Sam Hill

Portland

Contributing Parks Editor at SFGate

Journalist at Freelance

covering PNW national parks for @sfgate, freelance everywhere else. find me on bluesky: https://t.co/s0LFPo98Ng

Articles

Already-struggling Crater Lake National Park just lost its leader

4 days ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

Times are tough at Crater Lake National Park, where visitation sharply declined in 2024 and access to the lake via a main trail is set to soon close for years. On top of it all, the park’s top leader resigned Friday. Superintendent Kevin Heatley stepped down after just five months at the park, citing the Donald Trump administration’s ongoing cuts to National Park Service staff as his reason for taking a buyout offer.
Scientists just learned the age of America's deepest canyon

6 days ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

Hells Canyon, the deepest river gorge in the country, has always been a marvel for geologists, archeologists and travelers. But researchers are just now learning about the origins of the canyon — and it’s a lot younger than previously believed. Carved by the Snake River, the canyon is nearly 8,000 feet deep (or roughly 2,000 feet deeper than the Grand Canyon) and straddles the border between Oregon and Idaho.
Trump admin's promised national parks hiring hasn’t actually happened

1 week ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

The National Park Service has hired only about 3,000 of the 7,700 seasonal employees it pledged to find after the agency froze hiring and slashed permanent staff in February, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. “The [Trump] administration tried to turn some of this around and look good by exempting seasonal staff from the hiring freeze. They said, ‘We’re going to hire 7,700 seasonal staff.’ Well, guess what?
Oregon's iconic cave lodge now one of country's most endangered historic places

1 week ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

Perched atop the steep banks of Cave Creek, a charming lodge has always offered visitors to Oregon Caves National Monument a warm hearth to rest after exploring the marble halls of the nearby cavern. The Oregon Caves Chateau appears to grow out of the surrounding forest — an exemplar “parkitecture” vision, it was designed using Port Orford cedar bark and stones salvaged from the cave to blend into the slopes of Mount Elijah.
This bill to protect Olympic National Forest has been stuck for 13 years

2 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

The bill was first introduced in 2012 and has gone through numerous revisions and scalebacks to garner support from those initially opposed to it — namely the timber industry, hunters and fishers. It has passed in the House twice with bipartisan support and passed through the key Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the Senate for the first time last year.
Another national park announces scaled-back reservation system

3 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

Mount Rainier National Park is scaling back its reservation system this summer, reducing the number of gates that visitors will need timed-entry passes to enter. This year, the passes will only be required at the eastern White River entrance, according to the park. That gate leads to 6,400-foot-high Sunrise Point, the highest point in the park accessible by vehicles, which offers a nearly 360-degree view of the surrounding mountains and valleys.
Climber manages stunning self-rescue in fall that killed 3 near national park

3 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

Three rock climbers from the Seattle suburbs fell to their deaths just outside North Cascades National Park this weekend, and a fourth climber in the group managed to rescue himself. The climbers were rappelling down a steep gully in the area of North Early Winters Spire in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest when a climbing anchor seemingly failed, the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post.
'Someone did this': Mount Rainier railroad alleges arson after bridge burns

1 month ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

A wooden trestle bridge on the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad has been destroyed in an alleged arson, putting the future of the railway’s plans to expand in jeopardy. The fire destroyed a 28-span bridge between the small towns of Mineral and Morton, Washington, on the evening of April 30. Fire crews responded to the blaze in less than an hour but, by then, “the damage was done,” the railroad said on its Facebook page.
Calif. congressman: Trump admin wants to monetize, privatize national parks

1 month ago | sacbee.com | Sam Hill

U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Natural Resources, laid into President Donald Trump in a recent podcast appearance, criticizing his administration's turbulent management of federal lands, downsizing of staff at national parks and weakening of the Endangered Species Act, among other executive actions. "I think it's chaos, in a nutshell," Huffman said of the Trump administration's endgame on the National Parks Traveler podcast.
Calif. congressman: Trump admin wants to monetize, privatize national parks

1 month ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Natural Resources, laid into President Donald Trump in a recent podcast appearance, criticizing his administration’s turbulent management of federal lands, downsizing of staff at national parks and weakening of the Endangered Species Act, among other executive actions. “I think it’s chaos, in a nutshell,” Huffman said of the Trump administration’s endgame on the National Parks Traveler podcast.