May 11th, 2013 at 4:00PM: Summer travel season is upon us, and while many consider a week at the beach a worthy summer vacation, we have another suggestion.
The National Park Service's African American Experience Fund (the only nonprofit partner of the National Park Service) offers a number of heritage trip tour itineraries that combine some of the country's best attractions with a vibrant trip through history.
The ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
NationalParkService posts
Summer Travel Idea: Heritage Trips
May 11th, 2013 at 4:00PM: Summer travel season is upon us, and while many consider a week at the beach a worthy summer vacation, we have another suggestion.
The National Park Service's African American Experience Fund (the only nonprofit partner of the National Park Service) offers a number of heritage trip tour itineraries that combine some of the country's best attractions with a vibrant trip through history.
The ...National Park Week Begins Tomorrow!
Apr 19th, 2013 at 8:00AM: The National Park Service and the National Park Foundation will kick off their annual spring celebration of the parks tomorrow, as National Park Week officially gets under way. The event will run from April 20-28 and will feature a number of special activities throughout the parks, including free entry Monday through Friday of next week.
The national parks have long been favorite destinations ...National Park Service Releases 2012 Attendance Numbers
Apr 4th, 2013 at 8:00AM: Yesterday the National Park Service released the official attendance numbers for each of the parks in 2012. The list gives us some insights into the most popular destinations with travelers in the U.S. park system with some very well known and iconic parks earning the top spots. The numbers also indicate that travelers don't seem to be growing tired of the parks either, as more than 282 million ...Yellowstone Avoids Delayed Opening Thanks To Efforts Of Wyoming Town
Mar 24th, 2013 at 8:00AM: Over the past month or so we've all heard stories about the impact of sequestration on America's national parks. Severe budget cuts, brought on by Congress' inability to come to a fiscal compromise, have resulted in a loss of services in a number of parks across the country. In order to operate within its revised budget, this year the National Park Service has been forced to close visitor centers, ...Statue Of Liberty To Reopen By July 4
Mar 22nd, 2013 at 8:00AM: Earlier this week, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the Statue of Liberty will reopen to visitors this summer just in time to celebrate America's birthday. The iconic statue, and the island it sits on, suffered damage during Hurricane Sandy in October but is now on track to return to service by July 4, 2013.
During the mega-storm that engulfed the East Coast last year, ...VIDEO: Prehistoric Art Of Panther Cave Reproduced In 3D
Mar 10th, 2013 at 2:00PM:
Panther Cave in Seminole Canyon, Texas, has some of the country's best-preserved prehistoric cave paintings. A colorful frieze of leaping panthers, feathered shamans and strange abstract shapes have puzzled researchers for decades. It appears to be telling a story of some sort, but what does that story say?
Now this new 3D video allows you to study it for yourself. Color enhancement brings ...
Mammoth Cave Surpasses 400 Miles In Length
Feb 24th, 2013 at 8:00AM: The National Park Service has announced that the official length of Mammoth Cave now surpasses 400 miles as ten miles of newly mapped chambers and passageways were recently added to the cave complex. Park officials say that these additional miles were the result of a series of smaller, more incremental finds, and were not the result of a single major discovery. Exploration and mapping of these new ...Sequestration Will Have Deep Impact On National Parks
Feb 21st, 2013 at 8:00AM: A few weeks ago we shared leaked documents that gave us a glimpse of how the looming budget sequestration could impact America's national parks. Those documents indicated that the National Park Service would implement a hiring freeze, push back the hiring of seasonal help and possibly cut hours and services in order to deal with the potential lack of funds. At the time, we speculated that those ...Yosemite's Largest Glacier Has Stopped Advancing
Feb 12th, 2013 at 8:00AM: For years we've heard environmental scientists and researchers tell us how climate change is having a profound effect on glaciers across the globe. In many parts of the planet, increased temperatures have caused the giant sheets of ice to dramatically recede or disappear altogether. That process has now begun to take place in one of America's most iconic landscapes - Yosemite National Park.
...Leaked Documents Show Looming Budget Crisis For National Parks
Feb 5th, 2013 at 8:00AM: Leaked documents from National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis give us a glimpse at the looming budget crisis that threatens to alter the operating landscape for America's national parks. The documents paint a dire picture for the NPS and could have a major impact on the overall experience for visitors to the parks in 2013 and beyond.
In a letter from Jarvis dated January 25 of this year, ...Great Smoky Mountains National Park To Charge Fees For Camping
Jan 25th, 2013 at 8:00AM: Earlier this week the National Park Service announced that it would begin implementing a reservation system and charging fees for the use of backcountry camping sites inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The move was announced last March, but it has taken until now for the system to be put into place. The NPS says the new fees will be used to improve customer service in trip planning, ...Rafter Mysteriously Goes Missing In Grand Canyon
Jan 17th, 2013 at 8:00AM: The National Park Service has a mystery on their hands and it is proving to be a difficult one to solve.
Twenty-one-year-old Kaitlin Kenney was part of a month-long private rafting party in the Grand Canyon when she mysteriously went missing last week. Kenney was last seen on Friday, January 11, in a camp near Tapeats Creek along the northern bank of the Colorado River. What happened to her ...National Park Service Puts Permanent Caps On Half Dome Hikers
Jan 8th, 2013 at 8:00AM: Yosemite's Half Dome is one of the most popular and iconic sites in the entire U.S. National Park system. It is so popular in fact that in 2010 the Park Service was forced to institute a provisional set of guidelines that required hikers to have a permit before attempting to make the long trek to the top. Last week the NPS announced that the temporary system would now become permanent, limiting ...Pinnacles National Monument Set To Become National Park
Jan 4th, 2013 at 8:00AM: California's Pinnacles National Monument is set to be promoted to a national park after a bill to that effect passed through the U.S. Senate on Sunday. That same bill was approved by the House of Representatives in July and now only waits for President Obama's signature to make it official.
Located in California's Gabilan Mountains, just east of the Salinas Valley, Pinnacles National Monument ...Video: Holiday Greetings From The National Park Service
Dec 16th, 2012 at 8:00AM: The National Park Service has released a fun little video to wish us all a happy holiday season and of course issue an invitation to visit them soon. No matter what time of year it is, the parks represent some of the best travel experiences anywhere, and we're reminded of that as the video bounces around to at least a dozen national parks and monuments across the U.S. Chances are, no matter where ...
Yellowstone National Park Opens For Winter Season Tomorrow
Dec 14th, 2012 at 8:00AM: The National Park Service has announced that Yellowstone National Park will open for the winter season beginning tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. Visitors will be able to gain access to the park via the North, South and West Entrances and travel is allowed on interior roads via commercially operated snowcoaches or on guided snowmobile excursions. Also opening for the season starting tomorrow will be the ...National Park Service Announces Fee-Free Days For 2013
Dec 5th, 2012 at 8:00AM: One of the National Park Service's more popular programs over the past few years has been the introduction of fee-free days. Each year, the NPS designates a number of dates on which there is absolutely no charge for entry into the more than 2000 national parks, forests and wildlife refuges around the country. Naturally, those days are especially popular with travelers, who often plan their visits ...National Parks Are Fee-Free November 10-12
Nov 4th, 2012 at 11:00AM: America's national parks will be fee-free once again next weekend as the nation celebrates Veteran's Day. Beginning Saturday, November 10 and running through Monday, November 12, all parks in the U.S. system will waive any entrance fees for visitors, making this a great opportunity to enjoy the fall weather in some of the most scenic and historic locations in all of North America.
While many of ...Mt. Rainier Climbing Fees Increasing For 2013 ... But Only By $1
Nov 1st, 2012 at 8:00AM: The National Park Service announced last week that the cost of a climbing permit on Washington's popular Mt. Rainier will increase next year. But before anyone gets too upset over this price hike, it should be noted that it is only going up $1. The price of an adult permit will now cost $44, while a youth pass for those 24 years of age or younger will be priced at $31.
The Park Service is quick ...Saturday Is National Archaeology Day
Oct 16th, 2012 at 8:00AM: This Saturday, October 20, has officially been declared National Archaeology Day here in the U.S. and to celebrate, the Archaeological Institute of America is hosting a number of events across the country. Additionally, the National Park Service is helping to promote the day as well, offering up opportunities to visit archaeological sites and even volunteer on a live dig.
Now in its second ...
