#nature-photography

#nature-photography

We found our route but advanced only a few hundred yards before encountering an impassable logjam. The dense forests on either side meant that we couldn't go around it, only through.

The early morning sun is bursting around the dark corners of High Dodd and Sleet Fell, sending a flush of light across the golden bracken and on to the hammered silver of the lake.

Death Valley National Park is treating visitors to what rangers are calling the most outstanding bloom year in a decade - the best since the 2016 "superbloom" - according to National Park Service. Recent rainfall and mild winter temperatures have triggered dormant seeds to sprout, creating a fleeting spectacle of desert color.

The nine national parks in the Golden State - including Yosemite, Death Valley and Joshua Tree - attracted nearly 12 million recreational visits in 2025, according to statistics from the National Park Service. That's up more than 800,000 visits from 2024 and up more than 300,000 from the previous record set in 2019, according to the data, which stretches back to 1979.

According to color psychology, this soothing shade helps decrease stress and improve focus-and travelers can reap these much-deserved benefits in lush landscapes around the world. Here are 10 of the greenest places on earth, which combine serenity with unforgettable adventures.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park was the most popular park in the country last year, drawing more than 11.5 million visitors, according to data from the National Park Service. In fact, the park, which straddles North Carolina and Tennessee, accounted for 12.3 percent of all national park visits.

For 2025, there was good news and bad news: overall, these areas were visited 323 million times over the course of the year. That's the good news; the bad news is that this figure was down ever so slightly - specifically, 2.7% - from a record-setting 2024.

A lot of people really underestimate the sizes of our national parks, as well as the accessibility of certain features. A lot of people come to Death Valley, and they want to see that, but they don't often realize that it's along a pretty crappy, 25-mile dirt road, and it often takes well over an hour and a half to get to.

Longer days, blooming flowers, and increasing temperatures make spring the perfect time for an escape to one of the 63 major US national parks. After traveling solo to all of them, there are a few I think are especially worth seeing between the months of March and June.

The National Park Service has updated its policy to discourage visitors from defacing a picture of President Trump on this year's pass. The use of an image of Trump on the 2026 pass rather than the usual picture of nature has sparked a backlash, sticker protests, and a lawsuit from a conservation group. The $80 annual America the Beautiful pass gives visitors access to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites.

The body is a shifting landscape transformed by surfaces and sensations. Each look captures a different tactile world: the heat of blood, the cool weight of metal, the yielding drift of water. The result is a sculptural study of how the elements carve, shield, and release the self. The materials we embody become the emotions we carry, and the body becomes a materialised exhibition of our emotions, from the pulse of Blood to the discipline of Metal to the surrender of Water.

The brutal crackdown in Iran, ICE in Minneapolis, Russian aistrikes in Kyiv and heavy rain in Gaza the past seven days as captured by the world's leading photojournalists

I always pack at least one animal-printed item in my suitcase, whether it's a zebra handbag or a cheetah flat. I do this because it's stylish, but also because it's an effortless way to spruce up any outfit. Animal prints like leopard, snakeskin, and cow print might look busy on paper, but in practice, they behave like a neutral. These prints go with every color and fabric in my carry-on: black, white, red, denim, linen, you name it.

I trekked it in December 2023 with plans and a permit to camp at Bright Angel Campground, a scenic cottonwood-shaded hideaway just near the famed Phantom Ranch (the only lodging on the world wonder's floor). Then, two days before my trip, a miracle happened: One last-minute reservation became available for Phantom Ranch. The ranch digs typically book out over a year in advance, but if you're lucky, you can either get in via the lottery or a last-minute opening. This made the grueling but gorgeous hike down and up the steep South Kaibab Trail even more memorable.

I've traveled to all 63 major US national parks, but Grand Teton stands out as my favorite.

Each city was scored across five weighted factors using publicly available data sources: average winter temperatures (NOAA), trail accessibility, average number of reviews, average trail ratings (AllTrails), and the number of campgrounds in the state (Camping USA). After looking at all the available information, Extreme Terrain named Tucson as the No. 1 destination for a nature getaway this winter. According to the findings, it won out thanks to its "excellent trail access and highly rated hikes."