Currently seniors age 62 and older can buy a lifetime access pass for $10 – allowing them to bypass entrance fees at national parks. The deal is touted by groups such as AARP as one of the perks of aging up or retiring. But Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat, asked National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis if the nation can afford such a deal for...
Learn MoreNational parks are ideal destinations for those who appreciate the splendor of a glittering nighttime sky – away from street lights, billboards and neon signs. The National Park Service in 2006 adopted a policy to “preserve, to the greatest extent possible, the natural lightscapes of parks, which are natural resources and values that exist in the absence of...
Learn MoreWebcams provide us with windows on the world. They allow armchair travelers to follow activity outside a Dublin pub, monitor traffic on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge, and check on what’s happening at the International Space Station. Webcams also provide windows on nature, some of the best of which comes by way of cameras stationed in our national parks. Here are some...
Learn MoreAs cell phones, iPods and laptops creep steadily into every corner of modern life, America’s national parks have stayed largely off the digital grid, among the last remaining outposts of ringtone-free human solitude. For better or worse, that may soon change. Under pressure from telecommunications companies and a growing number of park visitors who feel adrift...
Learn MoreWhile Interior Department officials publicly refuse to discuss how failure to avert the “fiscal cliff” might impact national park operations, internally they’re telling National Park Service staff that nothing should change in the short term. In an email distributed throughout the Interior Department’s realm, Deputy Interior Secretary David Hays...
Learn MoreAmerica’s 398 national parks will offer everyone free admission during the Veterans Day weekend in honor of those that serve and have served in the United States military. “National parks preserve places that commemorate our country’s collective heritage – our ideals, our majestic lands, our sacred sites, our patriotic icons – which our military has defended through the...
Learn MoreAmerica’s national parks are undoubtedly some of our “best ideas.” They are unique places across our country where public lands are preserved for their natural, cultural, or historic value, as well as for the unique contributions they provide to local and regional economies and our national economic strength. This is why we have set aside national parks, national...
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TAKE ACTION: Don’t let Congress fail to protect national parks from dangerous cuts in January under the so-called sequester. Tell Congress to keep national parks open and rangers on duty today! npca.org/parkfunding The Park Service budget is 1/14 of 1% of the federal government’s budget. Slashing it would have a serious impact on the 258,000 jobs in...
Learn MoreOn the eve of its 96th birthday on August 25th, the National Park Service is getting a special gift: A new report that is both the first of its kind in the last 50 years and a benchmark for the future. Announced by NPS Director Jonathan Jarvis in a ceremony at Rocky Mountain National Park today, the report represents a science-based effort to ensure America’s parks...
Learn MoreSure, the National Park Service could just call August 25th its birthday, but the term “Founder’s Day” seems more fitting since the Park Service was the brainchild of a great many people who contributed to its inception. The National Park Service Organic Act (or simply “the Organic Act”) established the National Park Service (NPS), an agency of the Department...
Learn MoreAfter more than a decade of scrimping and deferring maintenance and construction projects — and absorbing a 6 percent budget cut in the past two years — the signs of strain are beginning to surface at national parks across the country. The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway, which curves along the spine of the easternmost range of the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and North...
Learn MorePeople around the world can now appreciate the beauty and timelessness of the wilderness through Street View. Google has recently added 360-degree panoramic imagery for five of California’s national parks to Google Maps. In addition, they’ve refreshed Street View imagery across most of the state. You can now take a virtual road trip practically the entire stretch...
Learn MoreViolent encounters with animals at national parks are rare, but the danger of severe injury, illness and possibly death make prevention all the more important. Many of the national parks in the U.S. are teeming with wildlife. People are often motivated to visit these parks to see impressive representatives of the animal kingdom for themselves. For the most part,...
Learn MoreIf you’ve been on the Blue Ridge Parkway lately, you’ve noticed the tall grass along the road and around the facilities. On May 7th, 2012 a Parkway maintenance worker was killed when his mower went over the edge of an overlook. Mowing in all National Parks was stopped until an investigation was completed. Parkway management and maintenance supervisors are...
Learn MoreDelaware is known by several nicknames — the First State, the Diamond State, the Blue Hen state, a tax-free shopping state — but a frustrated U.S. senator imagines an additional sign at the border. “Welcome to Delaware — the only state without a national park,” jokes U.S. Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware. Carper, a Democrat, has been pressing Congress for about a...
Learn MoreWhen Venus interposes itself directly between Earth and the sun for the last time in more than a century, national parks across America will be prepared to observe the historic event. Many will have special filtered telescopes set up for safe viewing of the sun, while rangers stand by to answer questions. Every national park in the United States should be able to view...
Learn MoreAt Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, rangers are seeing more than green this spring. They’re also noticing a little more gray. The average visitor to national parks is getting older. Cyclist John O’Malley, 61, of Summit County, Colo., has enjoyed the trails for almost half a century. “You do get close to nature,” Malley said. But...
Learn MoreWhen it comes to global warming, many simply scan the headlines, turn off extra lights and mentally scold the big corporate polluters. They think of climate change as a nebulous threat, one that lurks in the future. Outdoors writer and adventurer Michael Lanza believes otherwise. Lanza is the author of “Before They’re Gone: A Family’s Year-Long Quest to...
Learn MoreFotopedia, the publisher of popular iOS apps, announced that a new Retina Display-ready version of the popular National Parks app is now available for free in the App Store. Redesigned, right in time for Earth Day and National Parks Week, the app puts the amazing photography front-and-center, while utilizing the high-resolution capabilities of the new iPad. The app now...
Learn MoreIt wouldn’t make a very appealing Help Wanted ad. “Needed: Someone to put in long hours for no pay, walking long distances to help government workers do their job.” Nevertheless, some people might jump at the volunteer assignment because it involves hiking in world famous scenery and protecting some of the treasures of southeastern Utah. It’s a...
Learn MoreParkVisitor.com, an attractive new online portal for outdoor enthusiasts and experts, made its debut at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market show sponsored by the Outdoor Industry Association. Built and powered by those who know and love the parks best – outdoor enthusiasts and experts – the website features valuable, free information about nearly 5,000 U.S....
Learn MoreMore than a hundred national parks and historical sites across the United States will waive admissions fees from Friday through Monday, January 13-16, to commemorate Martin Luther King Day. “Dr. King’s story and those of so many others whose efforts changed our country are preserved in the national parks, places where history happened,” U.S. National...
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As Washington policymakers await action by the Congressional Super Committee, the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) released a new report titled “Made in America: Investing in National Parks for Our Heritage and Our Economy,” which details how national parks and visitors could be impacted if the Super Committee fails and mandatory across-the-board...
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. My regular hiking companions have designated me the lead hiker, so I suppose that makes me the slowest Meanderthal. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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