New Mexico

After the relatively quiet winter months, March is the first month of the year where visitation visibly starts to rise across the National Park System. Some parks are at their …

As many people are holiday shopping, decorating their homes, and begin hunkering down for winter, December isn’t usually a busy month in the National Park System. There are, however, still …

Explore Southwestern Deserts in These El Paso National Parks There are many American cities that serve as hubs for national park road trips—Denver, Seattle, San Francisco and Las Vegas are …

With all that overwhelming natural splendor, it’s easy to forget that the National Park System also preserves a wealth of other things and places. In fact, there are literally thousands of Native American heritage and cultural sites in America’s national parks, preserving archaeological sites, battlefields and cultural landmarks.

Besides such famous places as Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon and Death Valley, and iconic buildings like the Statue of Liberty and the San Antonio Missions, the National Park Service (NPS) …

Decades, even centuries, before the United States gained independence, Hispanic and Latinx people were shaping the history and culture of present-day North America. Today, this wealth of Hispanic heritage is …

Of all major attractions found in America’s national parks, sand dunes may just be one of the most underrated. Yet, you can explore and enjoy some of the most spectacular sandy landscapes in a handful of national parks, from the Southwest to the Great Lakes and even Alaska.

In its heyday, Historic Route 66 was the most popular road to the west, both for traveling families and migrants, and it still is to some extent. “America’s Main Street”, as it’s often called, still brings road trippers to many of the best national parks in the Midwest, Southwest and California.

Although often underrated and overlooked, birds are actually the most visible animals around. In national parks, too, they’re the easiest animals to spot. This is why I recommend making bird watching in national parks a priority. It’s not only about bears, moose and whales. Birds are fascinating to watch as well.

The definition of a thru-hike is the end-to-end completion of a long-distance hike in one hiking season. For most people, it will be impossible to thru-hike any of the three major long-distance hikes in the US. What is possible, however, —with some willpower, planning and cooperative employers—is hiking these nine awesome thru-hikes under 1,000 miles.

From the calm waters of the Missouri River to the lush Pacific Northwest forests of the Cascade and Siskiyou ranges, national monuments in the West feature a wide variety of ecosystems, wildlife and landscapes. If you’re looking for new adventures in 2018, consider adding these beautiful public protected lands to your list.

When thinking about America’s national parks, the same five or six names always come to mind first. There are, however, numerous other parks that are basically just as spectacular, but receive only a fraction of the visitors.