The best ways to experience America’s best idea

From a severed hand in Yosemite to missing honeymooners in the Grand Canyon, our national parks are home to some curious and strange tales

Brad Sailer and his epilepsy alert dog completed their quest in July to bring awareness to accessibility in the outdoors.

Reservations are hard to come by but this hundred-year-old lodge is worth the wait. In the meantime, you can hike five miles to see it.

Walk among deep river gorges, glacial mountains, alpine lakes, and vast deserts, all on beautiful under-the-radar public lands

How to find some of the country’s best campsites—and stay for free

Some of the wildest, best beaches in the country can be found in our national parks system. These are the most spectacular.

While the adventurer was on a record-setting road trip, a message from a fan made him realize the importance of coming out

We’ve done the impossible and made a list of best hikes in our national parks. Now’s a perfect time to start checking them off, from Acadia to Yosemite.

Adventures in national parks don’t end at sundown. We’ve found the best ways to explore after dark, from seeing the Northern Lights to Yooperlite hunting.

As you’re visiting national parks this summer, don’t miss out on these spectacular outlooks, mountain summits, and lake vistas. We’ve got the intel on how to reach them all.

Why be stuck behind the masses at popular parks when you can wander some of the nation’s best with barely a soul in sight?

National Park Service officials said they’re still investigating what caused the Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge to burn to the ground just weeks before its planned grand reopening

A recent survey of employee satisfaction returned abysmal scores for the NPS

These state parks offer everything you’re looking for in a national park, only fewer crowds. See our top choices for wildlife, wilderness, solitude, and more.

National parks protect our land and a wide variety of wildlife, many of them dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. Here are the animals and reptiles to look out for and the best ways to keep you—and them—safe.

One of the world’s largest Joshua tree forests is now federally protected

Our columnist had little idea of what to expect when she ventured to the far-flung island territory of American Samoa. In the final report of her 63 Parks series, she explains why this may be the nation’s wildest, most protected landscape of them all.

Looking for an awesome summer job? Go to work in a national park. We’ve rounded up some of the best opportunities and smartest advice on how to land a position. 

Emily Pennington wanted to see it all. But life on the road was fiercer than she ever imagined.

The National Park Service plans to clear the McPherson Square homeless encampment on February 15, amid D.C.’s hypothermia season

The family of Esther Nakajjigo accused the National Park Service of negligence for not properly securing the metal gate that killed her

In her adventure memoir "Feral," Emily Pennington sets out in a van to visit all 63 of America's national parks. She faces a painful romantic breakup, a pandemic, wildfires, and a hurricane. And that's just for starters.

While California’s storms were devastating in many parts of the state, they blew epic snow and adventure opportunities into the park. Waterfall viewings are off the charts, there are fewer crowds, and conditions are primo for backcountry exploring.

Eager to visit one of America’s national parks this year? Start planning now. Here’s all the information you need to book hard-to-get reservations.

In a park whose heart is a volcano, see ancient obsidian lava flows layered with red and orange cinder cones. Explore green gulches, bamboo forests, warm lagoons. Hike, run, bike, stargaze, soak up sunsets. Hey, you might even fly.

Buy your own slice of paradise at these surprisingly affordable locations—and drool over the listings far out of reach

As the sun transitions to “solar maximum” in the next three years, it is prime time to spot the aurora borealis—even in the lower 48 states. Here’s where, when, and how to catch the show in our national parks.

California’s Twenty Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians will sign a co-stewardship agreement to help operate the park

Here’s what you need to know before traveling to Hawaii’s Big Island if you’re planning on visiting the park and viewing the spectacle

The iconic California park has done away with its three-year-old timed-entry system

As frequent national-park visitors know, the Park Service offers coveted passport stamps, maps, and badges. Here’s how to get them.

Get a front-row seat to epic views and adventure by staying at a national-park lodge. From Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel to Shenandoah’s Big Meadows Lodge, these are our favorites.

According to a new Unesco report, glaciers in Yosemite National Park and other World Heritage sites are very likely to melt away by 2050

Sparkling alpine lakes, the highest point in the continental U.S., and 800-plus miles of breathtaking hiking trails: Sequoia and Kings Canyon in the Sierra Nevada are far more than home to the biggest trees on the planet.

Shenandoah National Park has unveiled Shencamp, a text message-based update to help campers locate vacant campsites

From Acadia in Maine to the Everglades in Florida, this road trip hits seven national parks, covers 1,800 miles, and guides you away from the crowds 

Visitors are waiting up to five hours to enter the famed Utah parkland, which did away with a timed-entry system earlier this month

With increasing decriminalization efforts underway, here’s what it would take to legalize weed on public lands

From temperate rainforests to miles of coastline; from waterfalls and lakes to hiking, backpacking, and camping; from boating to skiing to glacier travel and mountaineering—Olympic has astonishing variety.

When visiting West Virginia’s New River Gorge, you’ve got to go with the flow—and in the fall, during Gauley Season, that means Class V rapids

The landscape is home to prairie dogs, coyotes, badgers, bighorn sheep, and more

We asked the experts—and this is the one trail you can't miss in each of the 61 U.S. national parks

This year’s fire season is coming to a close, and thanks to mitigation techniques and some luck, it wasn’t as catastrophic as many predicted. But that doesn’t mean we’re in the clear.

On these expert-led trips, you’ll spot the National Park System’s wildest residents, from mysterious wolves to fat bears. Pro tip: the bioluminescent fireflies are pretty cool, too.

One enticement of visiting Hawaii Volcanoes, on the Big Island, is witnessing the eruption of young Kilauea—the world’s most active volcano—and basking in the glow of its lava-filled caldera

From lush jungles with waterfalls and ocean shores to otherworldly volcanic peaks and craters, the range of ecosystems you can visit in a day at this Maui park is astounding

Despite being one of the most popular destinations in the U.S., the Smokies make it easy to plan a last-minute trip and avoid crowds year-round. Here’s our definitive guide on what to know before you go, how to make the most of all the park has to offer, and can’t-miss experiences in every season.

Some of the top gear makers sell national parks apparel and products. Here’s what’s on our list.

With the summer high season wrapping up, a variety of national parks are doing away with timed-entry and reservation rules for the next few months

Why endure the traffic headed inland to major mountain getaways when you can hop a breezy ferry to the Channel Islands, passing dolphins en route, and spend time kayaking into sea caves, hiking quiet hills, and birding, with nary an auto in sight?

These places get our vote as the most important to protect

This central California park is one of the hottest, driest, and lowest places in the country. It's also one of the most beautiful—a place where sculptural canyons, undulating sand dunes, abundant wildlife, and a luminous sky abound.

Now is the time to wander among the world’s largest trees. Wildfires in central California for the past few years have decimated their numbers, so seeing these thousand-year-old natural wonders up close is, today more than ever, a privilege.

Avoid traffic jams and see America's best idea by foot, bus, or bike

Our national parks have some hilarious and inspirational social media accounts. These are our favorites to follow.

Known as the “Crown of the Continent,” this Montana park contains 200 waterfalls, 700 lakes, and 700 miles of trails. Also: you can walk on a glacier.

Pirates, enslaved people, and Spanish explorers shaped these seven small islands west of the Florida Keys. For most visitors, deep-diving into the past and then swimming the azure waters makes for an unforgettable trip.

Whether you’re seeking soft sandy beaches, hiking, or snorkeling and other water sports, this stunning park on the Caribbean island of St. John should be on your visit list

Snorkel and paddle among quizzical lobsters, baby sharks, green turtles, and more at Biscayne, home to a massive coral-reef system off the coast of Miami

But seriously: at this popular South Florida park, come for the large reptiles, but stay for the subtropical scenery, varied birdlife, and all-out airboat rides

Grand Canyon National Park has some of the best views in the United States. Here’s how to make the most out of a visit, whether its hiking, boating, biking, camping, or so much more.

Forget Zion and Canyonlands; this desert gem has something for every hiker among the hoodoos and bristlecone pines

You don’t have to know much about paddling to wend the dark waterways of Congaree, in South Carolina. But persistence and a good sense of humor will help you along.

Want to hike without crowds? See jaw-dropping vistas without torching your quads? Check out these dayhikes and backpacks.

Those iconic bulbous boulders, lucid skies, and namesake trees are mere backdrops to a Californian desert playground filled with jaw-dropping vistas, dynamic hiking trails, and that famous grippy rock. Here’s everything you need to know to explore it.

The Wind Cave is the seventh-largest mapped cave in the world

Great Smoky Mountains is a mecca for millions of outdoor visitors each year. But as our 63 Parks columnist explains, that doesn’t mean you can’t find solitude and peace. Often all it takes is a walk in the woods.

Here’s how to make the most out of a visit to one of the wildest places in the U.S., from kayaking to birding to fishing and so much more

Western national parks like Yellowstone, Zion, and Joshua Tree are among our most iconic, but it’s the journeys road-tripping in between them that provide the greatest opportunities for adventure. From Montana to Southern California, here’s how to make the most of this itinerary and avoid the crowds.

Deep, dark, and hiding some dreadful bits of history, Mammoth Cave, in Kentucky, is a fascinating place for underground exploration

Too many rocks? Not enough people? Illustrator Amber Share says bring it on.

Plastic rangers exploring America’s best idea

Many visitors to the mid-Atlantic make a beeline to the Smokies. But our 63 Parks columnist argues that there’s plenty of wild adventuring to be had in Shenandoah—and Blue Ridge views for days.

Unique recreation opportunities and uncrowded wilderness abound in areas impacted by Yellowstone flood

Acadia, in Maine, woos visitors with hikes that overlook the Atlantic Ocean, bike rides along historic carriage roads, and some awesome lobster rolls

The Park Service is moving quickly to reopen most of the park in time for the July Fourth weekend, but the historic flood changed Yellowstone forever

The world’s first national park will reopen this week after the devastating floods. Here’s what you can expect.

You can still find a slice of solitude in the country's most visited parks