We are thrilled to share Jim Jones' uplifting photo essay exploring the light, shadows, angles, corridors, and horizons that comprise the landscape of the American West. This series was created over a two week period in Badlands, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in July and August.
Please click the image to proceed to the full photo essay, or click here.
We interviewed Lilly Longshore, whose advocacy offers perspective on how national lands can continue to evolve in terms of accessibility. She also suggests specific national lands that offer exceptional opportunities to spend time on the trails. Check out the full interview here!
Come hike with us via our video through the three main trails of Assateague National Seashore, the Life of the Dunes, Marsh and Forest trails.
Additionally, here are some other vantages at Assateague National Seashore. Photos by Derek Wright.
For more on Assateague, read "Morning on Assateague" by Martin James Wood.
Photo by Bob Wright.
Over in our Tips and Tricks section, we have posted our new page about Amtrak and Amtrak Guest Rewards! Check it out by clicking here and let us know about your experiences with Amtrak and if you have any cool tips.
And so, another school year begins.
There is a wonderful opportunity that we want to be sure it on your radar, if there is a fourth grade student in your family! As of September 1st, all students entering fourth grade have access to their own Every Kid in a Park pass at www.everykidinapark.gov. The “Every Kid in a Park” promotion is offered by the Department of the Interior and the White House, and brings with it tremendous value, providing free access to fee based federal lands for the student as well as the family.
Free entry is not only to all National Parks Service units, but other fee-based federal lands like national forests, national wildlife refuges, and land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, for example Red Rock Canyon outside of Las Vegas or Chincoteague Island in Virginia. The pass is good for a full year, from the date of issue to Aug 31, 2017.
This pass is nearly identical in benefits to the America the Beautiful pass (which is $80/year) and exists to encourage the entire family to tour our varied publics lands. These passes eliminate the cost of NPS sites like Yellowstone, Zion and Grand Canyon, where entry is between $25 and $30/car. If you visit a site that charges entrance fees per person, the pass admits all children under 16 and up to three adults for free. If your group visits a site that charges vehicle entrance fees, the pass admits all children under 16 and all adults in one passenger vehicle.
At www.everykidinapark.gov, children take a short fun quiz, and the pass is available for printout. The paper pass can later be exchanged at NPS fee sites for a plastic version, based on availability.
We are thrilled that the Department of Interior is nurturing the next generation’s enthusiasm for our protected lands, and as always appreciative of the great value of the annual passes; we bought our America the Beautiful pass in February of this year, and by April it had paid for itself park fees. As of August, six month later, it had essentially tripled its value! And we have more parks on our list for this year…how about you?
Contributor Wendy LaCombe Johnson recently moved from New York City to Oregon, stopping for two days during her cross-country trip in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone, designated by Congress in 1872, was the first official national park not only in the U.S. but in the world; its existence, along with Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks, influenced the 1916 formation of the National Parks Service. The short visit while in the midst of a road trip allowed she and her husband to distill for our readers some of the select sites to be sure to visit.
We drove into the park from Jackson Wyoming, along the Snake River, accompanied by jaw-dropping views of the Grand Tetons. Make a point of pulling over at the Snake River Lookout to see the spot where Ansel Adams took his famous stunning 1942 photo, “The Tetons and the Snake River.” The photo was commissioned by the U.S. government to further inspire visitation to national parks.
Entering the park through the south entrance, you are treated to more pristine views of the Tetons. This is a much less traveled road into the park, and worth the extra $20 admission to Grand Tetons National Park if you don’t have the National Parks Annual Pass.
There are two driving loops around Yellowstone, an upper and a lower. If you are driving either of the loops during the peak tourist months, as we were, be prepared for long stops and delays while bison cross the road, or tourists get out of their cars to take photos of elk grazing alongside a river.
We explored the lower loop on our first day, heading up the east side and dropping back down the west side, ending at Old Faithful. Highlights were the West Thumb Basin walk, where the boardwalk is a low-key meander alongside the expansive and lovely Yellowstone Lake, as well as the lower and upper falls, with breathtaking views. Be sure to take the 384 steps down to the lookout — well worth the climb back up. Also pause at the Artist Paint Pots, little bubbly areas where clay-like mud bloops and blops in a playful, cartoon-like fashion. As we dropped back down the west side of the lower circle, we stopped at the very popular Prismatic Spring. This is the largest hot spring in America, and a ring of rainbow around a pure blue pool of steaming water cast the spot as other-worldly and gorgeous. At Old Faithful we were surprised to see how much man-made development there was: a huge parking lot, three stores, and two inns. We appreciated the viewing area around this time-honored geyser, and there is plenty of room for the hundreds of visitors to observe from any angle. The extensive urban planning did make for an easy flow of all us gawkers. Be sure to check out the lobby of the Old Faithful Inn.
Photo by Wendy LaCombe Johnson.
The second day’s highlight of the upper loop drive was a long and lovely walk around the Mammoth Hot Springs. The drive progresses along a spectacular gorge, and the village below the Hot Springs is a nice spot to dip into the country stores to cool off and do some souvenir shopping. Any direction you choose to go along the upper loop will wind up and around a variety of calcium carbonate vents and terraces. The gurgling sounds and sulphur in the air add to the feeling of being on an entirely different planet. Be sure to look down often at the tiny outcroppings of unusual looking patterns in the earth. We also pulled over at the Sheepeater Cliff to take a tiny and refreshing stroll along the creek.
Yellowstone is such a unique environment. We feel incredibly lucky for the two days we had to immerse in this extraordinary park. What recommendations for Yellowstone would you add?
Photo by Wendy LaCombe Johnson.
UPDATE!
Hertz is now live with their fall rental promo. One way car rentals to Florida (from points north) at $9 a day. This year you can also drop off in Atlanta in addition to the usual Florida cities, see this link for more info.
Note that more northern cities come into the promo on Oct 9, and then even more on Nov 27. You have until Dec. 10 to drop off the car in Florida or Atlanta.
We have distilled our top money-saving strategies for saving significantly on car rentals in a reference list for our readers in our Tips and Tricks page. Do let us know what tips you have used to get a great deal on car rentals, as well !
Glacier National Park, photo by Derek Wright.
August 25, 2016 marks the National Parks Service’s 100th Birthday! The NPS was created by Congress and signed into law by Woodrow Wilson as a way of managing under a central authority all of the federal public park lands that had accumulated since 1864, the year that President Lincoln signed the first federal act of land protection. Yellowstone was established in 1872 as both the country's and the world's first national park; other early parks include Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia.
When Wilson signed the Organic Act in 1916, 35 national parks and monuments were protected. An additional 56 units, monuments and military sites, were added in 1933, transferred from the Forest Service and the War Department. Today, the NPS operates within the Department of the Interior to protect and preserve 413 different units, ranging from historical monuments to seashores to battlefields. The NPS manages nearly 90 million square miles of land and water.
To celebrate its birthday, all units of the NPS will be fee-free between August 25 and 28 of 2016. One-third of the parks charge an admission fee; some, like Yellowstone, charge $30 per car, and at Arches visitors pay $25 per car. This is a great week to get outside, and get into a park. If you can’t make it out this week, there are still two more fee-free days to look forward to this year, September 24, National Public Lands Day, and November 11, Veterans Day.
Also, for year round exploration, bear in mind that the best deal going is the NPS Annual Pass, which for only $80 gets you into all federal fee areas for one year.
Our plans for the NPS centennial week include trips to the Midwest and NYC area parks! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all the fun. Where are you planning to go this week? New parks or ones you have visited in the past?
We explored Valley Forge National Historical Park, where George Washington and the Continental Army decamped during Revolutionary War from 1777-1778, on a summer day where the weather was "polar opposite" to that historically frigid winter. Our day was an enchanting foray into the rural Pennsylvania countryside, which is expansive and idyllic. The park is not only a repository of vital history, but also home to 19.5 miles of hiking trails, 21 miles of cycling trails, and 17 miles of horseback trails. Bicycle rentals are available, as are ranger led walks and storytelling activities for younger visitors. Wildlife is plentiful, in river, forest, meadow, and wetland habitats. As per the NPS, the park is home to more than 225 species of birds and 730 species of plants.
Valley Forge is roughly forty minutes northwest of Philadelphia, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and its northern trails access other historic sites in both the county and the city. The lush, pastoral landscape is enveloping. Many of the park's primary historic sites can be explored via the 6.6 mile Joseph Plumb Martin Trail on the southern side, or the the ten-mile Encampment Tour, which can be completed as a self guided driving tour (a cell phone guide is available for download) or via a 90-minute trolley tour that departs from the Visitors Center. Key sites include Washington's Headquarters, where he held critical meetings with Lafayette, Knox, and Alexander Hamilton, replicas of cabins shared by militia men, the Pennsylvania columns, a monument to soldiers from the region, and the 1917 National Memorial Arch, restored by the Freemasons in 1997. Our slideshow seeks to capture the beauty of the park, and to share a few of the key sites that commemorate this critical moment in early American history.
Designed by Paul Phillipe Cret, the National Memorial Arch is inspired by the Arch of Titus (A.D. 81) in Rome. It was dedicated on June 19, 1917, and commemorates the arrival of Washington and the Continental Army to Valley Forge. It was unveiled for a second time in August of 1997, after restoration was made possible by funds from the Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania.
Fine ornamental detail underneath the National Memorial Arch.
View of the Commander in Chief's Guard Huts.
French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon took exact measurements of Washington during a visit to Mount Vernon, and built a full body cast to create this bronze likeness. It is now situated on the grounds of Washington's Headquarters. Each accessory element is chosen intentionally, to coalesce Washington's associations with both agriculture and leadership.
A Once Upon a Nation interpreter offers background on the lives of militia men during the encampment, and also details the workings of the musket.
Artillery Park was strategically located so that cannons could be moved easily throughout the encampment if the area fell under attack.
The outer defenses held the ground on this field, which is now tranquil and meditative.
Washington's Headquarters were in a stone house owned by Isaac Potts; the house was rented to Washington and his military associates during the during the encampment by Potts' lessee, Deborah Hewes.
Washington's office at his headquarters.
Alexander Hamilton's desk at Washington's Headquarters.
Bedroom for Hamilton and other officers, on the second floor of Washington's headquarters.
Additional office work space, at the headquarters.
Replicas of encampment barracks in Artillery Park.
Replica of General Washington in the park Visitors Center.
Amy Beth's dad, "Grandpa Parks and Points," at the National Memorial Arch.
Dylan Emmons, Vermillion Lakes Viewpoint
By Celeste Hackenberg
When we think of Canada, the word “nature” and its corollaries, “clean,” “green,” and “serene” are among the first associations. It would be no surprise, then, to learn that the national parks scene of our northern neighbor is truly magnificent. In 2017, Canada is turning 150, and is generously offering a birthday gift of free admission to all of its national parks. Of the most celebrated of these attractions is Banff, a quaint town clasped in the jagged hands of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains. Famous for a landscape that juxtaposes commanding skyscraper-cliffs with tranquil aquamarine lakes and soothing hot springs, Canada’s first national park is well-worth the pilgrimage.
My partner Dylan and I were visiting Calgary for my sister’s wedding, and decided to spend the next day together relaxing somewhere as different as possible from New York City. I am from British Columbia, a province with license plates that boast of its beauty, and I think it took going away and coming back to realize how much Alberta, only a few hundred miles away, had to offer. Banff is located just an hour and a half outside of Calgary, the third largest city in the country, so it is easily accessible via Calgary International Airport (YYC) and a rental car. Try creating a price alert on a site such as Hotwire to get the best deal on both. On the drive west, near-neon yellow canola fields light your periphery as the Rockies grow into the foreground, becoming increasingly majestic.
When we reached the gate, where all the cars that had been riding easily all eventually wound up, Dylan and I waited maybe thirty minutes to enter, but it was well worth it. For less than the price of a Tuesday night movie ($9.80 Canadian or $7.53 each), we had access to a sprawling 6,641 square kilometers (or 2,564 mi²) of imposing mountains capped lightly with ice and verdant forests to explore.
Since we arrived later in the afternoon, we chose to stay close to town on our first day, while taking in as much scenery as we could. We parked near the Banff Visitor Center on Banff Ave and walked downtown. Like many of the streets (Buffalo, Elk, Otter, etc.), the restaurant we settled into for coffee and a “Bloody Caesar” (the Canadian version of a “Bloody Mary”) was named after the wildlife that inhabit the area. Grizzly House is located on the main strip, where eateries offer every type of food and dessert you could hope for, and bear spray is readily available for purchase.
We were uncharacteristically tempted by these little gift shops, whose stereotypical maple syrupand moose caricatures spilled out from their storefronts. Dylan and I browsed through maple leaf- and animal-patterned souvenirs, painfully passing on an adorable pair of moose-patterned leggings and onesie pajamas in favor of the more affordable Moose Kisses and natural wood moose bookmark.
After getting our fill of commercial Banff, we followed a signpost to Cave and Basin, not sure what to expect except, well, a cave and basin. We found an unpopulated trail, aside from a few locals toting groceries, leading to a museum that cost only $3.60 and contained a sulfur cave filled with steaming egg-scented water as well as audio-, text-, and visual-history dating back 130 years to the park’s founding —not to mention Nanaimo bars, a delicious Canadian dessert bar made with chocolate and custard — a must-try for anyone crossing the border!
Upon return to our car we drove the short, gorgeous, drive to Banff Upper Hot Springs. Adult admission to the pool is only $7.30 plus a loonie ($1 coin with a loon on it) for a locker. While the springs are often crowded in the summer months, you should be able to find enough space to enjoy the weightless feeling of being buoyed in a deep warm bath without bumping into anyone.
The cost of the gondola across the way, $37 even for the discounted evening ride, was beyond our current post graduate-school budget; however, it is highly recommended, and promises a marvelous overview from its higher vantage.
Dylan Emmons, Vermillion Lakes Viewpoint
On our way out of town, we took a spontaneous walk along Bow River, where we enjoyed the sunset. A canoe ride here is a great choice, or, opt for a leisurely drive around the Vermillion Lakes, and stop at one of many viewpoints to take in the sunset.
Fingers crossed that the dollar stays as it is, so Banff remains increasingly accessible, and visitors can, without question, indulge in a moose onesie, or gondola ride.
Our three-day guide to NPS sites in Boston includes the wealth of formative colonial history in the city core, as well as pivotal sites in Lowell and Grafton that mark the growth of the textile industry. Consider extending your visit for a few days along Cape Cod National Seashore!
