Ah, the passage of time. While scary for some, time passing is also a cause for celebration. Birthdays and anniversaries are occasions for relishing in longevity. Even the National Park Service (NPS) celebrates anniversaries. On August 25, 2016, the NPS commemorated its centennial with a year of fun events. But don’t worry if you missed out. In a country full of gorgeous national parks, there’s always a new event on the way.
This year, several NPS sites are celebrating anniversaries. If you want to plan a trip to a national park, monument, or scenic parkway this year, try visiting these five destinations on their birthdays. Enjoy the stunning scenery while participating in a historic moment.
A grizzly bear cub was struck and killed just outside Yellowstone National Park last weekend, leaving behind an angry and confused momma bear.
A grizzly bear cub was struck and killed near Yellowstone National Park last weekend, leaving behind an angry and confused momma bear.
The incident occurred May 26 before dawn on U.S. 191. The driver wasn’t sure what he had struck but the collision badly damaged his truck.
According to Yellowstone Tour Guides, the driver somehow walked safely 200 yards to the tour company’s office, hoping to access a cellphone signal and call for help.
Guide David Reeves was outside preparing to pick up clients. He offered the man a ride back to his truck after the man had telephoned police and a towing company.
The man said he’d walk. But when Reeves reached the scene first he spotted the carcass of a 1-year-old grizzly bear on the highway and a clearly agitated momma bear.
“She was over the carcass and bluff-charged my vehicle,” Reeves told FTW Outdoors. “I immediately stopped and turned around, knowing that the man could not walk up to that.”
Reeves persuaded the man to accept a ride and, back at the scene, positioned the tour vehicle so the man could safely climb into his truck’s cab.
“His truck was undriveable,” Reeves said. “I told him to wait inside until the sheriff and tow truck arrived, that the bear would kill him [if he got out].”
Reeves added: “I did potentially save this man’s life, or at least save him from being severely injured. I’m not sure how he made it safely away from the scene [after the collision], walking down the road oblivious to the extreme danger.”
Reeves said that as he left to pick up his tour group, he spotted the grizzly sow walking away from the carcass up a hill. Soon afterward, a friend told him that police had arrived and that the carcass had been picked up.
Yellowstone Tour Guides stated on Facebook: “We are glad our guide was there to help prevent this from becoming a much more serious incident.
“This was just an accident, and the man was not speeding, as he wasn’t stopped too much further than the carcass. It was dark which made it hard to see the bear darting across the road in time.”
Yellowstone National Park, in a news release, announced that two adult male black bears were killed two days later, also on U.S. 191 but inside the park.
The park added that an elk and bison also were struck recently, and urged visitors to exercise extreme caution while driving on park roads, especially at night.
Every summer presents adventurers with a difficult question. How do you make the most of this precious vacation time? While there are tons of hiking, camping, and swimming opportunities to pursue, many travelers prefer to spend their summer exploring national parks.
Looking for even more travel inspiration? Check out this round-up of the best national parks to visit in the summer. Get ready for weeks of summer fun.
A Yellowstone National Park tourist was caught on video weighing her options when a large bison appeared next to the boardwalk. Did she do the right thing?
You’re in Yellowstone National Park, walking toward the parking lot, when you encounter a large bison feeding only feet from the boardwalk.
Do you proceed and hope the bison ignores you? Do you wait for the bison to leave before continuing? Or do you climb through the boardwalk fence, opposite the bison, and risk descending a steep hill to the lot?
The accompanying footage, captured last week at the Petrified Tree landmark, shows a woman weighing options after climbing through the boardwalk fence.
She’s reluctant to descend the hill and ultimately chooses to climb back onto the wooden pathway – feet from the bison – with the hope that the massive animal would ignore her.
But it’s worth noting that a man was charged and gored last June while walking with his family on a boardwalk. (That boardwalk, unlike the Petrified Tree boardwalk, was not protected by fence rails.)
A few weeks earlier, a 25-year-old woman was gored and tossed 10 feet into the air after she approached within 10 feet of a bison near a boardwalk.
Yellowstone tourists are supposed to stay at least 25 yards from bison.
If they’re on a boardwalk, they’re advised to maintain that distance until it’s safe to pass. If the boardwalk is at a thermal feature such as Old Faithful, they should not leave the boardwalk.
But as anyone who has spent lots of time in the park knows, guidelines pertaining to bison and boardwalks are often ignored.
Yellowstone tourists watching bears recently also spotted a coyote, and beyond the coyote was a smaller critter. Can you spot the critter?
I was part of a crowd watching a cinnamon-colored black bear last week in Yellowstone National Park when a few of us turned and saw a coyote across the highway.
It wasn’t until I inspected my images that I noticed a smaller critter beyond the coyote, keeping tabs on the predator and perhaps the commotion created by the so-called bear jam.
(How quickly can you spot and identify the critter in the coyote image?)
The cinnamon black bear had two new cubs, which had scrambled up a tree. They were perhaps 80 yards from the highway and the bear jam was considerable.
Tourists who could not find parking along the highway stopped in lanes and the bear management team had its hands full keeping tourists safe and the highway clear.
It was difficult shooting for those without a powerful lens. But momma bear frequently emerged from the forest and at one point napped beneath a tree.
Her cubs, for the most part, remained hidden in the branches.
On the other side of the highway, the coyote passed out of sight and the smaller critter, a likely ground squirrel that had been perched on its hind legs, also vanished. (The squirrel is circled below.)
If you use a wheelchair or travel with someone who does, you know how quickly your day can go downhill when a destination has no ramps or accessible restrooms. That’s why Elysia Everett and Dave Jensen co-founded the Friendly Like Me app — so people could know this vital info before they go.
“People are more than just one thing, and accessibility means something different for everyone,” said Everett, CEO of Friendly Like Me, in a statement. “Disability is very individual, sometimes temporal, always in front of us, and yet–continues to surprise us.”
The folks at Friendly Like Me helped us put together this list of the 10 most accessible national parks in the United States. Now, let’s all go out and explore.
Yellowstone National Park attracts millions of visitors every year. What draws so many people to the park? Jaw-droppingly gorgeous natural wonders and unparalleled wildlife viewing opportunities, to start. But of all the park’s many exciting activities, hiking may be the most popular way to explore.
So, if you’re hiking through Yellowstone, which trails should you prioritize? That depends on what’s most important to you. If you want a challenge, Yellowstone River Trail is a strenuous and rewarding choice. If you prefer leisurely nature walks, North Rim Trail will serve you well. Of course, some trails shine no matter what kind of hiker you are.
See the absolute best hikes at Yellowstone National Park in the helpful list of trails below.
Nigels wrote in the video description: “The Yellowstone bison can be very dangerous up close. However, in this moment, they were simply trying to cross the boardwalk and wanted nothing to do with the surrounding people.”
The footage is also reminiscent of a scene that played out last year, involving a bison that had placed its massive head on a boardwalk and used it as a chin scratcher.
Images captured by Ken Carleton showed the bison surrounded by tourists who gathered to witness the spectacle. Their proximity to the gargantuan animal drew the ire of park staff, which described the situation as “unsafe.”
Photo: Ken Carleton
To be sure, while boardwalks are designed to protect visitors from thermal features (and the features themselves), they do not keep people safe from large animals.
In fact, last June a man was gored while walking with his family on a boardwalk.
A few weeks earlier, a woman was gored and tossed 10 feet into the air after she approached a bison near a boardwalk.
Both incidents occurred near Old Faithful.
So while walking on boardwalks is enjoyable and might seem safe, it’s only safe if people follow the park-wide 25-yard distance rule.
When most people visit a national park, they expect to enjoy a day of hiking and sightseeing. One thing the average visitor doesn’t anticipate seeing is a secret cannabis grow site. Nevertheless, this is exactly what Death Valley National Park rangers found in Jail Canyon. Here are the details on what happened and how the National Park Service (NPS) cleaned up the area.
Death Valley National Park announced the grow site discovery on April 30, 2021. The find was reported after a fly-over of Jail Canyon. Located to the west of the Panamint Mountains, Jail Canyon is a little-visited part of Death Valley National Park.
An aerial photo of part of the grow site. / Photo via the NPS
In addition to identifying cannabis plants in the region, rangers also reported trash, damage to the landscape, and hazardous chemicals such as carbofuran. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), carbofuran can cause blurred vision, abdominal cramps, convulsions, and several other symptoms in humans. The chemical can also affect wildlife.
“We are deeply saddened and concerned with the damage that these illegal activities cause,” Barbara Durham, Traditional Historic Preservation Officer for the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe, said in a Death Valley National Park news release. “The natural and cultural resources in these areas are irreplaceable and invaluable, damaging them for profit shows incredible disrespect to our homeland.”
On May 16, 2023, a follow-up news release shared that a team had finished cleaning up the Jail Canyon grow site. This team included park rangers, American Conservation Experience members, and the California Air National Guard.
The clean-up removed 10,000 plants and 35 cubic yards of trash from the area. According to the NPS, the plants removed from the site had an estimated sale value of over $7 million.
In response to this incident, the NPS has increased surveillance throughout the park. Park visitors are encouraged to report unusual sightings to the NPS via visitor centers or the NPS tip line at 888-653-0009.
Want to make your next national park adventure even more magical? Consider bringing your dog! While some national parks don’t allow pets for safety and preservation reasons, several sites welcome animals. Here’s what pet owners need to know.
At many National Park Service (NPS) sites, pets like dogs and cats can accompany park visitors. Each park has its own rules, but the NPS makes it easy to understand these guidelines. Before visiting a park, explore its official NPS website for pet-related regulations.
Even at the most permissive parks, pet owners will have to follow a few important rules. The NPS outlines the most important of these rules using the BARK acronym. BARK principles include bagging your pet’s waste, always leashing your pet, respecting wildlife, and keeping a respectful distance away from all wildlife.
Now that you know the rules, explore the list below for a round-up of the most dog-friendly national parks. Find even more NPS sites to visit with this map of pet-friendly parks.
