Many guests are content with low-key offerings such as hiking, biking, fishing, wildlife viewing, and scenic driving. Some of us crave more.

In honor of Ken Burn's documentary, "The National Parks, America's Best Idea," coming this fall, we're highlighting a few of our nation's topographic treasures.













This week: Yosemite National Park (Courtesy of National Geographic Traveler)
Location:Located in the Sierra Nevada range of California, the park is 195 miles east of San Francisco and 276 miles north of Los Angeles.

Vital Stats
Nearest airports: Fresno-Yosemite International, located 2.5 hours north on Highway 41. The San Francisco International airport is four hours east of Yosemite.

Established: Yosemite National Park was established in October 1890. Prior to the National Park Service (NPS), Yosemite was managed by the state and local congress. After the formation of the NPS, Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove were reinstated in 1906 back to the federal government to be included in the management of the NPS.

Size: 761,266 acres
Park website: http://www.nps.gov/yose/
Snapshot: Recognized as a World Heritage site in 1984, Yosemite National Park covers over 745,000 acres of pristine wilderness filled with staggering cliffs, lakes, rivers, meadows, and a wealth of biological diversity. A haven to nature enthusiasts, artists, and families alike, the park is home to 800 miles of hiking trails, the tallest waterfall in the United States and the renowned giant sequoia groves.

Did You Know?
Towering more than 350 stories above Yosemite Valley, El Capitan is the largest exposed granite monolith in the world. By late August, Yosemite Falls are usually dry because the natural wonder relies solely on snowmelt. The peak flow is in late May and the falls return around October when the snow reappears. The park’s giant sequoia trees can live to be over 3,000 years old.

Scenic Drive
Approximately 48 miles in length, the Tioga Road is the most popular drive in Yosemite National Park. The road is the highest in the region, peaking at 9,945 feet at the Tioga Pass. The route winds through high peeks, meadows and creeks, allowing travelers to get a special view of the abundant wildlife in the park. Detour off of the main road to paths less traveled, including White Wolf, Siesta Lake, and the Red Fir Forest.
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With the kickoff of Ken Burn's documentary series, "The National Parks, America's Best Idea," we continue our highlight of a few of our nation's topographic treasures.


This week: Grand Canyon National Park (Courtesy of nationalgeographic.com)
The road to the Grand Canyon from the south crosses a gently rising plateau that gives no hint at what is about to unfold. You wonder if you have made a wrong turn. All at once an immense gorge a mile deep and up to 18 miles wide opens up. The scale is so vast that even from the best vantage point only a fraction of the canyon's 277 miles can be seen.

Nearly five million people travel here each year; 90 percent first see the canyon from the South Rim with its dramatic views into the deep inner gorge of the Colorado River. So many feet have stepped cautiously to the edge of major overlooks that in places the rock has been polished smooth. But most of the park's 1,904 square miles are maintained as wilderness. You can avoid crowds by hiking the park's many trails or driving to the cool evergreen forests of the North Rim where people are fewer and viewing is more leisurely.

The Grand Canyon boasts some of the nation's cleanest air, with visibility averaging 90 to 110 miles. Increasingly, though, air pollution blurs vistas that once were sharp and rich hued. Hazy days have become more common, with visibility dropping as low as 40 miles. Haze from forest fires and pollen has always been present, but the recent increase is traced to sources outside the park, like copper smelters and urban areas in Arizona, southern California, and even Mexico.

The trails through our public lands weren’t designed for wheelchairs, but new wheelchairs are designed for those trails. National Park Service accessibility specialist Quinn Brett wants parks to catch up with wheelchair technology, increasing access to American wilderness.

Watch these doctors enjoy a taste of their own medicine #FindYourPark

The DML News App offers the best in news reporting.

The post REPORT: National parks visitors should plan for ‘new normal’ appeared first on Dennis Michael Lynch.

Parks testing public access at several parks with limited offerings and services

After closing amid the coronavirus pandemic, the National Park Service is testing public access at several parks across the nation, including two in Utah, with limited offerings and services. Visitor centers and campgrounds remain largely shuttered at Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef, but visitors are welcome at some of the sites. Sullivan was on a day visit to hike the park’s Rim Trail and Bryce Amphitheater, two of the few hiking destinations currently open at Bryce.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’ve rounded up romantic hot spots across North American national parks.

National Park Maps website is a collection of iconic and useful maps from various national park locations.

There are currently 15 national parks spread across England, Scotland and Wales. A new review might usher in the creation of even more.

The air at 85% of national parks is unhealthy at times, report finds, building on a study that said concentration of smog-forming ozone rivals that of cities.

National Park and Earth Week are right around the corner — see how much you know about our nation's protected areas.

The chemicals, which come from valley farms as well as illegal marijuana gardens, are a contributing factor towards sharp declines in frog populations.

The U.S. Interior Department is reportedly backing away from the plan after receiving a flood of disapproving public comments.

Celebrate National Public Lands Day with a free visit to one of your favorite national parks or forests.

Philanthropist Marcus Lemonis is offering work at his Camping World stories and access to an army of volunteers to national parks in need.

Robbie Bond wants to inspire kids and their families to protect our national lands.

Celebrate National Parks Week and Earth Day with us with this breathtaking visual tour of some of the most beautiful sights in America's national parks.

Brighten up a humdrum room while celebrating your favorite wilderness area with beloved illustrator Charley Harper's National Park poster series available at th

These restaurants offer gourmet food, regional specialties and a reason to change out of your hiking boots.

With the help of her grandson, Grandma Joy is camping and seeing the mountains on their quest to visit all the national parks.

Here are seven of our favorite waterfalls in national parks.

Here's a glance at the variation of landscape and geography found within just a few of Canada's most amazing national parks.

These are the fee-free days for national parks, wildlife refuges, national forests and more protected wilderness areas for 2020.

Virtual tours of national parks are providing a valuable service as people shelter at home from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Utah-based private sector company donated $100K during federal shutdown

Great Vacations is always looking to help excited travelers find their greatest escapes!

After closing amid the coronavirus pandemic, the National Park Service is testing public access at several parks across the nation, including two in Utah, with limited offerings and services. Visitor centers and campgrounds remain largely shuttered at Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef, but visitors are welcome at some of the sites.

A free event to celebrate National Parks in Arizona and other public lands will take place on the University of Arizona campus in Centennial Hall and on the nearby grounds on Saturday, August 29, 2009. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/free-outdoor-family-expo-to-highlight-national-parks-in-arizona.htm

Travel with fun-loving Muppets Elmo and Murray from Sesame Street to two of America’s most popular national parks in a new online series, Sesame Street Explores National Parks. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/sesame-street-explores-national-parks.htm

The largest addition to the New South Wales national parks network in almost a decade is welcomed by traditional owners of the land, who say it is a monumental cultural milestone.

Authorities are warning the Great Southern and lower Wheatbelt need to be on alert over the next few days, with sweltering conditions expected to create a serious fire danger.

A contentious ecotourism project on Kangaroo Island has been approved and could lead the way for similar projects that will open up South Australian national parks currently "under lock and key".

The Liberals' plan to open up World Heritage Area and national parks to more tourism developments has been contentious from day one now, it has attracted the attention of Tasmania's auditor-general.

There was a time – before I sank my teeth into the board game hobby and before I took on the demands of being a stepmom to three children - that I planned frequent trips for my friends circle. Each month would see us jet setting off to a different part of the United States (or a different part of the world) in search of adventure and great cuisine. I would pour myself into the research project that proper trip planning requires and create a custom itinerary for our group, working to ensure we caught all the highlights of our destination. This post is about the one I worked up for our last trip to some of the great Western National Parks in the United States.  I share it here with the hope that you might find the itinerary useful in planning your trip out west.

--> Full Photo Gallery – Come and Explore 

Each of us have our favorite national park. Now that they are closed perhaps we will appreciate them even more. Mine as you may know is Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. In fact I was just there in November. Above are three of my photos from t

Parks are opening the way they closed, each in its own way.

Often overlooked, Benjamin Harrison gave us great national parks and forests.

America's National Parks

The Amateur Traveler talks to Erik Smith (who was a guest on Travel to America’s National Parks - Amateur Traveler Episode 121) about Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. We talk about all the different geothermal highlights of the park including Old Faithful, other geysers, thermal pools, etc. We also talk about wildlife, hiking, camping, floating down the Snake river, the grand canyon of the yellowstone, the grandeur of the Tetons (and the strange original of the name Teton).

Hear about travel to the National Parks in Utah as the Amateur Traveler talks to Scot and Emily McKay from wingitworldwide.com about their travels in the Beehive State.

Hear about travel to 4 national parks in British Columbia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Carolyn B. Heller author of "Moon Vancouver & Canadian Rockies Road Trip".

Hear about travel to Alaska's National Parks as the Amateur Traveler talks once again to Gary Arndt about his visits to each of the 8 National Parks in Alaska.

Hear about National Parks in Washington D.C. and the vicinity as the Amateur Traveler talks to Erik Smith about monuments, memorials, mansions, battlefields, gardens and more.

Hear about travel to Arizona's National Parks as the Amateur Traveler talks to Gary Arndt from Everything-Everywhere.com about the many and varied parks in the Grand Canyon State.

Autumn Ray's goal: 59 national parks before she turns 40 in four years

An independent survey finds that although NPS's annual budget is around $3 billion, Americans are willing to pay much more

These parks are less popular, but no less spectacular