#national-parks

#national-parks

When the weather warms up and the late winter rains turn trees green and fields into wildflower wonderlands, it's the perfect time to take a drive. Whether your preferred landscape is mountains, deserts, forests, plains, or coastal views, there's a spring road trip in the United States for you. Explore historic sites, regional food, wineries, or nature-all from the front seat.

"The best places to visit in California?" a proud Californian might say, lighting up with glee. "Where do I begin?" You may have heard folks from California brag about the geographical diversity of their not-so-little corner of the world. Theirs is a place where you can go from sun-drenched beach to snow-capped mountain top to sprawling desert all in one day. The pure size of the state may intimidate at first; it takes up significantly more space than the entire country of Italy.

Whenever I'm asked about my recent trip to Alaska-a journey to visit Katmai National Park & Preserve and Kenai Fjords National Park-I nearly always mention the scale. The scale of the glaciers, the mountains, the sunsets, and the utter wilderness; every aspect of the landscape was just so much larger and more grand than anything I'd ever experienced. Magnitude is a continuous theme all across Alaska.

The terrain is choked with rhododendron and dog hobble, ground cover that makes it easy to get lost and hard to be found. There are eight hundred and forty-eight miles of trail, and countless manways, which masquerade as trails. The many waterfalls are fed by rain on par with that of the Pacific Northwest. The rivers rise and boil with astonishing speed. There's little to no cell service.

Your stargazing experience can differ greatly based on where you are in the world. That's due in part to light pollution, which can drown out all but the brightest stars and satellites in densely populated areas. For truly unforgettable celestial views, you'll need to visit one of the darkest places in the U.S. on a clear night. DarkSky is an Arizona-based nonprofit with the mission "to restore the nighttime environment and protect communities and wildlife from light pollution."

America's national parks are treasures worth exploring, and the best part? You don't always have to open your wallet. With 63 official national parks and more than 400 additional sites managed by the National Park Service, there's no shortage of stunning landscapes to discover. Some parks charge entry fees-typically $20-$35 per person or per vehicle-but there are plenty of ways to enjoy the beauty for free.

As one of the most protected national parks in the world, the Galápagos Islands are full of incredible wildlife that are not afraid of humans and will come in closer contact with you than is possible in most other natural places in the world. You can experience a variety of landscapes in a small space, from lush highlands full of tortoises to moon-like volcanic rock covered in piles of iguanas.

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit today to prevent President Donald Trump from replacing a beautiful picture of Glacier National Park with a close-up of his own face on the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass, reads a press release. Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center, blasted the president's image being used on passes as his crassest, most ego-driven action yet.

When it comes to winter travel in the southwestern United States, a ski trip to Lake Tahoe or a glam Las Vegas getaway may come to mind. But a few hours' drive northeast of Sin City is a region with twisting canyons, cathedral-like spires, and delicate sandstone arches that only look more stunning with a dusting of snow. Southern Utah is home to five national parks, four national monuments, and countless hiking and biking trails.

Entering some National Parks is about to get more expensive for foreign visitors. The Federal Government announced on Tuesday a new $100 per person fee. "For some people, they just want to come here to see the beautiful view over here. So, it's going to be really hard for them to come here from now," tourist Get said. Get, originally from Thailand, was taking in the iconic views of the Yosemite Valley on Wednesday.

A new study by the travel experiences booking platform analyzed five years of visitor data and Google reviews to find which U.S. national parks are most popular during the fall. The study analyzed National Park Service data from 2020 to 2024, combining visitor numbers, time spent in each park, and online reviews to create a "fall score" out of 100. After crunching all the numbers, Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee took first place, with a score of 96.9 out of 100

When I first visited Brazil in 2020, my destination choice was largely driven by tropical weather and affordable hotels. Since becoming a full-time resident, those parts of Brazilian life are undoubtedly still seductive, but I've also fallen deeper for the Brazil that stretches beyond Copacabana and the sounds of bossa nova. This is the country Brazilians affectionately call Brasil com S, a place with more than 70 national parks, more than 4,600 miles of coastline, and more local fruit stands than fast food chains.

Plans to water down protections for national parks such as Dartmoor and the Lake District in a kneejerk bid for growth will be devastating for nature, more than 170 organisations have told the prime minister. The Treasury is understood to be pushing for a weakening of protections for England's national parks and national landscapes in changes to planning law to make it easier for developers to build houses and infrastructure projects.