Grand Canyon National Park – Syndication Server

Unbelievable ghost stories from America’s national parks

Get into the spooky spirit.

Are ghosts real? Surveys show that Americans are split on this spooky issue. Just under half of the country thinks these paranormal entities exist, leaving the other half of the nation to raise their eyebrows in skepticism. Whether or not ghosts really are haunting Earth, the stories about them sure are captivating.

This Halloween, discover a new kind of ghost story with this compilation of haunted tales from national parks. That’s right, eerie spirits can apparently reside in places other than graveyards and historic buildings. They could be walking alongside you on your next hike! Prepare yourself and scare yourself with these three intriguing ghost stories from America’s national parks.

What to expect at the Grand Canyon’s 15th annual Celebration of Art

Celebrate art at the Grand Canyon.

Artists have been trying to capture the Grand Canyon on canvas for more than a century. Contemporary artists carry on the tradition, especially during the annual Celebration of Art. Its 15th year kicks off September 1 with a silent auction. The main event is a week of “en plein air” (outside on location) painting, where 24 artists will be working at the canyon’s South Rim.

Not only is it fun for visitors to see artists painting the canyon in real-time, but the event is also an important fundraiser for the Grand Canyon Conservancy, the canyon’s official nonprofit partner. The conservancy funds historic building preservation, trail maintenance, educational programs, and wildlife protection projects.

Look forward to these five events at this year’s Celebration of Art.

Ranking the 10 most visited national parks

Popular parks face off.

Every national park is special. Every national park is beautiful. But not all parks made it onto the National Park Service’s (NPS) list of 2022’s most visited national parks.

In 2022, NPS sites tallied over 311 million recreation visits. While many beloved locations contributed to that number, not all of them were national parks. Historic sites, national battlefields, scenic trails, and more also factor into NPS statistics. In fact, the most visited NPS site in 2022 was the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway, which received over 15 million visits.

All of these areas are worth visiting, but today’s rankings focus solely on national parks. In descending order, the most visited national parks in 2022 were: 1. Great Smoky Mountains, 2. Grand Canyon, 3. Zion, 4. Rocky Mountain, 5. Acadia, 6. Yosemite, 7. Yellowstone, 8. Joshua Tree, 9. Cuyahoga Valley, and 10. Glacier. These bustling sites hosted the most recreation visits out of all 63 national parks.

Does “most visited” mean “best,” though? Not always. Find out which of these 10 highly visited parks Outdoors Wire ranks as its favorites in the list below.

Hitting golf ball into Grand Canyon draws paltry fine for TikTok star

Commenters online were critical of the fine TikTok star Katie Sigmond received for her actions, believing the fine did not fit the crime.

Facing a potential fine of $5,000 and six months in prison, TikTok star Katie Sigmond only paid a fine of $285 for hitting a golf ball into the Grand Canyon, an amount that didn’t sit well with online commenters who didn’t believe the fine fit the crime.

In October, Sigmond posted video online showing her hitting the golf ball into the canyon near Mather Point; the club flew off the handle and also went into the canyon.

Subsequently, she took down the video, but it was preserved on Reddit.

Law enforcement subsequently tracked her down and she was charged with three Class B misdemeanors, as reported by The Arizona Republic:

She was only cited for disorderly conduct and tossing or throwing items into the canyon, which carry a maximum fine of $5,000 and six months in prison, according to a copy of the written record of the collateral forfeiture agreement that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona provided to The Arizona Republic.

Sigmond was ordered to pay a $285 fine, which includes $60 in processing fees. A spokesman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts confirmed to The Republic that the Central Violations Bureau received two payments of $155 and $130 from Katie Sigmond on Nov. 15.

Not surprisingly, commenters were critical over the amount of the fine.

Among the comments on the Grand Canyon National Park Facebook page, the Arizona Republic Facebook page and Katie Sigmond’s Instagram account:

“Please increase the penalty for littering or pulling stupid stunts to deter further damage. Less than $300 is not a deterrent.”

“Should’ve given max fine of $5k.”

“Still cheaper than a meal and a few drinks at Top Golf.”

“A trip to Disneyland cost more than her fine.”

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“Let’s see. Fine her a few hundred dollars while she made $1000s off of the video. Act naive about it. Real smart business she has going on.”

“Should have locked her up.”

“Too bad she didn’t get the full 5k fine.

“She got off cheap. I thought it was $1,000 fine to litter.”

Sigmond has 6.9 million followers on TikTok and another 3 million on Instagram.

Watch: Woman hits golf ball into Grand Canyon, loses club; charges pending

Woman’s irresponsible and illegal act prompted a heap of public scorn and got the attention of Grand Canyon National Park law enforcement.

A woman hit a golf ball into the Grand Canyon with the club flying off the handle and into the canyon, an irresponsible and illegal act that prompted a heap of public scorn and got the attention of the park’s law enforcement.

The woman posted video on her TikTok page last Wednesday showing her hitting a golf ball and the club flying into the canyon near Mather Point. She is left holding the grip of the club.

The video was subsequently taken down, but it was preserved on Reddit, as reported by Golfweek.

(If video doesn’t show up for you, visit Reddit to view.)

The Grand Canyon National Park posted a photo of the follow-through with the club in the air and asked, “Do we really need to say, ‘Don’t hit golf balls into the Grand Canyon?”

Apparently they do.

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“Members of the public helped identify the individual’s social media account,” the Grand Canyon National Park Facebook post stated. “On October 27, Grand Canyon Law Enforcement identified, located and contacted the individual responsible for the incident. Charges and a court appearance for the individual are pending. Throwing objects over the rim of the canyon is not only illegal but can also endanger hikers and wildlife who may be below.”

https://www.facebook.com/GrandCanyonNationalPark/posts/pfbid02UuyH7f5DVASvNZ8jXaT39mQHBLPoPu8sk7KvSQbvwx3LaxCJ5zwHMLXf7GY4zuJil

The post generated a plethora of comments castigating the woman. A few of the comments on the Grand Canyon National Park Facebook page:

“Make her hike down and get them.”

“No respect for one of America’s most beautiful national parks, other visitors or animals. Why did she even come to the park, to disrespect it? She should be banned from all of America’s national parks for life.”

“The stupidity of man is endless.”

“How ignorant and disrespectful.”

“A lot of hikers are down there, including me last week — she could have hurt someone!”

“I love it when idiots incriminate themselves.”

Hikers take risk Grand Canyon officials warn against

Three imprudent and ill-equipped hikers were the perfect example for a warning issued by officials at Grand Canyon National Park.

Three imprudent and ill-equipped hikers were the perfect example for a warning issued by officials at Grand Canyon National Park to bring “shoe traction devices and trekking poles” because the top part of the trails are icy.

“Don’t risk it—like these folks,” the warning said in the tweet.

The warning came a day before the park’s announcement Tuesday that the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the area effective from Thursday afternoon through Friday night for elevations above 4,500 feet.

On the South Rim, the East Entrance Station and Desert View Drive, known as East Rim Drive, will close at 7 pm (MST) on Wednesday and remain closed until further notice, the park said.

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The forecast calls for 8 to 12 inches at the South Rim and 15 to 21 inches on the North Rim, which is closed annually to vehicle traffic from Dec. 1 to May 15.

The warning tweet that included the photo of hikers, one in shorts and tennis shoes, descending an icy trail, prompted a barrage of replies, as one might expect.

“Those people are not smart.”

“Shouts to the guy in shorts and…running shoes?”

“That just looks like a verrrry bad choice.”

“They will probably need [rescuing]…going down…but tell me how the heck they are getting back up?”

“Darwin Award nominees!”

Photo courtesy of Grand Canyon National Park.

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