Use these apps to explore the national parks, forests, and other public lands!
National Parks Fee Free Days in 2020
The Race to National Park 62
Unexpected Visitors
“As my husband and I drove through the Texas Panhandle, the bobbing and clacking of the pump jacks, oil derricks, greeted us...We hadn’t realized previously that Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the United States. We drove down to our primitive campsite in the Cactus Camp Area for the night.”
Find Your Trail
We’re thrilled to share a feature we wrote (as Amy Beth and Derek) for Southwest: The Magazine, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the U.S. National Trails System for the October issue.
#ParkChat
Know This Place
Travel with Lauren Smith as she finds a sense of home on the road, much like the migrating birds she studies. "The month after I moved to Montana I went to an environmental conference in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. There, I heard a Blackfeet elder say this: “We are bound by breath to honor and take care of this place.” The elder was speaking about conservation, and how it is important to care for all parts of an ecosystem—the watershed, the soil, the plants, the animals. To care, the elder said, you need to settle in a place and let it settle in you. Once this happens, you are bound by breath to honor and care for that place." Click here to continue.
Discover Where the National Parks and the Arts Intersect
The National Park Service, we know, protects and preserves important historical landmarks and expansive, undeveloped natural landscapes. However, many NPS units also have ties to the creative arts, and are dedicated to honoring and preserving an artistic legacy. We've taken a closer look at parks that focus upon artists, writers, and important creative and cultural pursuits that uniquely reflect and reexamine American culture. Let's take a look, click here!
Top Tips for the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge Complex
Discover some top tips when visiting the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge Complex, near the Coachella Valley in California. Click here for more!
Dining with the Sky Gods
An hour later and I'm clinging to a cable on the side of the mountain, treading a path so narrow my feet no longer fit side by side safely, but only one in front of the other. There is a steep, almost vertical drop to my right hand side. Indeed, at one point there is only a metal bar sticking out from the sheer rock, bridging the next bit of narrow path. Don't look down, I think. Hang on to the cable with both hands. Phew. Done.
Inspiration from Zion
"Driving from Denver to Los Angeles with my first husband and baby son in 1973, I wanted to enjoy parts of the country I'd never experienced. Tiredness interfered with that often, sending me into uneasy dozes as Richard drove and Lyle sang with the radio, banging out time on his carseat. And so, only one sight has really stayed with me for all these years: Zion National Park in Utah."
