One spring in particular showed traces of several pharmaceuticals, including an antibiotic, an antifungal, an anticonvulsant, an antidepressant, and a diabetic drug. Such contaminants could pose a threat to the canyon’s already fragile ecosystem.

The deadly attack on January 1 was the sixth human-mountain lion incident in the area in three months

The Interior Department reportedly sent a memo threatening to void America the Beautiful Parks Passes that have stickers on them. The artist behind a line of protest stickers has found a workaround.

In a scientific first, trail cam photos show a moth drinking tears from a moose. It may sound like an unsavory snack, but scientists tell Outside there’s a very reasonable explanation for the bizarre behavior.

Harassing marine mammals in California is illegal, and those convicted can face fines of more than $36,000 and up to a year in prison. Anyone with information about the two individuals, a man and a woman with black hair, can call the National Park Service tip line at +1-888-653-0009.

Auroras, meteor showers, and bioluminescent seas remind us that the planet still puts on the greatest displays.

Several other eruptions have occurred in the past weeks, but all went unseen. Serendipitous timing, however, allowed scientists to record the December 20 ejection from Black Diamond Pool. The area violently exploded in 2024, destroying park infrastructure. It’s been erupting ever since.

At an age when most people are in retirement, the civil rights activist returned to work at 85 to serve as a park ranger in California. For the following 15 years, she continued in the service of public lands, giving historical talks and tours.

If passed, the Utah Republicans’ proposal would have rescinded legislation that protects and maintains the boundaries of national parks as federal lands. Yet Senator Mike Lee told Outside, “selling national parks was never on the table.”

Record rainfall, flooding, and landslides have collapsed major highways, triggered mass evacuations, and left national park gateway communities in Washington and Montana in a state of crisis. Here’s what we know.

An artist in Colorado has begun selling stickers for American the Beautiful Passes that covers up the president's face with an image of natural beauty

A 20-acre acquisition connects this desert national park to a nearby preserve, creating a vital wildlife corridor in the heart of the Sonoran Desert.

An anonymous band of off-duty park rangers has risen up to defend America’s public lands from budget cuts, firings, and political neglect.

Cost of living in California near Yosemite National Park is notoriously high. Even so, federal officials are slashing wage rates for blue-collar workers, sparking outrage from the local union.

Hundreds of vehicles are estimated to have entered the park during the timed entry window each day during the summer, often leaving people on the road. Removing the reservation program may drive more visitors to arrive later in the day, during safer hours.

It’s said that Badwater Basin earned its name when a 1849er’s mule refused to drink from a nearby spring-fed pool, suggesting that the water in the area was bad. It’s not—just very salty.

You're not crazy—the critters on Instagram are wilder than ever, thanks to artificial intelligence-generated video. Our articles editor takes a deep dive into the technology, culture, and ethics around this new footage.

Utah officials have posted a $3,000 reward for information leading to the capture of a person who reportedly stole a 1,700-year-old skull from an ancient burial ground near the high-desert town of Kanab.

In the past, Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park regularly shot water over 300 feet into the air. But the feature hasn’t erupted in the better part of a year, and scientists aren’t sure when it will again.

A private meeting of Utah officials highlights a growing rift over how to manage crowding at the state’s most popular national park sites

After 175 years of displacement, the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation has reacquired 900 acres south of Yosemite National Park

The 47-year-old Utah woman was sentenced to one year of probation and a hefty payment of fines and restitution

A UK company called Bionic and the Wires has found a way to harness bioelectric current from fungi to play a keyboard

While much of the country is experiencing balmy temperatures this November, one U.S. peak is already buried under feet of snow

As the federal government reopens, a new survey shows that most Americans oppose the NPS staff cuts, removal of signs and placards inside parks, and the proposed $1 billion budget reduction to the NPS

Researchers believe that melting ice and snow shifted the true summit of the iconic peak from a frozen ridge to a pile of rocks. The mountain, they say, has also lost elevation.

After training to detect odors under water, the aquatic animal has become a useful tool in the effort to locate missing people. He’s also super cute.

A visitor found graffiti and toilet paper on a popular trail near one of the park’s iconic geologic formations

Already planning your escape from the cold? Experts at AccuWeather and the 'Old Farmer's Almanac' forecast the warmest regions to explore this winter.

Each bear sighting in Yellowstone National Park is about as valuable as the average movie ticket in the U.S. When accounting for all sightings, grizzly and black bears generate more than $16 million annually.

We spoke to labor experts and multiple NPS rangers about the push to unionize, and whether it can protect Park Service jobs from the federal government’s cutbacks

Known as Moctezuma’s pod, this group of orcas have developed a unique strategy for hunting juvenile white sharks in the Gulf of California. Scientists have recorded the whales inducing what’s known as a state of tonic immobility, essentially paralyzing the shark.

For Heather Lapre, feeding park employees isn’t just a charitable act—it’s a personal one. Her husband was also furloughed during the federal government shutdown. October 28 marked the first skipped payday for National Park Service employees, like her partner, who were furloughed

More than 30 vehicles were involved in mishaps after a snowstorm tore through the area. Now, park officials have reopened most of the roads that were closed for the last few days of the 2025 season before a full winter closure.

Weather experts share where to expect spooky storms, chilly temps, and the best trick-or-treating weather tonight

When the European colonists arrived, American chestnut trees were a dominant species throughout most of the eastern piedmont and Appalachian Mountain range. Their trunks could grow to be 10 feet wide and stretch upward of 105 feet into the canopy; limbs spanned an equally wide footprint. The trees could live for three or more centuries and covered an estimated 300,000 square miles of land from Maine to Mississippi.

Here's what happens when the dedicated employees of Rocky Mountain National Park start to break down

The Interior Department’s latest cuts, which total 2,000, target the NPS, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Division, and United States Geological Survey, among other agencies

A single one-mile stretch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has seen an uptick in vehicles colliding with moose, nearly all of which have killed the animal. Now, experts warn there’s an even greater likelihood of car-moose collision as the days get shorter ahead of Daylight Saving Time.

At least 80 percent of funding from National Park Service recreation fees stays in the park where it is collected, and the other 20 percent is used to benefit parks that do not collect payments or parks that generate only a small amount of revenue

Meet Carl Cocchiarella, Colorado’s least-successful elk hunter. After four decades of near misses, he’s learned that killing an animal isn’t the best part of a hunt.

One donor compared visiting a national park with no rangers to visiting Disney World without Mickey Mouse

At nearly 1,800 pounds, polar bears are roughly three times the size of a black bear

Gates of the Arctic is home to one of the largest caribou migrations on Earth

More than half of the deaths in 2025 were human-caused

A new study asks whether 100 years of plush redesign has turned the wild’s most feared predator into a comfort object—and changed how we think about nature itself

These will be the coldest places in America this winter, according to the 2026 Old Farmer's Almanac and AccuWeather's winter report

The United Nations Messenger of Peace died of natural causes at the age of 91

That’s what a group of former National Park Service employees is urging in light of a looming federal shutdown

Two hunters were killed by a lightning strike in Colorado, plus Polish ski mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel skied from the summit of Mount Everest without the use of supplemental oxygen. Outside has you covered in this edition of our weekly news roundup.

One day, hundreds of parks, countless ways to give back: here’s how to celebrate National Public Lands Day

An adult male bear can easily go from around 700 pounds at the start of the season to toppling more than 1,200 pounds

The “Save Our Signs” project is attempting to archive as many signs as possible before they are removed, and hopes park visitors will contribute

A 29-year-old hiker was attacked earlier this week in Yellowstone National Park, plus millennia-old petroglyphs were reportedly damaged during construction at an Arizona church. Outside has you covered in this edition of our weekly news roundup.

The full extent of the damage is unclear, though some social media users have stated that the petroglyphs were “bulldozed"

Known for both her gorpcore experiments and collabs with big-name design brands, Nicole McLaughlin has bridged the gap between outdoor gear and high fashion—and could very well transform both for the better

Home to more than 1,000 glaciers, Southeast Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park just welcomed its newest island

Geologists at Yellowstone National Park have already collected more than 300 hats from the park’s hot spring areas this year

After reading stories about wind, sand, and mud, our articles editor examines the media mystery that exists with Burning Man

Weighing more than 2,000 pounds, one bison will poop enough in a typical day to fill a 3-gallon bucket.

Elected officials condemned the actions of the Department of Homeland Security to detain two firefighters battling the Bear Gulch blaze

Reports are rolling in of leaves changing early across western states. Here's what it could mean for how we experience fall this year.

At least one popular trail in the area has been closed due to severe weather

The attempt to sell millions of acres of Forest Service land united Republicans and Democrats. Advocates took valuable lessons from the battle.

Amid dramatic cuts to the U.S. Forest Service, nonprofit groups have had to supply the chainsaws, shovels, and manpower to clear America’s hiking trails

A new study illustrates how a city’s specific infrastructure contributes to its inhabitants’ overall health and wellbeing

The Farmer’s Almanac predicts these 21 states will showcase the most stunning fall leaves this year—here’s when to catch them at their peak

The extinct creature was eight-inches long, had razor-sharp teeth, and resembled a character from the ‘Alien’ movies

The Seattle Kraken’s Buoy was recently chased by an Alaskan brown bear, prompting an important question about sports mascot survival

The NPS says that refurbishing and reinstalling the toppled statue “aligns with federal responsibilities under historic preservation law”

The proposal would allow for the killing of nearly 200 black bears over a three-week period in December

Located in the Yellowstone’s Porcelain Basin, the new thermal feature is believed to have appeared on Christmas Day

The effigy was emblazoned with the words “Make America Wait Again,” and it toured the park on Saturday, July 12

Officials in Arizona and Colorado have closed huge swaths of parkland to visitors after lightning-sparked blazes destroyed thousands of acres and hundreds of structures

More than 300 tremors were recorded below Mount Rainier over the course of three days. Scientists say they were too weak for humans to feel.

The executive decision also requires all NPS sites to grant American residents preferential treatment in permit lotteries

A habituated male elk chased visitors, poked its antlers into their tent, and then left a stinky surprise in their campsite. Park officials say they are monitoring the animal.

A bison fell into the 160-degree Grand Prismatic Spring and died. An eyewitness tells us the ordeal was like seeing "the circle of life unfold.”

The author of the proposal says the plan will generate millions for the beleaguered National Park System, which faces steep budget cuts in 2026