in the world.
In , the 2. A century ago, America invented the idea of the National Parks System to preserve rad wilderness. The parks were places largely un-screwed-with by humans, where Americans could stand under massive redwoods, over grand canyons, and atop great smoky mountains. For every well-known national park there are numerous lesser known national parks that are just as breath-taking and beautiful. No matter where you are in Tucson, Ariz.
The park and its tall, pronged, namesake cacti literally surround Tucson. Shelton Johnson is the Michael Jordan among people of color engaged in the outdoors. He is the most recognizable — on many levels cherished — ambassador to national parks. Shenandoah National Park is the scenic mountain haven of the Mid-Atlantic, the glittering jewel in the crown of the Virginia Appalachians. The main spine of the park stretches for 70 miles end-to-end, dividing bucolic Shenandoah Valley from the Piedmont to the east.
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It seemed obvious that the crowd for President Trump was not nearly as large as that for Barack Obama in Located in Montana, Glacier National Park offers great hiking experiences. Karupa Lake, tucked off in its northern corner, is so remote that reaching it takes a four-hour skiplane flight from Fairbanks. Great minds tussled over the issue, all with an eye on Niagara Falls which, at the turn of the s, was already ravaged by commercialism. Yellowstone was the first national park ever to exist, designated in The notion of nodding off under the stars to the crackle of a fire in the shadow of ancient ponderosa pines sounds dreamy.
Though I love communing with nature, I detest discomfort. Many people who are unfamiliar, or are making their very first visit to Glacier National Park, want to know what the best day hikes are in the park. Below are my personal top ten hikes in Glacier. Does a bear poop in the woods? Of course it does, and so, apparently, do a whole lot of humans. Discarded toilet paper is just one of the problems that Rocky Mountain National Park has been dealing with as it leapfrogged ahead of Yellowstone and Yosemite in popularity last year.
Earlier today, whoever was operating the Twitter account for the Badlands National Park in South Dakota started tweeting out a bunch of true! Half the internet interpreted this as a thinly veiled jab at Donald Trump, w. Here are all of them. Photographer Jonathan Irish embarked on an ambitious journey to visit every U. Why Hike this Trail?