Parks & Points Blog
The program connects the fishing tradition across generations while teaching children skills they can apply in the future, either at a clinic or while earning their badge.
Spotlights, By Courtney Johnson
This year (2024) we’ll be pausing the series for one year. We look forward to reading your poems in early 2025!
Cool down in the summer heat or soak your tired muscles at these twelve gorgeous swimming holes in the US National Parks and National Forests.
Spotlights, Courtney Johnson
A unique North Georgia state park and home to one of the most spectacular waterfalls east of the Mississippi.
Park Pass, Derek & Amy Beth Wright
You can experience all five national parks in one visit to Utah!
Spotlights, Derek & Amy Beth Wright
With White Sands and New River Gorge in as National Parks #62 and #63 respectively, we’re taking a look at the contenders for #64. Here’s a brief rundown on how they stack up. We’re giving you a bit of each site’s story, and a score as to their chances, on a scale of John Muir beards!
By Derek Wright
“Like the redwoods, spaces that are designated for women have been dwindling. Some rot from the inside. Some simply age out of existence. But new saplings, spaces, and ideas are always being planted.” Lia Seth writes about why outdoor spaces for adult women, like The Compact, are vital.
Essays, Lia Seth
The greatest, best, and most beautiful place I've ever car camped was on top of a cliff in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland. Here's what you need to know.
Spotlights, Robbie DeGraff
Four majestic, historic, and scenic parks on the Outer Banks of North Carolina are a quick journey from one other, and can easily be combined into long holiday weekend exploration or enjoyed over several summers.
Spotlights, Amy Beth & Derek Wright
Explore some of the best national parks and monuments for dinosaur and fossil lovers! These eight amazing sites preserve and interpret the stories of the animals, plants, aquatic life, and insects that once called Earth their home.
Spotlights, Courtney Johnson
Anne Wallentine heads to Hampstead Heath Kenwood Ladies’ Pond bathing pond in London. The experience helps her to reclaim her own body. "For the first time I feel safe exposing my skin and my scars."
Essays, Anne Wallentine
To make the most of your trip, use this guide to help you decide how to maximize your adventure to Yellowstone according to your interests.
Spotlights, Courtney Johnson
Find the best activities, lodging, dining, tours, and hiking for Mesa Verde National Park. With this guide, there are also many fantastic side trips listed, with rugged trails, long stretches of highway, vast canyons, history and more within public lands in the Four Corners region.
Spotlights, Courtney Johnson
Travel with Lauren Smith as she finds a sense of home on the road, much like the migrating birds she studies. "The month after I moved to Montana I went to an environmental conference in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. There, I heard a Blackfeet elder say this: “We are bound by breath to honor and take care of this place.” The elder was speaking about conservation, and how it is important to care for all parts of an ecosystem—the watershed, the soil, the plants, the animals. To care, the elder said, you need to settle in a place and let it settle in you. Once this happens, you are bound by breath to honor and care for that place."
Essays, Lauren Smith
Though many of the parks units have little to no entry fee, roughly one-third do charge an entry fee. Some can be a bit hefty; Grand Canyon and Yosemite run $35 per car. The best deal going is the America the Beautiful Pass, as for $80 you purchase one year of unlimited entry into national parks and national wildlife refuges as well as standard amenity fees (day use fees) at national forests and grasslands, as well as lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Tips and Tricks, Derek Wright
For our first installment focusing on National Park Service units in Hawaii, we’ll be exploring the islands of O’ahu, Maui, and Moloka’i.
Spotlights, Parks & Points
Winter is an opportune time for national parks adventures. Fewer visitors mean less traffic jams, quicker entry to the parks, and plenty of parking at trailheads and pullouts. Find 32 great ways to explore national parks in winter with this guide.
Spotlights, Courtney Johnson
The International Dark-Sky Association was created in 1988 to help minimize light pollution and to protect the night skies. There are 103 Dark-Sky sites worldwide, including Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado, Staunton River State Park in Virginia, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, and Enchanted Rock State Natural Area in Texas. The two entities often work alongside each other to preserve what natural night sky still exists. For example, Bob Meadows, a physical scientist and night skies specialist in the NPS Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division took his expertise and equipment to Goblin Valley State Park to help with the park's Dark-Sky designation—at Goblin Valley, one is under one of the darkest skies in the world.
Tips and Tricks, Courtney Johnson
Where to Climb, Trek, Wander, Hike, Eat, and Relax along the Front Range of the Rockies in Southern Colorado.
Spotlights, Parks & Points
If your explorer is looking to earn additional junior ranger badges and learn more about dinosaurs, the night sky or even the underground railroad, there are many options to do so online without having to visit a national park.
Tips & Tricks, Courtney Johnson
Plan a perfect three-day road trip to the southern Black Hills region of South Dakota, seeing national and state parks, and the world famous Buffalo Gap National Grassland.
Spotlights, Courtney Johnson
In many parts of the country, the first signs of fall come with cooler temperatures and changing leaves. But for some areas, fall also brings the rut—a time when elk bulls fight to keep their bloodline alive.
Essays, Courtney Johnson
Part I of our D.C. guide is focused on National Park Service units in the Washington D.C. jurisdiction area; a few sites in Virginia and Maryland are included. You can visit these sites without a car, either by walking, using public transportation, or taking a quick taxi ride. The parks are in alphabetical order, which the NPS categorizes by the first letter of the park. At the end, we’ll share a great tip to make sure you find all the stamps for your Eastern National Parks Passport. You can also continue to Part II of the guide here.
Spotlights, Parks & Points
While often visitors head directly to the heart of Yosemite National Park, the former gold mining town of Mariposa, just outside park borders, is well worth exploring.
Spotlights, Melissa Curtin
Some of the Heritage Area wonders are natural, some manmade, and some, like the Old Railroad Bridge—the oldest river bridge in Alabama,—are a unique combination of both. The bridge now serves as a 1,560-foot walking trail over the Tennessee River at the TVA’s Muscle Shoals Trail Complex, where one can access 17 miles of foot trails.
Spotlights, Amy Beth Wright,
A lovely mix of waterfalls, hiking, camping, and swimming makes this New York state park the ideal summer getaway.
Park Pass, Amy Beth & Derek Wright.