national parks

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These Are the Most (and Least) Visited National Parks

And no, No. 1 isn't Yosemite. Or Grand Canyon. Or Yellowstone.

(Newser) - Taking a break in nature can mean a deep breath in veritable and remote isolation—or elbowing throngs of other looky-loos out of the way so you can see the sights. The National Parks Service recently released its 2022 visitor data for all 63 parks, and Thrillist notes that the...

Welcome to the Most Dangerous National Park

North Cascades National Park, a 'spectacular' place, claims a dubious title

(Newser) - NBC News calls it "spectacular" and "little-visited," but another descriptor for North Cascades National Park is "often fatal." Nestled in Washington's Cascade Mountains north of Seattle, the park saw 14 deaths in the 15 years between 2007 and 2021, which might not seem...

This Is the Least-Visited National Park in America

Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve in Alaska is where you can head for some solitude

(Newser) - Looking to avoid crowds while visiting a national park? A CNN travel story highlights the 15 least-visited parks in the nation, with Alaska's Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve topping the list. It logs only about 7,000 visits each year, largely because visitors must fly there,...

New Rx From Canadian Docs: Date With Mother Nature

Canadian doctors can prescribe free yearlong pass to 80 national parks, historic sites to boost health

(Newser) - Just what the doctor ordered: a stroll through your local national park. That's the new prescription that patients in several Canadian provinces might now receive from health care professionals, thanks to a program being backed by Parks Canada. The Squamish Chief reports the government agency has joined PaRx: A...

A Mission Accomplished: 419 National Parks Stops in One Journey

A son honors his father with the ultimate road trip

(Newser) - Mikah Meyer took many road trips with his father, the two bonding along the way. After his father's funeral when Meyer was 19, he set out on his first solo trip to grieve. He then began planning and saving up for his ultimate road trip in honor of his...

Senate Passes Sweeping Conservation Package

Bipartisan effort to protect wilderness, national parks being called most wide-ranging in 10 years

(Newser) - The Washington Post calls it a "paradoxical win," but that's not stopping members of the US Senate from high-fiving on their latest bill: a bipartisan conservation effort that protects 1.3 million acres of wilderness, creates or expands 10 national parks (including Joshua Tree and Death Valley),...

Joshua Trees' Recovery From Shutdown May Take Centuries

Slow-to-grow trees were chopped down, driven over

(Newser) - Park rangers furloughed during the 35-day government shutdown are back to work at Joshua Tree National Park with plenty of damage to repair. With a sharply reduced crew at work during the shutdown, "a few vandals or people acting out of ignorance" took vehicles off road, knocked over gates...

'Park Protection Measures' to Be Taken at Joshua Tree

People have been defacing trees, damaging roads

(Newser) - Joshua Tree National Park is likely closing Thursday thanks to the partial government shutdown. The Southern California park, located near Twentynine Palms in the Mojave Desert, says that—with only about eight rangers patrolling due to the shutdown—visitors have recently defaced the park's namesake trees and done damage...

'It's Kind of Scary': Park Deaths Mount Amid Shutdown

Officials fear they can't properly reach victims

(Newser) - Three people have died accidentally in US national parks during the federal shutdown—not a high number, but an added concern when 16,000 of 19,000 park workers are furloughed and parks aren't being properly maintained, the Washington Post reports. Each death was a tragic loss: A 14-year-old...

Fees Could Double at Most Popular National Parks

Revenue increase needed for aging infrastructure: NPS

(Newser) - With the Trump administration planning to slash the National Park Service's budget, a new proposal could see entrance fees for 17 of the most-visited national parks in the country more than double during peak months. In an effort to boost revenue to pay "for improvements to the aging...

Leave No Trace? Not in the National Parks These Days

'What can we do as a culture to cut down on these occurrences?'

(Newser) - There's a growing number of vandalism citations at national parks in the US, and the Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado appears to be a top target. In a Facebook post, the park says its mission of educating and inspiring "this and future generations" through the "...

Zion National Park May Need to Require Reservations

'We have to do something,' says rep for crowded Utah park

(Newser) - It would be a first for a US national park: requiring reservations to explore it. But it's an option that Utah's Zion National Park is considering to manage an overwhelming surge of visitors, the AP reports. Zion, which welcomed 4.3 million people last year, is weighing online...

After 130 Years, a 'Historic Homecoming' in Banff

Welcome back, bison

(Newser) - "It's one of the great days for wildlife conservation in the history of North America," says a conservationist following what Parks Canada officials are calling a "historic homecoming" in Alberta's Banff National Park. Sixteen bison, including 10 pregnant cows, were moved 275 miles from Elk...

Burt's Bees Founder Sees a Dream Fulfilled in Maine

Land she donated becomes a national monument

(Newser) - President Obama on Wednesday created a new national monument in northern Maine on 87,000 acres donated by the co-founder of Burt's Bees, fulfilling conservationist Roxanne Quimby's goal of gifting the land during the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, the AP reports. The Katahdin Woods and...

Woman Banned From 524M Acres of Public Land

Casey Nocket gets 2 years' probation for tagging national parks in 2014

(Newser) - Casey Nocket left her mark on national parks across the West, but she won't be able to go back and reminisce—at least not while she's on probation. The 23-year-old San Diego woman pleaded guilty last week to defacing rock formations in seven parks, and for the next...

Admission to National Parks Free for a Week

No cash needed April 16-24 to celebrate NPS' 100th anniversary

(Newser) - The National Park Service turns 100 this year, and to celebrate, the NPS is waiving entry fees to its national parks all of next week, Time reports. National Park Week runs April 16 through April 24, thanks to a joint effort by the NPS and National Park Foundation. "We...

Woman Graffitis Nat'l Parks, Leaves Instagram Handle

Feds are on the hunt for 'creepytings' from New York

(Newser) - Cartoonlike images of faces and serpents that appear to be the work of one person are popping up at national parks across the West, and the feds want to know who's behind them. Fortunately for them, the "artist" also signed the graffiti with her Instagram handle, creepytings, and...

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