National Parks Traveler

Since August 2005, National Parks Traveler has been the only website focusing daily on the United States National Park System and the National Park Service. Unlike other sites that merely present park statistics and trail descriptions, The Traveler goes beyond being a simple travel blog. It provides a distinct mix of news, feature articles, discussions, and debates, all centered around America's national parks, making it a dynamic resource for park enthusiasts.

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Where To See The Sea Turtles This Summer

1 week ago | nationalparkstraveler.org | Jan Wesner Childs

Summer is sea turtle nesting season along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, and national parks are a great place to catch a glimpse of these iconic sea creatures. Most nests are laid in the early summer months, and although it varies by species, most eggs hatch 45 to 60 days later. A few parks have special programs where you can learn more about sea turtles, or even watch mamas lumber ashore to lay their eggs at night or hatchlings make their way to the open water in the early morning.
Yellowstone National Park Reports First Wildfire of 2025

1 week ago | nationalparkstraveler.org | Kurt Repanshek

A small creeping wildfire sparked by lightning along the western edge of Yellowstone National Park was quickly controlled by park firefighters. The fire, which covered about one-tenth of an acre, was burning in mixed conifer forest about three-quarters of a mile southeast of the Bighorn Pass Trailhead off U.S. 191, a park release said Wednesday evening. It was spotted on Memorial Day.
Wildfire Breaks Out At Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve In Alaska

1 week ago | nationalparkstraveler.org | Jan Wesner Childs

Smokejumpers were quickly deployed to battle a wildfire at Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve along the border of eastern Alaska and Canada. The fire burned about 600 acres before light precipitation on May 26 helped tamp it down. Six smokejumpers who were fighting the fire with sprinklers and hoses demobilized but the fire will continue to be monitored. The blaze was named the Kathul Fire.
Battle Over Cash Payments At National Parks Drags On

1 week ago | nationalparkstraveler.org | Kurt Repanshek

The ongoing battle over whether the National Park Service should accept U.S. currency for entrance fees and other payments in parks is dragging on in a Washington, D.C., courthouse, with no end in sight. At the moment, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly has given the federal government until Friday to craft its response to the plaintiff's argument that the case should go forward.
Yellowstone Roads Open For Summer

1 week ago | nationalparkstraveler.org | Jan Wesner Childs

Yellowstone National Park's Dunraven Pass, which runs between Canyon Village and Tower Fall in the Wyoming section of the park, is officially open for the summer season. "This means all roads in the park are open and accessible," a post on the park's Facebook account read. Most roads in Yellowstone are closed from early November to late April. The only one typically open in winter runs through the Montana section from Gardiner to Cooke City.
Concern Raised Over Whether Congress Would Give Interior Lump Sum For FY26

1 week ago | nationalparkstraveler.org | Kurt Repanshek

Lack of specificity over how the Interior Department would spend funding President Donald Trump has requested for Fiscal 2026 has raised questions in and outside the National Park Service over whether it was done intentionally so Interior Secretary Doug Burgum would receive a lump sum that he could distribute as he chooses.
Yellowstone’s Thermal Areas, By The Numbers

1 week ago | nationalparkstraveler.org | Kurt Repanshek

Editor's note:Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is from R. Greg Vaughan, research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey. Yellowstone National Park contains the world’s largest concentration of geothermal features. In fact, this is the primary reason it was set aside as a National Park in 1872.
Motorcyclists Discouraged From Visiting Death Valley In Summer

1 week ago | nationalparkstraveler.org | Kurt Repanshek

As summer approaches and visitors begin planning trips to national parks across the country, Death Valley National Park is urging motorcycle riders to think twice before traveling by bike during the hottest months of the year. While the park remains a popular destination for motorcyclists, extreme temperatures make summertime travel especially hazardous on two wheels.
Cave Tours Back In Operation At Jewel Cave National Monument

1 week ago | nationalparkstraveler.org | Kurt Repanshek

If you find yourself in western South Dakota with an itch to go underground, swing by Jewel Cave National Monument, which has a great array of cave tours available. Already the park is offering daily Scenic and Discovery cave tours, and it will launch wild cave tours on May 30 and Historic Lantern Tours on June 1. The park plans to offer the lantern tours regularly until Labor Day, and the Wild Caving Tour on weekends and select weekdays through mid-August.
Through Ancestral Eyes: Storytelling Under The Night Skies Of The Stargazer Highway

1 week ago | nationalparkstraveler.org | Eric Jay Toll

Against the black night, the darker-than-night silhouettes of Monument Valley buttes graced the horizon. Overhead, stars were scattered across the sky—a prank by Coyote, according to Navajo legend—and the stripe of Milky Way stars arced brilliantly across the sky from the southwest to the northeast horizon. It was a cold night in northeastern Arizona on the Colorado Plateau, and our group of photographers huddled deeper in our jackets with cameras ready. I kept checking the time on my phone.