NATIONAL PARKS 2021 by STUDIO Gannett

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A GUIDE TO OUR NATIONAL PARKS

Where The Wild Things Are Iconic wildlife ﬁ lls our parks Best parks: The top 10, and by region Home on the Road: Latest in RVs Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan: Let’s get back out there and breathe

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USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

Get back outdoors and breathe in our magniﬁ cent spaces

Whether a novice or a master, we’ve got a hike for you

Scientiﬁ c wonders abound in nature’s grand classrooms

In ‘Year of the Road Trip,’ these roads are worth the trip

National parks are a worthy antidote to a year’s worth of pandemic stress.

Spectacular trails invite (maybe even beg) you to park your car and walk.

Ancient trees, towering summits, billion-year-old rocks and much more.

Scenic byways zig and zag through mountains, across deserts and over the sea.

Maribel Perez Wadsworth Publisher and President, USA TODAY Network

Nicole Carroll Editor in Chief

Patty Michalski Executive Editor

Issue editor Lori Santos

Issue photo editor Sean Dougherty

Issue designers Tracie Keeton, Jennifer Herrmann

Design manager Jennifer Herrmann ISSN#0734-7456 A USA TODAY Publication, Gannett Co. Inc. USA TODAY, its logo and associated graphics are registered trademarks. All rights reserved. Editorial and publication headquarters are at 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA 22108.

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A GUIDE TO OUR NATIONAL PARKS

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Dark skies at many parks make for awesome stargazing. Above: Arches National Park in Utah. PAT SHANNAHAN/THE REPUBLIC

The 10 most visited national parks Which of the full-fledged national parks were the busiest last year? In order: Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone, Zion, Rocky Mountain, Grand Teton, Grand Canyon, Cuyahoga Valley, Acadia, Olympic and Joshua Tree.

Where the wild things are: Iconic animals in the parks

Climate change stresses sites and alters experiences

Coast to coast, region by region, a look at top parks

RV innovations and backpack essentials for adventurers

A sightseer’s guide to wolves, alligators, bald eagles, bison and more.

Beaches erode, glaciers shrink, wildﬁ res rage, and park service responds.

Also: Dark Sky sites (72) and National Park Foundation programs (78).

New campers appeal to a new audience. Pack smart when heading out to hike.

Where The Wild Things Are Iconic wildlife ﬁ lls our parks Best parks: The top 10, and by region Home on the Road: Latest in RVs Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan: Let’s get back out there and breathe

About the cover

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An alligator peeks from the water at Pine Glades Lake in Florida’s Everglades National Park in 2016. By Andrea Melendez/The News-Press

USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

A GUIDE TO OUR NATIONAL PARKS

Magniﬁ cent places where all of us can just breathe Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns Special to USA TODAY

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike,” the great conservationist John Muir wrote more than a century ago. “This natural beautyhunger,” he added, “is made manifest in our magniﬁ cent national parks.” George Vest, a senator from Missouri — and a staunch defender of Yellowstone National Park in the late 1800s, when Congress deliberated doing away with it altogether — put things another way. “I think its existence answers a great purpose in our national life,” he said, “as a great breathing place for the national lungs.” As our nation emerges from the lockdowns and restrictions — and the terrible suﬀ ering, anxieties and exhaustion — of the COVID-19 pandemic, we all need places that can heal and give strength to our bodies and souls. Our national lungs ache for great breathing spaces. Our national parks, and other public lands, are ready to help. In 2020, the pandemic forced many parks and historic sites to close for months. Total visitation dropped 28% to its lowest point since 1980. Even so, our “natural beauty-hunger” sent more than 230 million visitors to the 423 units of the National Park Service. Some sites adSee PARKS, Page 7

Indiana Dunes was elevated from “national lakeshore” to full-fledged national park status in 2019. The park stretches about 20 miles along Lake Michigan. STEVE HEALEY/INDIANAPOLIS STAR

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Parks Continued from Page 6

jacent to major metropolitan areas actually set attendance records. That’s proof of the enduring value (we would say “necessity”) of these special places that past generations had the foresight and determination to protect on behalf of all Americans. Many of you, we imagine, are contemplating summer or fall trips to explore this incredible inheritance. These places belong to you, after all, so long as you remember your own responsibility to pass them along to the generations that follow. As honorary park rangers, we have a few bits of advice. First, your range of possible places to visit is wider than you think. Beyond the iconic national parks like Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Grand Canyon, consider some of the newer additions to the “club.” New River Gorge in West Virginia, White Sands in New Mexico, and Indiana Dunes on the southern shore of Lake Michigan all became full-fl edged national parks within the last two years. The national park system has a presence in every state — historic sites and battlefi elds, national lakeshores and seashores and scenic rivers, national parkways and recreation areas. There should be at least one near you. For the past four decades, in our own exploration of our nation’s complicated past and in our desire to tell that story, it’s been our good fortune to follow many of the national historic trails, which uniquely unite America’s majestic landscape with the tales — some thrilling and heroic, some heartbreaking — of the people who struggled across it many years ago. Travel along one of those trails and “meet” those people while you enjoy seeing the part of America they traversed. Our public spaces also include National Conservation Lands, administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Lesser-known and more remote than other public lands, these places have fewer visitors and thus better opportunities to explore the great outdoors on your own. “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to fi nd out that going to the mountains is going home,” John Muir reminds us. “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will fl ow into you as sunshine fl ows into trees.” As you plan your trip, we should add, there’s nothing wrong with, say, follow-

ing a national historic trail on your way to a national park and, before you return home, stopping at a national recreation area or national seashore or national conservation land or historic site or ... fi ll in the blank according to your interests and the time you have available. (There’s also nothing wrong with fi nding a park nearby and just spending part of a day there.) An additional bit of advice: This year, planning ahead has even greater importance. COVID-19 may be in retreat, but it’s still with us — and the fi ght against it has multiple ramifi cations. Yosemite, for instance, has set a limit on the number of day visitors during the peak season and is requiring reservations for people entering the park. Zion is doing the same thing. At Glacier, driving over the breathtaking Going-to-the-Sun Road will require a ticketed reservation. In some parks, shuttle buses may limit the number of passengers to allow for

proper social distancing; in others, they may not be running at all. Masks are required for any indoor activities on federal property, as well as any outdoor space where 6 feet of social distancing isn’t possible. Some indoor museums and visitor centers may not be open. Check each park’s website well ahead of time; you don’t want to be unpleasantly surprised at the entry gate. Keep checking, as circumstances can change. And it’s worth taking into account that diff erent states may have diff erent regulations for out-of-state visitors. Once you’re in your park, our best advice comes from what we learned when we were fi lming our PBS documentary: Getting up early pays off . Regardless of location, the time around sunrise provides the most beautiful light (which was why we were usually already in place with our cameras). It’s also quieter. Birds See PARKS, Page 8

Missouri Sen. George Vest, seated at far right during an 1883 visit to Yellowstone with President Chester Arthur and political and military officials, said the park served “a great purpose in our national life ... as a great breathing place for the national lungs.” Arthur is seated at center. Between Arthur and Vest is Robert Todd Lincoln, war secretary at the time and the son of Abraham Lincoln. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

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Parks Continued from Page 7

and wildlife are more often in movement than during the middle of the day. An added bonus is that you’re more likely to have the special moment essentially to yourself — or at least with fewer other people. Take your time drinking in the view and the silence. As Muir himself said, “One learns that the world, though made, is yet being made; that this is still the morning of creation.” The hours before and after sunset (what Muir called the gloaming) also off er dramatic light and smaller crowds. And, we discovered, even in the middle of the day, a short walk down a trail often brings you to surprisingly secluded places. “The national parks seem destined to play (a role) in satisfying the longings of the people in times of great nervous tension through the calming and inspiring infl uence of nature,” said Stephen Mather, the fi rst director of the National Park Service. “They are our antidote for national restlessness.” Mather knew this from personal experience. In his darkest moments, time in the great outdoors seemed to calm his sometimes fragile nerves and revive his prodigious energies. This summer, who isn’t looking for an antidote of some sort? Which brings us to our fi nal piece of advice — a request, actually. When you

visit these places, regardless of which ones you choose, try to remember how they got preserved for your enjoyment. Don’t take them for granted. The history of every national park, national monument or other protected public treasure is usually the story of individual Americans who fell in love with that place so completely that they decided it should be preserved so that all Americans, in generations they would never know, could have the same chance to see it with the same fresh eyes. It was always a struggle. It was never easy. But the victories made us a better nation. Yosemite Valley could just as easily have become a gated community with

The New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia, soaring 876 feet above one of the world’s oldest rivers, is the signature feature of the newest national park. F. BRIAN FERGUSON/CHARLESTON GAZETTE-MAIL VIA AP

White Sands National Park in New Mexico includes a portion of the world’s largest dune ﬁ eld of gypsum crystal sands. ERIC GAY/AP

a private golf course in its center. The rim of the Grand Canyon could be lined with trophy homes, each one with a KEEP OUT sign preventing you from gazing down into that awesome chasm and feeling connected to eons of time. The Everglades could have been drained and made into shopping centers. “The battle for conservation will go on endlessly,” Muir observed. Once deﬁ led, a pristine landscape is ruined forever. Once saved, it can still be threatened. Join the cause for the continued protection — even for the expansion — of our public lands. “We are not building this country of ours for a day,” Theodore Roosevelt said. “It is to last through the ages.” Roosevelt, the nation’s greatest conservation president, considered the national park idea “noteworthy in its essential democracy (and) one of the best bits of national achievement which our people have to their credit. And our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their children’s children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred.” Keep those words in mind on your adventure: “essential democracy,” “children’s children,” “majestic beauty” and “unmarred.” And breathe deeply as our national lungs can begin to heal. Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns are the creators of the PBS documentary “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.” In 2009 they were named honorary park rangers.

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Great Smoky Mountains National Park Echoes of simpler times ﬁ ll woods and valleys Ellen Wulfhorst Special to USA TODAY

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited of the fullfl edged national parks, and for good reason. The mountains are among the oldest on the planet, the park has a wider variety of animals and plants than others, and it’s accessible to the East Coast. Scattered throughout the park is another important attraction: artifacts of the people who once called these woods and hollows home. Wander along a trail or down a park road and get a glimpse of a humble church, a log cabin, a weathered barn or one of several cemeteries tucked into the hills. All in all, more than 70 historic buildings remain in the park. The Smokies were a hunting ground for the Cherokee before European settlers arrived in the mid-1800s. The newcomers cleared land for farming, raised livestock and planted apple orchards. They sewed quilts and played distinctive fi ddle and banjo tunes — local arts still practiced today. In the isolated Cataloochee Valley, residents even developed an early tourism business, off ering room See SMOKIES, Page 12 Meigs Falls is easily accessible from Little River Road on the Tennessee side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. BRIANNA PACIORKA/NEWS SENTINEL

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The 11-mile Cades Cove Loop Road is open to vehicles most days but allows only pedestrians and bicycles on Wednesdays in the summer. BRIANNA PACIORKA/NEWS SENTINEL

Smokies Continued from Page 10

About the park

and board to vacationers. Along the park’s Oconaluftee River, a collection of historic buildings, including a springhouse and a forge, has been preserved and moved to the Mountain Farm Museum. Demonstrations of smithing, farming and other crafts and trades at the museum provide a taste of 19th-century mountain life. Thousands of people living in the Tennessee and North Carolina mountains were forced to leave when land acquisition for the national park began in the early 20th century, although a few families remained. In the isolated valley known as Cades Cove, the park’s most popular destination, the last schoolhouse closed in 1944, and the post oﬃ ce closed three years later. These days, Cades Cove is a good place to begin a visit to the park. Take in the grassy meadows and views of the surrounding peaks along its 11-mile, oneway loop road. Note that every Wednesday until September, the road is oﬀ -lim-

Size: 522,427 acres. Visitors: 12,095,720 in 2020. Established: 1934. History: Efforts to protect the Great Smoky Mountains with a national park designation gained momentum in the early 1900s as the logging industry closed in on the forested peaks. Acquiring the land was not simple, however, because it was not a vast tract of wilderness but rather was made up of thousands of parcels of farms and homesteads. Supporting the effort to create the park were newly created auto clubs whose members wanted scenic driving routes. When visiting: Peak seasons are mid-June to mid-August and in October, especially on weekends. Expect traffic delays. Of note: Among the last people to live in the park were six sisters of the Walker family, who were given a lifetime lease to remain on the 122-acre homestead where they had long raised hogs and chickens, grew apples, vegetables and herbs, cured meat and spun and wove wool and cotton. Park rules, however, restricted hunting, cutting wood and grazing livestock, so the sisters turned to selling handicrafts and fried apple pies to visitors. They stopped meeting visitors in 1952, and the last sister died in the house in 1964. Visitor info: nps.gov/grsm.

its to motor vehicles but open for pedestrian and bicycle use. Sprawling over more than a half million acres, the park is welcoming to motorists, with 384 miles of roads, most of them paved. The gravel roads are navigable for most cars as well. Two eye-catching waterfalls are easily reached by car: Meigs Falls and the delightfully named Place of a Thousand Drips, where water cascades through twisting channels in the rocks. Indian Creek Falls, Toms Branch Falls and the Lynn Camp Prong Cascades are accessible via easy walks. Other falls worth a trek are Ramsey Cascades and Mingo Falls, among the highest in the park, and Rainbow Falls, which earns its name from the colorful arcs in its mist on sunny days. For great views, head to the park’s highest point, the 6,643-foot Clingmans Dome. A seven-mile road leads to the Dome and getting to the observation tower at the summit requires a steep half-mile walk uphill. The Appalachian Trail stretches more than 71 miles through the park. Clingmans Dome is the highest point on the famous 2,180-mile path.

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Yellowstone National Park’s most famous feature, the Old Faithful geyser, erupts in spectacular fashion about every hour and a half, on average. KAYLA RENIE/AP

Yellowstone National Park The Earth puts on a fabulous show at the world’s ﬁ rst national park

Ellen Wulfhorst Special to USA TODAY

The earth comes alive at Yellowstone National Park like at no other place on the planet. It bubbles, boils, spits, hisses and even whistles. The magniﬁ cent park in the northwest corner of Wyoming has more than 500 geysers, the largest such concentration in the world, along with thousands of enchanting hot springs, mud pots and steam vents. You would have to travel as

far as Russia, Chile, New Zealand or Iceland to ﬁ nd similar (albeit smaller) geyser hot spots. The cause of all the wild hydrothermal action at Yellowstone is the molten rock that sits relatively close to the surface under the park, in some places a mere 3 to 8 miles below ground. Rain and snowmelt percolate downward, where it heats to boiling and gushes back up through cracks and crevices. See YELLOWSTONE, Page 16

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Yellowstone Continued from Page 14

The best-known geyser, of course, is Old Faithful, which regularly blows hot water and steam more than 100 feet in the air as its underground pressure builds and releases. Eruptions occur, on average, about every hour and a half, although the time between them can range from 60 to 110 minutes. Riverside Geyser stages 20-minute eruptions every six hours or so, often creating rainbows in its mist. Echinus Geyser, which fans out like a fi reworks display, was erupting every couple of hours a few years ago but has slowed down considerably. Steamboat, the largest geyser in the world, sends its plume as high as 400 feet. It has been putting on its show at six- to 21-day intervals this year. Visitors aren’t left to guess, however. The National Park Service posts up-todate eruption predictions for several of the park’s most dramatic spouts, as do several websites. At Norris Geyser Basin, the hottest spot in the park, diff erent geysers and hot springs crop up every year as the pressurized water cuts through new underground passages while other pathways become blocked and go quiet. Driving the underground changes are earthquakes, of which the park has hundreds or even thousands in a year. A popular feature at Norris is the Black Growler steam vent, which has shifted locations more than a few times over the years. Smaller vents, many that noisily hiss and whistle, as well as hot springs and scalding thermal pools, can be found throughout the park. Boardwalk trails lead to gurgling, spitting mud pots at Fountain Paint Pot, the Artists’ Paint Pots and the Mud Volcano. Tiny micro-organisms called thermophiles, containing sulfur, iron and other chemicals, give the colorful pots their yellow, red, pink and green hues. At the heart of the park is Yellowstone Lake, which sits in the crater of an ancient volcano that last erupted in a major way about 640,000 years ago (although it has has many smaller outbursts since). That eruption was a thousand times as powerful at Mount St. Helens in 1980. At more than 7,700 above sea level, Yellowstone Lake is too cold for swimming, but there are boat tours and opportunities to take out a kayak or canoe or cast a fl yrod for trout. The park’s popular sites are accessi-

A boardwalk allows visitors to pass between Yellowstone Lake — which at more than 7,700 feet above sea level can be partially frozen even in June — and a steaming hot spring. Minerals and micro-organisms help paint the park’s thermal features in vivid colors. MARK RALSTON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

ble by trails and by 466 miles of roadways. But plan ahead, because the park is huge. Its internal Grand Loop roadway is 142 miles long. Besides, your drive is likely to be happily interrupted by bison meandering on the road, the glimpse of an elk or moose in the trees or the sight of bald and golden eagles overhead. Black bears are common, and about 150 grizzly bears live in the park as well. As for lodging, more than 2,000 rooms are available in the park’s lodges and rustic cabins. If you want to book, though, don’t delay — they ﬁ ll up quickly.

About the park Size: 3,437.5 square miles. Visitors: 3,806,305 in 2020. Established: 1872. History: A series of expeditions between 1869 and 1871 led to efforts to protect Yellowstone from development. Photographs, paintings and sketches of the unique landscape encouraged Congress to pass legislation making Yellowstone the ﬁ rst national park in the U.S. — and, it is believed, the world. When visiting: Th park is located primarily in Wyoming, but small portions extend into Montana and Idaho. More than half of Yellowstone’s yearly visitors arrive in June, July and August. In the spring, fall and winter, the park offers fewer services, and road travel, especially in the snowy months, is restricted. Of note: Automobiles were ﬁ rst allowed on Yellowstone’s roads in 1915. That year, the number of visitors more than doubled to almost 52,000. Before then, visitors arrived by horse-drawn wagon, stagecoach or horseback. Visitor info: nps.gov/yell.

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Zion National Park Ability to innovate will determine whether the next century is as successful as the ﬁ rst Matt Alderton

Special to USA TODAY

In 1919, the year Zion National Monument became Zion National Park, just 1,814 people visited the red-rocked treasure in southwestern Utah. By 1990, more than 2 million people were fl ocking to the park every year. Then the crowds became swarms. Thanks to a global increase in the aff ordability and accessibility of travel, and a massive boost in public awareness from social media, visits to Zion surged from 2.5 million in 2006 to nearly 4.5 million in 2019. Then came 2020. Although visits fell 20% because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a remarkable 3.6 million people still visited the park. When the coronavirus threat recedes, therefore, it’s reasonable to assume that Zion will pick up right where it left off — fi lling up with people like a balloon infl ating with air. “Zion has been experienced and exponentially shared in the Digital Age such that visitation has escalated very dramatically in a very short period of time,” says Lyman Hafen, executive director of the Zion National Park Forever Project, Zion’s offi cial nonprofi t fundraising partSee ZION, Page 20 Hikers pick their way along the Virgin River in The Narrows, where Zion Canyon gets as tight as 20 to 30 feet wide. GEORGE FREY/GETTY IMAGES

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A GUIDE TO OUR NATIONAL PARKS “Zion is located in one of the fastest growing regions in our country, so pressures on the park are only going to grow. Those of us who care about Zion need to work together to create a ... vision for how we protect it.” Cory MacNulty

National Parks Conservation Association

Zion Continued from Page 18

ner. “In many ways, that’s awesome. But it’s also a very daunting situation.” The answer is smart planning and creative thinking. “Zion is a place of innovation,” says Cory MacNulty, associate director, southwest region, at the National Parks Conservation Association. “Because of that, it often is out front on issues within the National Park Service.” Examples of this abound. In the 1920s, the National Park Service wanted to make Zion more accessible to nearby Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon national parks. So it built the 1.1-mile ZionMount Carmel Tunnel, which connects Zion’s east and west sides through a sandstone cliﬀ and remains one of the park’s signature features. In the 1980s, the tunnel was plagued by motor vehicle accidents involving tour buses, motor homes and trailers that could not negotiate the tunnel’s curves without crossing the center line. To ensure safety, Zion began posting rangers at both ends of the tunnel to convert two-way traﬃ c to oneway for oversized vehicles (for a fee) — a practice that continues today. Congestion is greatest, however, in Zion Canyon, which is home to the park’s most iconic sites. To solve that probem, the park in 2000 established the complimentary Zion Canyon Shuttle, which transports riders to the canyon from outside the park. “The whole idea of requiring people to park their cars and get on a public shuttle to go up the canyon was a huge (challenge) politically, culturally and economically. There was a lot of pushback by people who felt, ‘It’s our park and we should be able to experience it however we wish,’ ” recalls Hafen, who says the shuttle transformed the experience inside Zion by making nature the focal

Bighorn sheep — an iconic sight in Zion National Park. (These are females, which do not develop the thick, spiral horns that the animals are famous for.) RHONA WISE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

About the park Size: 146,597 acres. Visitors: 3,591,254 in 2020. Established: 1919. History: The fi rst human inhabitants in the region are believed to have arrived about 8,000 years ago. The fi rst European explorers, two Spanish priests, visited in 1776. Mormon settlers arrived in the mid-1800s. When visiting: Stop by the Zion National Park Visitor Center at 1101 Zion-Mount Carmel Highway in Hurricane, Utah. Of note: Fall and winter are a great time to visit, with smaller crowds, shorter (or no) lines, and greater availability of campsites and lodges. Of course, it’s best to check fi rst this year. Visitor info: nps.gov/zion.

point instead of traffi c. “That was a really big pivot point in the history of the park. If the shuttle hadn’t been instituted, the park today would be totally jammed.” Such solutions helped Zion become the fourth-most-visited national park in 2019, when it celebrated its centennial. Now, a new pivot point is needed to ensure the park remains sustainable and enjoyable for another 100 years. “The reason Zion was designated as a national park in the fi rst place was for ‘the benefi t and enjoyment of the people,’ ” says MacNulty, citing the legislation that made Zion a national park in 1919. “So when they’re making decisions for the parks, park managers have to ask themselves: How are we going to make it so these places can be enjoyed for generations to come?” Rangers’ ability to keep parks enjoyable is severely limited by funding constraints, say MacNulty and Hafen, who point to Zion’s deferred maintenance backlog, which currently stands at approximately $70 million. “While visitation has been going up dramatically in parks like Zion, funding for the infrastructure that’s necessary to accommodate all those people has not,” MacNulty says. Nevertheless, Zion is assembling important plans for its future. One of the most signifi cant is a next-generation Zion Canyon Shuttle that would run on electricity instead of propane. Another eff ort, the East Zion Initiative, involves a public-private partnership to establish infrastructure — including a visitor center, a lodge and a new trail network — on Zion’s less congested east side. “Zion Canyon is really special, but it has a very fi nite amount of space,” Hafen says. “A project like this is one example of how we can disperse visitation throughout the region.” Nevetheless, congestion in Zion Canyon isn’t likely to ease anytime soon. Perhaps the most impactful tool for Zion’s future will therefore be a new visitor use management plan, work on which has been ongoing since at least 2016. Traffi c management solutions under consideration include timed-entry and reservation systems that would regulate and/or limit park capacity. “Zion is located in one of the fastest growing regions in our country, so pressures on the park are only going to grow,” MacNulty says. “Those of us who care about Zion need to work together to create a regional vision for how we protect it.”

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Elk occupy a meadow in Moraine Park, a popular camping area in Rocky Mountain National Park, as morning storm clouds roll in. TIMOTHY HURST/THE COLORADOAN

Rocky Mountain National Park Explore vast spaces by day, then curl up at night in pint-size accommodations

Sarah Sekula

Special to USA TODAY

From lush forests and sparkling lakes to loads of wildlife and a host of soaring peaks, Rocky Mountain National Park sure has a lot going for it. Hundreds of miles’ worth of hiking trails snake through the park, from easy waterfall strolls to challenging treks up “fourteeners.” Along the way, there’s a chance you’ll spot bighorn sheep, mountain lions, elk, black bears and moose.

Combine big and small by beginning your trip in Lyons, Colorado, and checking in at the WeeCasa Tiny House Resort. This village oﬀ ers 22 tiny homes for rent — some sleek and European, others more whimsical. It’s an excellent base from which to explore the park and the surrounding area. The Beaver Meadows entrance is a 30-minute drive away. “I moved to Colorado nearly 30 years ago,” says Kenyon Waugh, the “WeeEO” See ROCKY, Page 24

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Rocky Continued from Page 22

About the park Size: 265,807 acres.

A visitor climbs over boulders below Ouzel Falls in the Wild Basin, a popular hiking area in the southeastern corner of Rocky Mountain National Park. MILES BLUMHARDT/THE COLORADOAN

Visitors: 3,305,199 in 2020. Established: 1915. History: Archaeological evidence shows that humans were using the area as a hunting ground more than 10,000 years ago.The region was later home to the Ute and Arapaho peoples. Tourism became signiﬁ cant in the late 1800s. In 1976, the park was designated as one of the ﬁ rst UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. When visiting: From May 28 to Oct. 11, reservations are required to enter the park. See the park website for details. Dress in layers — the weather can be moderate at elevations below 9,400 feet, but in higher areas, it’s possible to encounter snow even at the height of summer. Visitor info: nps.gov/romo.

The WeeCasa Tiny House Resort in Lyons, Colorado, a 30-minute drive from the park, offers an atypical lodging experience. The resort has 22 tiny houses available for rent; some are sleek and contemporary; others have a more whimsical vibe. WEECASA

of WeeCasa. “One of the fi rst places we went when we arrived was the park. I’ve hiked hundreds of miles in the park and try to visit each year for an annual backpacking trip.” To arrange a guided hike in the park, check 57Hours.com, which can pair you with an expert certifi ed guide who can help choose the best trail for you, whether you want a leisurely meadow walk or a tricky alpine climb. Squeeze in more adventure at the Kent Mountain Adventure Center in Estes Park. This rock climbing school off ers a guided experience known as the Via Ferrata, which allows even novices to scale a 600-foot cliff with breathtaking views of the northern half of Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park. It’s part scrambling, part technical climbing. You’ll start by crossing a rather exposed cliff , then move on to a ridge section. Ladders, steel steps, cables and natural rock features along the way make the route easily accessible. As long as you’re OK with heights, that is. For an extra dose of adventure, rappel down to a portaledge, a nylon cot no bigger than two sleeping bags lashed to the cliff , and have a “cliff nic” (a cliff side picnic). Keep your eyes peeled for peregrine falcons, and don’t be surprised if a hummingbird comes along. Soak up views of the 14,259-foot Longs Peak, Jurassic Park (a series of gorgeous domes) and the Mummy Range, which makes up the northern third of the park. The Via Ferrata is open from May until winter; cliff camping and cliff nics are held from June to the end of September. “Rocky is powerful!” says Dustin Dyer, owner of Kent Mountain Adventure Center. “I love the giant relief you get almost everywhere in the park, especially combined with the ease of access. There are similar mountains in the world in a few places, but most require many days of effort to get to and an advanced skill set. RMNP has roads that take you deep into the heart of these wild gorges studded with granite spires. For anyone who is drawn to high places, or just wants to look at them, Rocky is a special place with few equals on Earth.” Back at WeeCasa, take a dip in the St. Vrain River, play cornhole, roast s’mores by the campfi re or take a short walk into town. Time to recharge your batteries for another day of adventure.

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Grand Teton National Park The stars of this show? The stars. And mountains. And all the rest.

Sarah Sekula

Special to USA TODAY

Seeing the rings of Saturn for the ﬁ rst time is quite the experience. Seeing the rings of Saturn for the ﬁ rst time while visiting Grand Teton National Park? Even better. Just ask Samuel Singer, who has a bachelor’s in physics and astronomy and a master’s and a doctorate in science education. He’s spent the past two decades leading stargazing programs there.

“The rings of Saturn in the summertime always blow people away,” he says. “They still do the same for me.” Singer is dazzled by Wyoming’s night sky quite often. As founder and executive director of Wyoming Stargazing, he leads celestial tours year round. But these aren’t your typical telescope-peeping tours. They are bespoke experiences that can be arranged through Hotel Jackson, a four-star, 55-room boutique See GRAND TETON, Page 28

A symphony of snowy peaks and placid lakes, Grand Teton National Park lies south of Yellowstone in the northwest corner of Wyoming. DANIEL SLIM/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

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Grand Teton Continued from Page 26

property about 4 miles from the park. Here’s how it works. Wyoming Stargazing picks you up at the hotel, located near Jackson Hole’s Town Square, and shuttles you to the park. The Antelope Flats section, to be more speciﬁ c. There, Singer and his team set up a large telescope to give you a look at planets, stars, nebulae and galaxies. They also have iPads so you can explore further using the StarWalk app. When using a large-aperture, trussmounted Dobsonian telescope “it’s like having an eye 20 to 25 inches in diameter,” Singer explains. “You can collect a ton of light. That’s how we can see galaxies tens of millions of light years away.” Inside the park, any time the moon is less than one-quarter full, you can see the Milky Way. “There is a quiet, a stillness and an expansiveness that emerges after dark while you’re looking up at the sky in the Tetons that you just can’t ﬁ nd in many other places,” he says.

“There is a quiet, a stillness and an expansiveness that emerges after dark while you’re looking up at the sky in the Tetons that you just can’t find in many other places.” Samuel Singer,

Wyoming Stargazing

Back at the hotel, grab a LebaneseMediterranean dinner at the Figs restaurant, cozy up for bed and dream about the next day’s adventure. Outside, the hotel is the perfect blend of rustic and modern. Inside, it’s warm woods, patinated metal and leather seating. It’s so well designed, in fact, it has won awards for being so darn beautiful. That said, it’d be easy to stay put. But venturing out in the wild surrounding ecosystem as much as possible is a must. With the nearby park’s varied topography (dramatic mountains, pristine lakes and vast alpine terrain), there’s an awful lot to choose from. Sign up for the hotel’s wildlife safari, on which you could see grizzly and black bears, bison, wolves or mountain lions. Some 300 species of birds call this place home. And elk and moose, too. If you’re a shutterbug, a safari that includes a photography workshop is the way to go. After a full day of fun, you can select your best shot and the hotel will have it printed and

Wyoming Stargazing will pick you up in Jackson Hole and shuttle you into the park to peer into the heavens with a wide-aperture telescope capable of seeing galaxies tens of millions of light-years away. WYOMING STARGAZING

About the park Size: 333,700 acres Visitors: 3,289,639 in 2020.

shipped to your home. Still have energy left? Hotel Jackson can ﬁ ll the rest of your vacation with bike tours, rock climbing, exploring rivers and lakes on a stand-up paddleboard, or ﬂ ightseeing the western slope of the Tetons at sunset. It’s a great way to learn about the geology of the park. When you’re ready to go hiking, check 57Hours.com, an app that can arrange a guide for almost any activity you are looking to do in the park. It’s a smart idea to go with a guide, especially for those new to the park. Due to the bear population, it’s best to hike in groups of three or more and to carry bear spray and know how to use it.

Established: 1929. The original park designation protected only the high peaks and some valley lakes. Conservationists then began acquiring surrounding land for preservation, which became Jackson Hole National Monument. The monument and park were combined in 1950. History: Evidence of a human presence in the area dates back more than 11,000 years. By the early 1800s, the area was occupied by the Shoshone people. Fur trappers were among the ﬁ rst white explorers. When visiting: Stargazers, take note — the annual Perseids meteor shower is expected to peak Aug. 11-12. Visitor info: nps.gov/grte.

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Hikers Francisco Aguilar and Justin Hepworth of Las Vegas prepare to descend into the Grand Canyon on the North Kaibab Trail at sunrise MELISSA YEAGER/THE REPUBLIC

Grand Canyon National Park To hike rim to rim, you’ll need an early start, endurance — and good socks

Melissa Yeager Arizona Republic

When we pulled up to the North Kaibab trailhead on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim just before 6 a.m., the parking area was already full of cars dropping oﬀ eager hikers. I couldn’t see the canyon rim yet. I could see only a glimmer of the rising sun, evergreen trees silhouetted against its faint glow. I had wanted to hike the canyon from rim to rim for a while, but I was hesitant. I

always thought my trip would include an overnight stop at Phantom Ranch at the canyon’s bottom. But with reservations at the ranch usually booked months in advance and its dormitories closed by COVID-19, that seemed impossible. So how about doing it all in one day? For the record, the oﬃ cial answer from park rangers to the question “Can you hike the Grand Canyon from rim to rim in a single day?” is no. See GRAND CANYON, Page 30

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Grand Canyon Continued from Page 29

This sign near the bottom of the Grand Canyon makes things seem a little simpler than they really are. It takes about twice as long to hike up to the rim of the canyon as it does to descend to the bottom MELISSA YEAGER/THE REPUBLIC

About the park Size: 1.2 million acres. Visitors: 2,897,098 in 2020. Established: 1919. History: The canyon was given protection as a forest reserve in 1893, then a national monument in 1908, and ultimately became a national park 102 years ago. When visiting: Keep in mind that it takes twice as long to hike up and out of the canyon as it does to descend. If your time (or energy) is limited, stroll the Rim Trail and just check things out from above. Of note: The less-visited North Rim is harder to get to and has a more relaxed vibe than the South Rim and offers views with crowds about one-tenth the size. Visitor info: nps.gov/grca.

They strongly advise against trying to hike down to the Colorado River and back up in one day. They urge people to camp or plan far in advance for a reservation at Phantom Ranch. The majesty of the canyon, they say, is best experienced over two, three or even four days, enough time to appreciate its wonder. They’re not wrong. It is truly breathtaking to see the canyon on foot. Giving yourself time to savor hiking through millions of years of geological formation — that’s excellent advice. Even so, every spring and fall there’s a migration of endurance enthusiasts like me determined to do it in a day. My hike, which eventually totaled 23.9 miles, began by heading down the North Kaibab Trail to the ranch. The 14mile trek to the bottom felt easy at ﬁ rst, giving me the opportunity to appreciate the descent through layers of rock and the natural beauty. By the time we passed Cottonwood Campground, the halfway point to Phantom Ranch, we were still feeling strong. We decided to take a popular side trip to Ribbon Falls before continuing to the ranch, where we had pre-ordered lunch. I don’t regret the 20-minute diversion, but by the time we entered “the box,” the narrow area where the North Kaibab Trail enters the canyon’s inner gorge, I was really starting to feel the impact of miles of marching downhill. It takes a toll on the legs, especially the knees. After Phantom Ranch, we crossed the pedestrian bridge over the Colorado River and followed the River Trail toward Bright Angel Trail. My legs were aching, and we still had 10 miles to go — all uphill. At the River Resthouse, other hikers suggested going down to sit by the river for a bit. It was a good idea. We took the path down to Pipe Creek Beach to soak our tired feet in water that rangers told us hovers around a crisp 46 degrees year round. Taking in the beauty of the canyon bottom while enjoying an ice bath to refresh my legs will go down as one of my favorite memories. It also led to one of my biggest regrets: not bringing a set of dry socks to change into for the remaining miles of the hike.

And now, all the way back up To quote the park rangers: Hiking down is optional. Hiking up is required. I started to slow down a bit on the as-

cent. My feet were getting blisters from not drying out or changing my socks after the stop at the river. Each year, more than 250 people are rescued from the inner gorge. Calls for help typically come from people who were not prepared for the distance and endurance and the heat. “It does take a lot of physical and mental stamina,” said Joelle Baird, a spokeswoman for the park. The park’s staﬀ tries to discourage people from taking on more than they can handle. You can bring your cellphone, but that’s not foolproof. You will be without cell service for much of the hike, and Baird said it’s important to have contingency plans and share those with the people waiting for you. “A lot of times, those people make it out just ﬁ ne. It just takes them a little longer than anticipated,” she said. As was the case for me. Time spent on the brief side trip to Ribbon Falls and resting to soak my weary feet added up, and we didn’t make our original estimated arrival time of around 7 p.m.

A true physical fi tness test I consider myself fairly fi t. I love to hike. I’ve completed half and full marathons. I hiked up Angels Landing at Zion National Park and did a two-week trek to Everest Base Camp. But the last 3 miles here humbled me, as they do most rimto-rim hikers. In hindsight, I would have done a few more long training hikes. The sun had set before we reached Mile-and-a-Half Resthouse. I remember the beauty of looking up to a sky full of stars, then turning around to see a trail of blinking headlamps behind me. I lifted my gaze and saw more headlamps dancing in the dark all the way to the top of the South Rim. The top looked impossibly far away. I kept on walking. I started to hear the voices of families and friends cheering their hikers arriving at the top. I kept following the sound until we walked through the fi nal tunnel and up to the fi nish at Bright Angel Landing. We arrived at 8:45 p.m. After 15 hours on the trail, I hobbled to my hotel room, exhausted and famished. The next morning, fully rested and moving slowly, I went to the Bright Angel trailhead for another look at the journey we had taken. Gazing out at the trail below, I was in awe of my accomplishment. The journey gave me a new perspective of the beauty and harshness of the canyon, and I would happily do it again. With a change of socks.

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Cuyahoga Valley National Park Hike through history in a slice of wilderness in the middle of Ohio Ellen Wulfhorst Special to USA TODAY

The deep woodlands, lush wetlands and open ﬁ elds of Cuyahoga Valley National Park are brimming with hiking trails and historic tales to delight both the body and the mind. At the heart of the park is the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, which follows the route of the vital 19th-century waterway that connected Lake Erie in the north and the Ohio River in the south. The canal was dug largely by hand by German and Irish immigrants working in what was then remote wilderness. Its completion in 1832 not only created an eﬃ cient way to move goods into, out of and through Ohio, but also opened up an inland water route from the Eastern Seaboard to the Gulf of Mexico — through Lake Erie to the Ohio River and then down the Mississippi. The canal played a major role in boosting the young nation’s western expansion, its trading economy and its industrial growth. The towpath ran alongside the canal. Mules on the path pulled barges on the water. Today, a large section of that towSee CUYAHOGA, Page 32 Wetlands in Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park provide a haven for a diverse array of plants and animals. CHRIS DAVIS/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

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A GUIDE TO OUR NATIONAL PARKS “Though a short distance from the urban areas of Cleveland and Akron, Cuyahoga Valley National Park seems worlds away.” National Park Service

Cuyahoga Continued from Page 31

path is a trail shared by hikers, runners, cyclists and horseback riders. It’s relatively fl at, wheelchair accessible and has 10 trailheads where you can park your car to start a hike. (The Towpath Trail is 87 miles in total, 19.5 of which are in the national park. Plans call for the full trail to eventually span 101 miles.) Stop along the way at the Canal Exploration Center, set in a building that has served over the decades as a tavern, a boarding house and a blacksmith’s shop. These days it has interactive exhibits that allow visitors to imagine navigating a boat through the locks and learn about the impact of the canal system and the value of giant public works projects. Hiking the 19.5 miles of the trail in the park would take several hours, but there’s relief for tired feet: A railroad runs through the park along the winding Cuyahoga River. Trains on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad will stop to pick up hikers and also carry bicycles and kayaks. To fl ag down trains at boarding stations, the railroad suggests passengers wave their arms over their heads. Along with toting weary travelers, the railroad off ers more refi ned options like four-course dinner journeys, an “Ales on Rails” beer-sampling excursion and a wine-tasting trip with selections from a vineyard. The Towpath Trail is by no means the only worthwhile trek in the park, which has more than 125 miles of hiking trails. Other popular paths lead to the 60-foot Brandywine Falls; to Hale Farm & Village where mid-19th-century life is re-created through craft demonstrations; and to Beaver Marsh. The popular marsh has its own interesting past. Before the land was purchased by the National Park Service, it was the site of an auto repair shop, littered with old cars and rusted parts. Volunteers with the Sierra Club staged a massive cleanup, and construction of a parking lot was in the plans. But as the

Kayakers enter the water from the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The park stretches from Akron to the outskirts of the Cleveland metropolitan area and includes 19.5 miles of the Towpath Trail. The trail extends for nearly 90 miles in and out of the park. D.J. REISER/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

About the park: Size: 33,000 acres. Visitors: 2,755,628 in 2020. Established: Designated a national recreation area in 1974 and a national park in 2000. History: The Ohio & Erie Canal carried freight until 1861, when railroads made it unnecessary. The canal system was mostly abandoned in 1913 after flooding caused severe damage. When visiting: Cuyahoga Valley is known for its fall foliage. Maples turn red, yellow, and orange; black gum, dogwood and northern red oak trees turn red; tulip trees, white ash and big tooth aspen turn yellow; and the white oaks turn dark brown. Of note: The Cuyahoga River, once one of the nation’s most polluted waterways, has been the target of intensive cleanup and remediation. It was named “River of the Year” in 2019 by the American Rivers conservation group in recognition of the successful efforts. Visitor info: nps.gov/cuva.

wetlands were restored, beavers started to return and built a dam system that ﬂ ooded the area. Today, along with its beavers, the marsh is home to muskrats, otters, wood ducks, songbirds, turtles, bullfrogs and bats. Ohio’s Buckeye Trail passes through Cuyahoga Valley National Park as well. The Buckeye Trail makes a 1,444-mile loop around the state, starting on Lake Erie and ending in Toledo. There’s no camping or overnight RV parking in the national park, but other campsites and state parks are nearby. For lodging within the park, the Stanford House, built in the early 1800s, has nine bedrooms, a rustic dining room and an outdoor ﬁ re circle. The more luxurious Inn at Brandywine Falls overlooking the picturesque cascade has a small number of rooms and suites and hosts special events like breakfasts by candlelight. The only national park in Ohio, Cuyahoga Valley is just 18 miles from Akron and 22 miles from Cleveland.

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Acadia National Park on the Maine coast is one of the ﬁ rst places in the United States to see the sun’s rays every morning. ROBERT F. BUKATY/AP

Acadia National Park Cliﬀ climbing, cool waters and carriage roads captivate visitors

Ellen Wulfhorst

Special to USA TODAY

The beauty of Maine’s Acadia National Park is a product of the ancient glaciers that carved out its landscape and the ocean waves and winds that batter its rocky coast — along with a little help from human hands. About 45 miles of charming carriage roads wind their way through Mount Desert Island, where much of Acadia is located. Made of broken stone and built

mostly by hand between 1913 and 1940, the gracefully engineered roadways were funded by industrialist John D. Rockefeller Jr., who was fond of traveling the area by horse and carriage. Now used by hikers, cyclists and horseback riders, the graded routes follow the contours of the land, marked by large rough-cut blocks of granite called coping stones, which serve as guardrails and as bridges spanning waterfalls and See ACADIA, Page 34

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The granite cliffs of Acadia National Park are a magnet for climbers. Above, Mark Warner scales a route known as the Wonder Wall in 2018. Acadia, formerly known as Lafayette, was the ﬁ rst national park east of the Mississippi River. ROBERT F. BUKATY/AP

Acadia About the park

Continued from Page 33

Size: 35,332 acres. Visitors: 2,669,034 in 2020. Established: 1929. History: Development and logging at the start of the 20th century prompted the wealthy summer visitors of Mount Desert Island to began acquiring land to protect it. President Woodrow Wilson declared the area Sieur de Monts National Monument in 1916. Three years later, with more acreage acquired, it became Lafayette National Park, the ﬁ rst national park east of the Mississippi River. It became Acadia National Park in 1929. When visiting: Fall draws crowds of leaf peepers to Acadia as the trees burst with color. Peak season is typically in the middle of October. Of note: The era of the wealthy rusticators who visited Mount Desert Island drew to a close with the Great Depression and World War II. A devastating ﬁ re destroyed many of their remaining estates in 1947. Visitor info: nps.gov/acad.

streams. They are landscaped with native ferns and blueberries. Along with the carriage roads, the park has 158 miles of hiking trails, many dating to the mid- and late 1800s, when wealthy city residents called “rusticators” would visit Mount Desert Island for summer respites. The rusticators included families like the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts and Carnegies, who built what they called “cottages” of as many as 80 to 100 rooms, laid out tennis courts and designed hiking trails. Some of their trails include carved stone steps and iron ladders to cross steep slopes and cliﬀ s. The rusticators also included painters of the Hudson River School, whose depictions of Mount Desert Island helped popularize the area.

Later, during the Great Depression, workers with the federal Civilian Conservation Corps built more trails, at times cutting and moving granite blocks that weighed more than a ton with sheer muscle power. Today at Acadia, the east side of Mount Desert Island is the most visited, with a Park Loop Road for sightseeing. The 27-mile road climbs to the top of 1,530-foot Cadillac Mountain, the highest of the park’s densely forested mountains, and dips down to a coastal inlet called Thunder Hole, worth a visit to hear the roar of the waves. (Cadillac, also the highest point on the Eastern Seaboard, gets especially crowded at sunrise.) The west side of the island is less crowded, as are Schoodic Peninsula, Isle au Haut (accessible by ferry) and the Cranberry Isles and Baker Island, reached by mail boat or guided tours. Mount Desert Island’s pink granite cliff s are a lure for climbers, its lakes and ponds are popular for canoeing, kayaking and sailing, and its coastal waters draw ocean kayakers. Beginners are advised to venture out with a guide, as the ocean’s rough waves, fog and cold can be tough to navigate. Hearty swimmers head to Acadia’s coastal Sand Beach, where the water is cold year-round, chilled by the Labrador Current in the Gulf of Maine. Water temperatures are helpfully posted each day at the beach parking lot. A less chilling adventure is exploring the rocky coastal tide pools, fi lled at low tide with blue mussels, sea stars, dog whelks and sea cucumbers. Birdwatchers fl ock to Acadia for its more than 300 species of birds, including nearly two dozen kinds of warblers, as well as shorebirds, peregrine falcons, snowy owls and common loons. A good spot to see sharp-shinned hawk, American kestrels, falcons and other birds of prey is the top of Cadillac Mountain. Keep an eye out as well for seals, turtles, beavers, porcupines, harbor porpoises and whales. At night, stargazing at Acadia is in a class of its own, best when there’s a new moon and on cloudless nights at least an hour or two after sunset.

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Olympic National Park Mountains? Lakes? Beaches? Forest? No need to choose; this place has it all.

Ellen Wulfhorst Special to USA TODAY

A visit to Olympic National Park is a bit like one-stop shopping for nature’s splendor. You can experience an ocean beach, a rainforest, dense woods, alpine meadows, glacial lakes and towering mountains in a single trip. In fact, the park’s highlights — the mountains, rainforest and coastline — can be packed into one long day in a car. But a more leisurely trip reveals far more

of its unique beauty and riches. Olympic has more than 75 miles of Paciﬁ c coastline, hundreds of lakes and thousands of miles of rivers and streams. Have a picnic, take a day hike or backpack deep into the park, which is 95% designated wilderness. Aim high by starting in the Olympic Mountains. The visitor center at Hurricane Ridge, almost a mile above sea level oﬀ ers spectacular views. See OLYMPIC, Page 36

The landscape of Olympic National Park ranges from rugged Paciﬁ c beaches to towering mountain peaks to lush rainforest. WILLIAM TEED/GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

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Olympic Continued from Page 35

Mount Olympus is the tallest peak in the range at 7,980 feet. It gets as much as 70 feet of snow each year and is home to the 2.6-mile-long Blue Glacier, parts of which move at a rate of about 3 feet a day. Keep an eye out for the playful Olympic marmots, housecat-size rodents that emerge from their dens along the Hurricane Ridge trails to munch on the grassy alpine meadows that burst with paintbrush and shooting star blooms in summer. In the northern Olympic foothills is the deep, glacial Lake Crescent, popular for picnicking, kayaking and canoeing. Mornings are recommended for boating, as the afternoon winds can create waves of a foot or higher. Boats are available for rent. To the west of the mountains is the Hoh Rain Forest, where a lush, thick canopy of tall trees shades the dense undergrowth and a blanket of moss and ferns. Hoh is a temperate rainforest that gets a lot of rain, especially in winter, averaging 140 inches a year. In summer, its temperatures don’t rise much higher than the mid-70s Fahrenheit. Hoh is a delight for wildlife seekers. Roosevelt elk can be spotted in the clearings year round, especially at dawn and dusk, and there are black bears, river otters, the endangered northern spotted owl and elusive bobcats and mountain lions. To the northwest are mountains and valleys along the Sol Duc River, a major route for coho salmon. Stop at the Salmon Cascades Overlook in Sol Duc Valley to watch salmon leap through the rapids as they make their way upstream in the autumn months. The river is also popular with adventurous paddlers for its whitewater rapids. At the Pacifi c coast are Kalaloch and Ruby beaches, especially gorgeous at sunset, which are home year round to nesting colonies of endearing common murres and tufted puffi ns. Bald eagles arrive in summer. The coastline above Rialto Beach has miles of towering rocky sea stacks and the ocean-sculpted Holein-the-Wall arch. Look down to fi nd more fun — tidepooling. As the ocean tides recede, water

The Third Beach Trail encapsulates the environmental variety of Olympic National Park. The 1.4-mile trek begins in dense forest, often shrouded in fog, before descendng 200 feet to the driftwood-strewn shore. The park has dozens of trails of varying length and difficulty. MILEHIGHTRAVELER/GETTY IMAGES

is caught in shallow crevices and rock hollows on shore that are teeming with periwinkles, limpets, barnacles, mussels, bright pink and green anemones, range and purple seastars, and sometimes a skittering crab. The adventures don’t end at sundown. The summer night sky on the Olympic Peninsula is a spectacular display of planets, stars and galaxies.

About the park Size: 1,442 square miles. Visitors: 2,499,177 in 2020. Established: 1938. History: The region was declared a forest reserve in 1897, a national forest in 1907 and Mount Olympus National Monument in 1909 before it became Olympic National Park. Additionally, it was designated a wilderness area in 1988. When visiting: In summer, vehicle wait times to enter at Hurricane Ridge and Hoh Rain Forest can be as long as two hours. Of note: The tall Olympic Mountains block the movement of clouds and create a “rain shadow” that results in the northeastern Olympic Peninsula getting less than 17 inches of rain per year, on average, compared with 140 inches in other areas. Visitor info: nps.gov/olym.

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Joshua Tree National Park

This desert wonderland rewards ﬂ exible itineraries Sarah Sekula Special to USA TODAY

Joshua Tree National Park, about 21⁄ 2 hours east of Los Angeles by car, is a wonderland of distinctive trees, jumbled boulders and wildlife of all sorts (think 3-foot-long lizards called chuckwallas and black-tailed jackrabbits). There’s a lot to explore here, so an afternoon drive through the park simply won’t do. The best way to experience the high desert is to camp within the park. How exactly do you do this? Here’s one highly recommended way: h Step 1: Rent a recreational vehicle or camper van from Outdoorsy, whose offerings range from pull-behind teardrop trailers to fully decked-out RVs half the size of a starter home. Think of it as the Airbnb of RV rentals. If you opt for an RV with a cooking setup, thermostat, bed, microwave, sink and shower, you can skip hotels altogether. h Step 2: Order your groceries ahead of time via Instacart or similar service so you’ll waste no time picking out produce and snacks when you arrive. And you’ll need as much time as you can muster, because there’s plenty to keep you busy. Feeling adventurous? Start by booking a climbing session or hike with Castle Rock Climbing School; this park happens to be a rock climbers’ mecca, after all. Expert guides will help you explore the Chasm of Doom, a series of dark boulder tunnels with extremely tight squeezes, and the Wonderland of See JOSHUA TREE, Page 40

Joshua Tree National Park is known, of course, for its trees, but also for its status as an International Dark Sky Park. The group that confers the dark sky designation calls Joshua Tree “the last pool of natural darkness remaining in Southern California in its eastern extremity.” MARILYN CHUNG/THE DESERT SUN

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Joshua Tree National Park is known as a rock climbers’ paradise, with more than 8,000 climbing routes and 2,000 bouldering problems. OMAR ORNELAS/THE DESERT SUN

Joshua Tree Continued from Page 38

About the park

Rocks, a wild maze of monzogranite. When it comes to scaling rocks and epic hiking, Joshua Tree ranks right up there with Yosemite, Red Rocks and Devil's Tower. The park includes 8,000 climbing routes and 2,000 bouldering problems. If you’re new to climbing, try Quail Springs or Indian Cove. For pros, Thin Wall and Hemingway Buttress are solid options. At night, cook up dinner, gaze at the night sky and tuck yourself into your RV. It’s quite possible you’ll fall asleep to the yips and barks of coyotes in the distance. Overall, the park is a haven for nearly 60 mammal species, about 45 diﬀ erent kinds of reptiles and 250 types of birds. Many of the park’s animals are nocturnal. If you spend time in the park only during the day, you’ll miss out on some of its most notable denizens.

Size: 792,510 acres. Visitors: 2,399,542 in 2020. Established: The site was declared a national monument in 1936. It was expanded and elevated to national park status by the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 (which also made Death Valley a national park). History: Woolly mammoths and giant sloths once called this place home. Paleo-Indians were believed to have lived here before Native Americans. Remnants of earlier cultures exist in the form of rock pictographs and petroglyphs. By the 1800s, miners had come here in search of gold. When visiting: Plan as far ahead as possible. If you’re having trouble fi nding a campsite, try Campnab, a website that alerts you to cancellations at sold-out campsites. Some of the campsites are fi rst-come, fi rst-served. For the others, reservations are required during busy season — September through May. Book online recreation.gov. Visitor info: nps.gov/jotr.

Going by RV is an ideal way to experience national parks like Joshua Tree. The endless possibilities of these natural wonderlands rewards the ability to alter your itinerary to suit the moment. “The beauty of RV travel is that opportunity is at your fi ngertips,” says Jennifer Young, co-founder and chief marketing offi cer of Outdoorsy. “There’s plenty to see, do, and discover between point A and point B, and RV travel off ers you the fl exibility to change your plans.” Going by RV or camper van, Young says, is the perfect way to slow down and savor adventures as they come. RVing has become so popular, in fact, that Outdoorsy says its bookings have increased more than 4,500% over the course of the pandemic. “We’ve heard about the benefi ts of the ‘three-day eff ect’ and doctors prescribing nature as medicine, and we see the act of renting an RV as a way to get closer to making that three-day weekend or that much-needed time in nature a reality,” Young says.

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Boot up: Top 10 hikes It’s been estimated that up to 90% of visitors to U.S. national parks never leave the road, choosing to explore some of our nation’s most exquisite treasures from the front seat of their car rather than stepping out onto a trail. It doesn’t have to be like that. These spectacular hikes — for experience levels ranging from beginners to trail masters — are worth opening the car door for. Head out for one-of-a-kind scenery, wildlife spotting and plenty of adventure in the comfort of the great outdoors. — National Geographic Staﬀ Writers

1. Hoh River Trail, Olympic National Park, Washington Magical. Enchanting. Straight out of a fantasy fi lm. These are words visitors use to describe the Hoh River Trail through old-growth temperate rainforest on the west side of Olympic National Park. The trail’s full length (34.8 miles out and back) can take three days to complete, so many hikers simply go outand-back on the fi rst section, where you’ll fi nd veritable hallways of green, sitka spruce and western hemlock growing to as big as 15 feet, lichens and mosses draping off their branches, and ferns covering every conceivable surface, making the forest fl oor look carpeted.

Fed by glacial meltwater, the Hoh River flows through Olympic National Park to the Paciﬁ c. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

2. Angel’s Landing, Zion National Park, Utah Visitors fl ock to the red-rock canyons of Zion National Park to take in the grand results of millions of years of geological forces. One of the most popular spots to take it all in is Angel’s Landing. Set atop a precipitous tower of rock in the middle of a valley, the landing is only reachable only via a challenging 5-mile round-trip trek that rises nearly 1,500 vertical feet from the valley fl oor. There’s a 400-vertical-foot climb (with chains to hold for support) to the top, but the adrenalinespiking ascent is worth it for the incomparable view: Enormous sheer, striped cliff s dotted with greenery stand sentinel over this serene valley in all directions.

Sugarlands Valley Nature Trail takes you past the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River PAUL EFIRD/NEWS SENTINEL

3. Sugarlands Valley Nature Trail, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

Atop a 1,488-foot tower of rock in Zion Canyon is Angels Landing, which provides commanding views of the area. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

For a quick day hike accessible even to novices, head to the Sugarlands Valley Nature trailhead located in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Just a halfmile long, the hike only takes a half hour to loop, but oﬀ ers plenty to do and see for See HIKES, Page 46

USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

A GUIDE TO OUR NATIONAL PARKS

Eons of erosion and glaciers turned a chain of volcanoes into a land of forest and lakes. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Touch volcanic rock billions of years old Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota nps.gov/voya Visitors can see and touch some of the oldest rock in North America at this off-the-radar park in northern Minnesota. It covers an area where a chain of volcanoes erupted 2 billion to 3 billion years ago. Now it’s forest laced with lakes. “It sits ﬁ rmly on top of the Canadian Shield, which is the core rock of our continent,” Hoff says.

From deep canyons to towering volcanoes, take in scientifi c wonders With their wide-open spaces and natural beauty, national parks are an obvious escape for lockdown-weary Americans looking for breathing room. But the parks are also great places for learning, say Emily Hoff and Maygen Keller, authors of “Scenic Science of the National Parks” (10 Speed, $24.99). “Parks provide fantastic laboratories for getting up close to the natural world,” Hoff says. The authors share some off their avorite sites with USA TODAY. — Larry Bleiberg, Special to USA TODAY

Prepare to be dazzled in profound darkness Gunnison National Park, Colorado nps.gov/blca

Wheeler Peak presides over Great Basin National Park in Nevada. JASON BEAN/RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Look deep into the past in bristlecone branches Great Basin National Park, Nevada nps.gov/grba Forget the Las Vegas Strip. The real wonders of Nevada are the bristlecone pine trees, which are among of the oldest living things in the world. Some trees have been around for more than three millennia. “It’s incredible to see a living organism that old,” Keller says. They’re easily viewed on a 3-mile round-trip hike on the Wheeler Peak Trail.

Joshua Tree lies where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet, east of L.A. BRAD SUTTON/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Fossilized sea life can be found more than a mile above sea level in this park. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

See where quakes begin atop San Andreas Fault

Explore an ocean reef ... high above Texas

Joshua Tree National Park, California nps.gov/jotr

Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas nps.gov/gumo

The geological formation responsible for many of California’s earthquakes passes this desert park and connects to many of the region’s other faults. Visitors can see evidence of it in small fan palm oases, which form when seismic activity dams groundwater and forces it to the surface. “When you see water, it’s the result of massive underground activity,” Keller says.

This rugged park preserves an ancient ocean reef that later rose to become the highest point in Texas (more than 8,700 feet above sea level). Visitors can easily ﬁ nd fossilized sponges and algae as they hike through the high desert scenery. “These mountains are very different than you’d see anywhere else in the continental U.S.,” Hoff says.

Several U.S. locations have been designated International Dark Sky Parks, places where artiﬁ cial light is limited and the stargazing is incredible. (See story on Page 70.) The authors enjoyed many of them, including the remote Black Canyon of the Gunnison in southwest Colorado. “Over and over as Maygen and I traveled, we found ourselves absolutely dumbstruck,” Hoff says. “Spending time under the night sky changes you as a person.”

Gunnison National Park preserves the dark sky by allowing artiﬁ cial lighting only for safety reasons. Fixtures emit as little light as possible. G. OWENS/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

USA USA TODAY TODAY SPECIAL SPECIAL EDITION EDITION

45 45

A Adusting dustingof ofsnow snowon onaaNovember November day dayin inthe theSmokies. Smokies.CALVIN CALVIN MATTHEIS/KNOXVILLE MATTHEIS/KNOXVILLENEWS NEWSSENTINEL SENTINEL

Gasp Gasp at at this this forest’s forest’s scope scope — — and and variety variety Great GreatSmoky SmokyMountains MountainsNational National Park, Park,Tennessee Tennesseeand andNorth NorthCarolina Carolina nps.gov/grsm nps.gov/grsm Steady Steadyrain rainand andaalong longgrowing growingseaseason sonhave havecreated createdaadense denseforest forestin inthe the southern southernAppalachian AppalachianMountains. Mountains.“It’s “It’s possible possibleto towalk walkamong amongaagrove groveof of trees treesthat thathave havebeen beenthere there200 200years years or ormore. more.Some Someare areas astall tallas asthe theStatStatue ueof ofLiberty,” Liberty,”Hoff Hoffsays. says.“There “Thereare are more morespecies speciesof oftrees treesin inthe thepark parkthan than in inall allof ofEurope.” Europe.”

The TheGrand GrandCanyon Canyonsits sitsat atone oneend endof ofthe the Grand GrandStaircase Staircaseof ofsedimentary sedimentaryrock rock layers. layers.MICHAEL MICHAELQUINN/NATIONAL QUINN/NATIONALPARK PARKSERVICE SERVICE

Measured Measuredfrom fromthe theocean oceanfloor, floor,the the Mauna MaunaLoa Loavolcano volcanoof ofHawaii Hawaiirises rises 31,000 31,000feet. feet.NATIONAL NATIONALPARK PARKSERVICE SERVICE

The Thestunning stunningrock rockformations formationsof of Badlands BadlandsNational NationalPark Parkare arethe theresult result of oferosion. erosion.NATIONAL NATIONALPARK PARKSERVICE SERVICE

Climb Climb the the Grand Grand Staircase Staircase

Reach Reach aa summit summit taller taller than than Mount Mount Everest Everest

Take Take aa stroll stroll through through Earth’s Earth’s fossil fossil records records

Hawai’i Hawai’iVolcanoes VolcanoesNational NationalPark, Park, Hawaii Hawaii nps.gov/havo nps.gov/havo

Badlands BadlandsNational NationalPark, Park, South SouthDakota Dakota nps.gov/badl nps.gov/badl

When Whenmeasured measuredfrom fromthe theocean oceanfloor, floor, Mauna MaunaLoa Loarises rises31,000 31,000feet, feet,which whichis is taller tallerthan thanMount MountEverest. Everest.The TheHawaiHawaiian ianvolcano volcanois isalso alsomassive. massive.“It’s “It’sover over half halfof ofthe theBig BigIsland. Island.It’s It’skind kindof ofprepresent sentwherever whereveryou youare,” are,”Keller Kellersays. says. Since SinceMauna MaunaLoa Loahas hasbeen beendormant dormantfor for over over30 30years, years,it’s it’spossible possibleto toexplore explore the therainforest rainforestthat thatsurrounds surroundsits itsslopes. slopes.

Not Notonly onlyis isthe thescenery scenerydramatic dramaticat at this thispark, park,but butso sois isits itsfossil fossilhistory. history. The Thearea areaincludes includesthe theremains remainsof ofan an ancient ancientriver riversystem, system,Hoff Hoffsays. says.“This “This is isone oneof ofthe therichest richestfossil fossilassemblies assemblies on onthe theface faceof ofthe theplanet. planet.You Youcan can walk walkdown downalmost almostany anytrail trailand andyou you can cansee seelittle littlebits bitsof offossils fossilseveryeverywhere, where,lots lotsof offragments fragmentsand andteeth.” teeth.”

Grand GrandCanyon, Canyon,Zion Zionand andBryce BryceCanyon Canyon national nationalparks, parks,Arizona Arizonaand andUtah Utah nps.gov/grca, nps.gov/grca,nps.gov/zion nps.gov/zionand and nps.gov/brca nps.gov/brca AAroad roadtrip tripthrough throughthe thedesert desertSouthwest Southwest reveals revealsaaseries seriesof ofsedimentary sedimentaryrock rocklayers layers that thatshow showhundreds hundredsof ofmillions millionsof ofyears yearsof of geologic geologictime. time.The Theprogression, progression,known knownas as the theGrand GrandStaircase, Staircase,is is“an “animmense immenseand and amazing amazingseries seriesof ofcolorful colorfulrock rocklayers,” layers,” Hoff Hoffsays. says.“There’s “There’snot notone oneplace placeyou youcan can stand standand andsee seethe thewhole wholething, thing,but butat at various variouspoints pointsititall allcomes comesinto intofocus.” focus.”

You Youcan cansee seeCarlsbad CarlsbadCaverns Cavernswith withaa ranger rangerguide guideor oron onaaself-guided self-guidedtour tour AARON AARONE. E.MARTINEZ/EL MARTINEZ/ELPASO PASOTIMES TIMES

Go Go birding birding in in daytime daytime and and batty batty in in evening evening Carlsbad CarlsbadCaverns CavernsNational NationalPark, Park, New NewMexico Mexico nps.gov/cave nps.gov/cave Carlsbad CarlsbadCaverns Cavernsis isfamous famousfor forthe the nightly nightlyemergence emergenceof ofswarms swarmsof ofbats, bats, but butthey theyaren’t aren’tthe theonly onlyflying flyingcritters critters calling callingthe theplace placehome. home.Cave Caveswallows swallows living livingjust justinside insidethe thecaverns cavernscan canbe be seen seenswooping swoopingaround aroundduring duringthe theday day but butmust mustget gethome homebefore beforethe thebats bats crowd crowdthe theentrance entranceon ontheir theirway wayout. out. “You “Youcan caneasily easilysee seethem themin inthe thewarmwarmer ermonths,” months,”Keller Kellersays. says.

USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

A GUIDE TO OUR NATIONAL PARKS 7. The Lost Mine Trail, Big Bend National Park, Texas A little over 5.1 miles from the Basin Junction in Big Bend National Park is the trailhead for one of the most popular moderate hikes in the park. The Lost Mine Trail is a 2.4-mile out-and-back hike, ending in a wonderful panoramic view after an elevation gain of more than 1,000 feet. If you’re not up for the full hike, walk just the ﬁ rst mile, stopping at a saddle where the vista is almost as good, taking in Casa Grande, Juniper Canyon, and a view south into Mexico.

8. Prater Ridge Trail, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado The North Rim of Mesa Verde National Park is the best place for spotting wildlife. For the ultimate viewing opportunities, try the 7.8-mile Prater Ridge Trail, which loops through the woodlands west of the Moreﬁ eld Campground (the only campground facility in the park). The trail leads to an overlook of Montezuma Valley and a chance to spot some of the Park’s mammals, including mule deer, elk, porcupines and, on rare occasions, bobcats and black bears.

The Lost Mine Trail in Texas’ Big Bend National Park. JENNETTE JURADO/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Hikes Continued from Page 42

a longer day. The trail is fully paved to be stroller-friendly and wheelchair-accessible. Though short, it still ticks several Great Smoky Mountains boxes: a serene forest setting, remnants of settler homesteads, including original stone chimneys, and access points and overlooks to the rushing waters of the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River.

4. Old Rag, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia This 9.2-mile trek up Old Rag Mountain, one of Shenandoah’s most popular trails, includes a 1.5-mile scramble over giant granite boulders but is easily accomplished by moderately experienced hikers looking for an epic full-day hike. The peak rewards hikers with a 360-degree view of about 200,000 acres of the Shenandoah park. If you still have energy after the hike, take the nearby Hawksbill Summit trailhead from Skyline Drive, where you’ll climb to 4,051 feet, the park’s highest point.

5. Great Marsh Trail, Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana This short, easy trail is also one of Indiana Dunes’ most rewarding hikes. The 1.2-mile trail traverses part of the largest wetland complex in the Lake Michigan watershed. About 500 acres of marsh

9. Kaupo Trail, Haleakala National Park, Hawaii

The popular Old Rag trail in Shenandoah National Park takes hikers through a jumble of giant boulders. Arrows painted on the rock point the way. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

hosts an extensive array of wildlife that you can spot from an observation deck, including herons and egrets, and warblers and red-winged blackbirds.

6. Trail of Time, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona You often hear about the Grand Canyon’s epic trails and hikes that take you all the way to the bottom. Those are certainly worth experiencing, but an oftenoverlooked but not-to-be-missed hike in the Grand Canyon National Park is the Trail of Time, a 2.8-mile path also known as “The Million Year Walk.” The relatively ﬂ at, wheelchair-accessible trail is presented as a timeline: Each meter signiﬁ es 1 million years of the Grand Canyon’s geological history, with bronze markers to describe where you are in the timeline and stopping points to take in sweeping canyon views.

One of the less-traveled but most spectacular trails in the upper regions of Haleakala National Park, a must-visit on any trip to Maui, is the Kaupo Trail. Considered one of the premier hikes in all of Hawaii, this trail rewards trekkers with lush scenery, frequent waterfalls and broad views towards the Big Island and the southeastern shore of Maui.

10. Sentinel Dome, Yosemite National Park, California Most visitors probably won’t reach the top of Half Dome, one of Yosemite’s most iconic formations, but the 1.1-mile hike to the apex of Sentinel Dome serves up a stellar view with somewhat less eﬀ ort. The trail winds around the huge granite mound to a much easier approach. While still challenging, Yosemite granite provides superb traction. The view from the top is magical: the valley, Half Dome, and Upper Yosemite Falls laid out before you. Looking for more hiking adventures? Check out National Geographic’s “100 Hikes of a Lifetime,” available wherever books are sold.

USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

A GUIDE TO OUR NATIONAL PARKS

Pick your scenery for epic road trips Lisa Meyers McClintick

Special to USA TODAY

A pent-up desire to travel combined with lingering pandemic caution make 2021 the unoﬃ cial Year of the Road Trip. With that in mind, we’ve gathered a sampling of the best scenic byways in and around national park sites. These roads ingeniously zig and zag through rugged mountains, slide along serene beaches, blaze across arid deserts and curve into misty forests. h We’ve tried to avoid the most crowded routes, such as Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road, which requires timed entrance tickets this summer. But it’s always a good idea to plan scenic drives for early in the day or in the evening. You’ll see fewer people and more wildlife and enjoy gentler light for photography. h Don’t rush, and leave ample time for overlooks, hikes, old-fashioned picnics and pleasant surprises, like a valley of wildﬂ owers or a glimpse of rainbow. See ROADS, Page 50

The Overseas Highway is a true engineering marvel, stretching 113 miles as it winds through the Florida Keys. The southernmost section of U.S. Route 1, which runs all the way up the East Coast, the Overseas Highway includes more than three dozen bridges. The Seven Mile Bridge, above, is the longest. KAREN BLEIER/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

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A bridge near Franklin, Tennessee, carries the Natchez Trace Parkway over a wooded valley exploding with fall color. SHELLEY MAYS/ THE TENNESSEAN

Roads Continued from Page 48

Skyline Drive

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia Curve and cleave along the gaps and summits of this 105-mile north-south byway of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Spring visitors can take in bursts of blooms on dogwoods, azaleas and mountain laurels throughout the Shenandoah Valley, while fall travelers can soak in the carpet of colors stretching across the treetops at 70 overlooks (nps.gov/shen).

Overseas Highway

Near Everglades National Park, Florida After meandering along the Everglades’ rivers of grass, leave time to travel the 30 miles from the Ernest Coe Visitor Center to one of America’s most stunning drives: the Overseas Highway from Key Largo to Key West. This 113-mile engineering marvel stretches across the azure-green Atlantic (including a national marine sanctuary) as it connects the tropical islands of the Florida Keys (fhwa.dot.gov/byways/byways/2555).

Natchez Trace Parkway Mississippi to Tennessee

Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway

This scenic byway stretches 444 miles from Natchez National Historical Park in Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. It follows the Natchez Trace route used by Native Americans and early European settlers traveling on foot. The byway begins east of the Mississippi River and meanders through hills and bluﬀ s dotted with dogwood and crimson clover; past bald cypress swamps, burial mounds and tobacco barns; and into forests of beech, sugar maple and tulip magnolias (nps.gov/natr).

Snugly carved, one-way rock tunnels chiseled into South Dakota’s Black Hills perfectly frame views of Mount Rushmore like a presidential postage stamp. The 66-mile byway — named for the former South Dakota governor-turned-senator who championed the Mount Rushmore project and made up of Iron Mountain Road and the Needles Highway — shows oﬀ elegant granite spires and pigtails into tight descents (fhwa.dot.gov/ byways/byways/2459).

Outer Banks National Scenic Byway North Carolina

The winds that helped the Wright Brothers launch their plane at Kitty Hawk now draw windsurfers and hang gliders to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The scenic byway unspools past lighthouses and towns such as Rodanthe and Nags Head along 138 miles of roads. Car ferries linking Hatteras, Ocracoke and Cedar islands take travelers an additional 25 miles. Try ﬁ shing, birdwatching or looking for one of the ﬁ ve species of sea turtles at national wildlife refuges (outerbanksbyway.com).

Near Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Chain of Craters Road

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii Travelers on this 19-mile road on the Big Island take a 4,000-foot vertical journey between the top of the East Rift and sea level while exploring an evolving landscape shaped by an active volcano. Pit craters, steam plumes from lava tubes, petroglyphs, dormant lava ﬂ ows and possibly active lava ﬂ ows may be seen, along with pretty views of coastline and rainforests (nps.gov/havo). See ROADS, Page 52

USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

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Roads Continued from Page 50

Rim Drive

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon This 33-mile scenic drive clings to the rim of an ancient caldera that rises 2,000 feet above Crater Lake, one of the world’s clearest and purest bodies of water and the country’s deepest lake at 1,943 feet. July and August are the best times to visit to avoid snow — the park gets an annual average of 520 inches. The park’s tour boat, reached by a 1-mile hike to the only shoreline access, looks miniscule from the 30 overlooks (nps.gov/crla).

Road to Paradise

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington To reach one of America’s most famous mountains, take state Route 706 from Ashford, Washington, for 25 miles through old-growth forest, across mountain streams and past waterfalls before reaching Historic Paradise Inn. Wildﬂ owers like avalanche lilies, lupine and Indian paintbrush carpet the surrounding subalpine meadows (nps.gov/mora).

Highway 101

Redwood National Park, California Take U.S. Route 101 to explore Redwood National Park and the double allure of big-bluﬀ beach views and oldgrowth redwoods towering 300 feet tall. From the visitor center in Orrick, watch for wild elk while heading 49 miles north to Crescent City (nps.gov/redw).

Death Valley Scenic Byway

Death Valley National Park, California This 82-mile route stitches together highlights from the sprawling Mojave Desert landscape: otherworldly salt ﬂ ats, colorful mineral deposits on badlands, mountains and sandy dunes used in “Star Wars.” Take a side trip to Badwater Basin, which boasts not only the country’s lowest elevation (282 feet below sea level) but also some of its hottest temperatures (nps.gov/deva).

Heart of the Sands Drive

White Sands National Park, New Mexico Go in the early morning or evening to catch a rosy glow across the ghostly white gypsum dunes. About 50 miles

northeast of La Cruces, this 16-mile roundtrip drive includes an opportunity to sled down the slopes in the world’s largest gypsum dune ﬁ eld in a plastic saucer. Time a visit with a full moon for extra-ethereal scenery (nps.gov/whsa).

Devil’s Kitchen oﬀ er pullovers without the crowds of better-known parks in the region (nps.gov/colo).

Beartooth Highway

Outsmart the crowds at Arches National Park by driving 40 miles from Moab to Canyonlands. The 34-mile scenic drive winds across the Island in the Sky mesa to pullouts and overlooks with sweeping views from 1,000-foot-high canyon rims and mazes carved by rivers into colorful sandstone (nps.gov/cany).

Near Yellowstone National Park, Montana and Wyoming Even folks on scenic overload after Yellowstone National Park marvel at the views along this 68-mile byway. It begins near Cooke City, Montana, winds into Wyoming, then climbs and twists through switchbacks to 10,947-foot Beartooth Pass on the way toward Red Lodge, Montana. Open May to October (fhwa.dot.gov/byways/byways/2281).

Rim Rock Drive

Colorado National Monument, Colorado On Colorado’s far western edge, this 23-mile drive climbs through switchbacks from the arid Grand Valley to 6,660-foot mesa tops with red-rock canyons, monoliths, hoodoos, coke ovens and arches. Nineteen designated scenic stops such as Cold Shivers Point and

Island in the Sky

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Catalina Highway Scenic Drive

Near Saguaro National Park, Arizona This 27-mile byway (also known as the Mount Lemmon Scenic Byway) begins about 11 miles from Saguaro National Park’s East Unit in Tucson and climbs 6,000 feet from the Sonoran Desert to hoodoos and funky rock formations. Farther up is conifer-rich Coronado National Forest, site of America’s southernmost ski area at the top of Mount Lemmon. Time your descent to see the iconic saguaro cacti silhouetted by colorful sunsets (fs.usda.gov/coronado).

Island in the Sky is a sheer-walled mesa rising 1,000 feet above the surrounding terrain in Canyonlands National Park in Utah. The scenic drive atop Island in the Sky offers many pullouts that afford spectacular views. KAIT THOMAS/ NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

A GUIDE TO OUR NATIONAL PARKS

Gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995. By 2019, the park had at least 94 wolves in eight packs. JACOB W. FRANK/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE VIA AP

Where the wild things are National parks are the perfect viewing grounds for some of America’s most iconic creatures

Matt Alderton

Special to USA TODAY

Jennifer Melroy has been to 54 of America’s 62 national parks. Her favorite is Yellowstone, which she ﬁ rst visited at age 6. While many 6-year-old girls are ﬁ xated on princesses and unicorns, she was obsessed with something primal instead of pink: wolves.

“Wolves had just been reintroduced at Yellowstone, and my father swore up and down — trying to manage my expectations — ‘We might not see the wolves.’ But I was 100% sure we were going to see the wolves,” says Melroy, founder of National Park Obsessed, a travel blog dedicated to the parks. “Guess what? We saw the wolves.” Now 30, Melroy returns to Yellowstone whenever she can — and she still looks for wolves every time. “It’s really interesting to see animals in their natural environment, doing what they’re supposed to be doing,” she says. “If you’re patient and leave them alone, you can see them do some really cool things.” So captivating are animals that to parkgoers, they’re celebrities. People travel thousands of miles just to catch a glimpse of them. They stalk them like paparazzi. They gather on trails like fans beside red carpets, cameras ready to shoot and selﬁ e sticks in hand. Like many VIPs, however, A-list animals are elusive — unless you know where to look. See WILD THINGS, Page 55

USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

A GUIDE TO OUR NATIONAL PARKS

A moose peers out from vegetation at Denali National Park & Preserve in Alaska. The antlers are most prominent in fall and winter. BECKY BOHRER/AP

Wild things Wolves Where to see them: Yellowstone National Park, primarily in Wyoming. Fun fact: Wolves don’t howl at the moon; they howl at one another to share information like their location and the presence of predators or prey. The best place in Yellowstone National Park to see Melroy’s beloved wolves, she says, is in the Lamar Valley. Gray wolves have been roaming there since 1995, when they were reintroduced to Yellowstone 70 years after hunters killed the region’s last native pack. “Just drive down the road and look for the large quantity of people with spotting scopes,” suggests Melroy, who says wolves often have dens at Slough Creek. “If a pack of wolves can be seen in Lamar Valley from the road, there will be wolf watchers sitting there watching them.”

Moose Where to see them: Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska Fun fact: An adult male moose can be up to 6 1⁄ 2 feet tall and weigh as much as 1,400 pounds. Denali National Park & Preserve is home to approximately 1,800 moose, some of which are always visible between miles 8 and 13 of the Denali Park Road, according to Melroy.

An alligator makes its way through a canal in Shark Valley in Florida’s Everglades National Park. Listed as an endangered species in the 1970s, alligators have bounced back thanks to strong conservation efforts. RHONA WISE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

“I’ve found that I can stop at any pullout in that area and within about 3 minutes see, with a pair of binoculars, between one and six moose,” she says. She notes that fall and winter are when males have the giant antlers for which moose are known — although calves are an exciting sight in spring.

Alligators Where to see them: Everglades National Park, Florida. Fun fact: Adult male alligators can grow to be up to 15 feet in length. Alligators are as common in Florida as oranges. But there’s no better place to see

them than at Everglades National Park, says native Floridian Stewart Gold, editor of BeginRV, a website dedicated to RV adventures. “Other animals may be ‘cuter’ … but the alligator is one of the very few living links to the dinosaurs,” says Gold, who recommends viewing this prehistoric species from Tram Road, a 15-mile paved trail that cuts through the middle of the park in Shark Valley. “You can walk, take a bike or take the guided tram ride. Whatever you choose, you will see hundreds of alligators.” See WILD THINGS, Page 56

USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

A GUIDE TO OUR NATIONAL PARKS

Wild things Continued from Page 55

Bald eagles Where to see them: Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota. Fun fact: Eagles are monogamous — they mate for life — and have a wingspan of 6 to 8 feet. Voyageurs National Park in the far north of Minnesota, up against the Canadian border, is home to some 42 breeding pairs of America’s national bird. “Voyageurs National Park has one of the highest eagle populations outside of southern Alaska,” Melroy says. “I recommend taking a boat tour. Look for dark spots with white heads standing in trees. You’ll see them.”

California condors Where to see them: Zion National Park, Utah. Fun fact: California condors have a wingspan of up to 9.5 feet and an estimated lifespan of over 60 years. Another “bucket list” bird is the California condor, according to Brady Fraser, who co-authors the travel blog Two Trailbirds with his wife, Alyssa. “Condors are some of the most magniﬁ cent birds to watch in the country, and seeing them is even more of a treat given how close they came to extinction. Only a captive breeding program saved them,” says Fraser, who recommends viewing them from Angel’s Landing at Zion National Park. “What makes seeing them in Zion so awesome is that it’s living proof of the success of that program. In 2019, the ﬁ rst condor chick hatched in Zion since before they were listed as endangered. It also happens to be the 1,000th chick hatched since the breeding program began.”

This bald eagle was spotted at a golf tournament in Florida in March, but the largest population outside Alaska might be at Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota. JASEN VINLOVE/USA TODAY SPORTS

Brown bears Where to see them: Katmai National Park & Preserve, Alaska. Fun fact: Because they hibernate in winter, brown bears must eat a full year’s worth of food in just six to eight months to survive. Bears are so plentiful at Katmai National Park & Preserve — which can be reached only by boat or plane — that park visitors must attend a short “bear etiquette” orientation upon arriving. The best place for viewing is at Brooks Camp, where brown bears congregate to feast on salmon at Brooks Falls, according to Kimberly Pong, creator of the travel blog Come Along With Pong. “Watching the bears learn how to fi sh, use diff erent tactics to catch the salmon, and properly place themselves so they get the best fi shing spots is so fascinating,” Pong says. Peak bear watching season is June to September, she says. “At one point, I saw around 30 bears at one time.” See WILD THINGS, Page 58

California condors, which you can see at Zion National Park, are being brought back from the brink of extinction. GAVIN EMMONS/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Brown bears position themselves in the Brooks River to catch salmon in Katmai National Park & Preserve. Visitors to the park must attend a short program on dealing with bears. AL GRILLO/AP

USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

A GUIDE TO OUR NATIONAL PARKS Please View Responsibly Congress established the National Park Service in 1916 “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein.” When park visitors view wildlife, therefore, it’s important to do so in a way that protects and preserves these animals. “The national parklands aren’t places where people can go to dig oil wells or hunt or drive ATVs,” says conservationist Will Shafroth, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation, the official nonproﬁ t partner of the National Park Service. “The parks are really about conserving land, water and wildlife, as well as history and culture.” Indeed, national parks have been critical to saving species like wolves, bison and California condors.

The bison is the official national mammal and appears on the park service logo. DUDLEY EDMONDSON/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Mountain goats Where to see them: Glacier National Park, Montana. Fun fact: Mountain goats can jump 12 feet both vertically and horizontally — from a complete standstill. Although he grew up in the fl atlands of western Michigan, travel photographer Fred Barr spent childhood summers visiting family near Glacier National Park, which is known, among other things, for mountain goats. “My love for mountain goats goes back to the fi rst trip I remember to Glacier. The fi rst hike we did was the Highline Trail, and it seemed like there were mountain goats everywhere,” Barr recalls. “I visited Glacier a couple years ago and hit the Highline, and the mountain goats are still plentiful.”

Bison Where to see them: Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota. Fun fact: Bison can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and stand up to 6 feet tall. Wind Cave National Park is known, of course, for the vast cavern that gives it its name. Aboveground, however, the park is home to one of the few remaining genetically pure bison herds — that is, a herd that has not crossbred with cattle.

“The parks have become a refuge for these species,” Shafroth says. And wildlife viewing can be as advantageous to animals as it is to humans, he says. “When people have experiences of appreciation for these animals, they want to volunteer, write a check or otherwise get involved to advocate for their protection.” But wildlife viewing can be as perilous as it is productive. To view animals without endangering them, keep in mind these tips from the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics: h Observe from a distance: It’s best to view wildlife from afar so as not to disturb or frighten animals. Bring binoculars to get a good view without getting too close. h Stay on trails: When you veer off trails, you risk scaring animals, trampling their food and disturbing their shelters. h Be quiet: Because loud noises and fast movements are animal stressors, travel slowly and quietly.

With thick wool keeping them warm in subzero weather and specialized hooves giving them traction on steep slopes, mountain goats are perfectly adapted to the environment in Glacier National Park in Montana. HEATHER FORCIER/AP

You can see them from both of the park’s principal roads, U.S. Route 385 and South Dakota Highway 87, according to Lauren Keys, author of the travel blog Trip of aLifestyle, who says you’ll also see prairie dogs, which like to build colonies in bison pastures. “Wind Cave National Park … has a signiﬁ cant bison population in addition to prairie dog colonies,” Keys says. “It’s beautiful to just watch them coexist — dogs yipping and racing from mound to mound beneath the huge bison and their swishing tails.”

h Don’t feed the animals: Animals must be able to ﬁ nd and maintain their own food sources; feeding them makes them dependent on humans, which makes it harder for them to survive. h Leave what you ﬁ nd: When you remove rocks, branches, sticks, leaves and flowers, you might also be removing food and shelter for wildlife. h Dispose of waste: Litter is dangerous to animals, which might eat it, get entangled in it or drink water contaminated by it.

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Climate change stresses sites

Sand ﬁ lls a boardwalk at Cape Hatteras National Seashore after a storm. Rising seas and extreme weather are intensifying beach erosion. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Diana Lambdin Meyer Special to USA TODAY

When Dave Hallac was a boy growing up in New Jersey, his family vacationed every summer at a house on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Today, Hallac is superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Wright Brothers National Memorial and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. “When we were kids, it was a long walk from the house, across two dunes, to reach the shore,” Hallac says. “Today, the ocean is literally a stone’s throw from the back porch of that house.”

“We are looking at everything we can do to minimize the carbon footprint that we make in our own space.” Larry Perez

member of the National Park Service Climate Change Response Program

A rising sea level is just one of the aspects of climate change that are altering or limiting access to our national parks. Since the National Weather Service began keeping records in 1880s, global sea levels have risen 8 inches. “Climate change has already altered the visitor experience,” says Larry Perez, a member of the National Park Service Climate Change Response Program. In addition to contending with sealevel rise and beach erosion, the park service is dealing with a growing number of signiﬁ cant weather events, including drought that leads to wildﬁ res. But the park service’s activities

around climate change aren’t solely reactive. The park service has been working for years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as by encouraging visitors to get out of their cars and use shuttles and other transit at parks like Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Acadia. The ﬁ rst shuttle bus at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska (then known as Mount McKinley) went into service in 1972 as a result of scientists’ recommendations. By 2019, there were 385 mass transit options in 95 parks, transporting roughly 46 million visitors See CLIMATE, Page 62

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Solar panels provide power for the Grand Canyon National Park Visitor Center (South Rim), part of efforts by the National Park Service to reduce its carbon footprint. MICHAEL QUINN/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Climate Continued from Page 61

each year and reducing congestion. “We are looking at everything we can do to minimize the carbon footprint that we make in our own space,” Perez says. Some 120 of the more than 400 units of the national park system have earned designation as Climate Friendly Parks. Those eﬀ orts include installing solar panels at places like Alcatraz Island and structures at the Grand Canyon. Great Smoky Mountains is one of several national parks that host climate change academies for the public.

Fewer opportunities Extreme weather events as a result of climate change keep people from being able to experience national parks to their fullest. Just follow news reports about western wildfi res each year and you’ll see that parks like Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia often have to close because of fi re and resulting poor air quality. Even when parks are technically open, fi re can result in limited services and reduced access to certain areas. Research by climate scientists at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin concluded that 417 units of the national parks, accounting for 4% of the U.S. land mass, are experiencing the impact of climate change to a higher degree than the rest of the country. For example, precipitation has deSee CLIMATE, Page 63

Exit Glacier at Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska has become a symbol of climate change. Dated signs placed along a trail leading to the glacier’s “toe” show the extent to which it has retreated over the years. Some years, the roughly 14-square-mile glacier retreats by more than 200 feet. AMBER SIMON/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

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Climate Continued from Page 62

clined about 12% in many national parks compared with about 3% in the rest of the country in the past 100 years. At the same time, average temperatures have increased by about 2 degrees. Among aﬀ ected areas is the desert Southwest, home to Saguaro and Joshua Tree national parks. The decline in precipitation and the increase in temperatures creates a scenario where these two parks in particular “may not be conducive to survival,” according to Perez. “We are monitoring changes and in some cases are evaluating options, but one option is to let nature takes its course,” he says. At Everglades National Park in Florida, director of education Yvette Cano demonstrates the costs of climate change on U.S. coastlines for young people … using Lego bricks. Cano built a replica of Miami out of bricks, which she puts in a big plastic tub partially ﬁ lled with water to represent the Atlantic Ocean. Then she dumps in a bucket of ice, so kids can see what hap-

pens when the ice caps melt and sea levels rise. “We’re just teaching awareness at the fourth- and fi fth-grade level, introducing the concept that the climate is changing,” Cano says. “It’s with the high school kids that we really dig deep.” Everglades National Park is renowned within the park system for its exceptional education program, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. But it’s only been in the past fi ve years that educational off erings in parks have been portraying the signifi cant impact of climate change. The system has 86 ocean and coastal park sites with more than 12,000 miles of shoreline. Another 30 parks are in the coastal zone and vulnerable as sea levels change. Just a few inches of sea level rise combined with extreme weather is exacerbating the natural erosion that takes place in coastal areas. “Longtime visitors to the Outer Banks know this, that this big sandbar is becoming more narrow,” Hallac says. “Places that used to be wide and popular with visitors are now much slimmer and unable to accommodate as many people.”

“We are monitoring changes and in some cases are evaluating options, but one option is to let nature takes its course.” Larry Perez

member of the National Park Service Climate Change Response Program

“Beach nourishment” is a term that coastal visitors may be aware of. It basically means shipping in sand to replace what’s been lost to erosion. While the park service does not import sand for its 80 miles of beach, the Dare County Highway Department does so simply to keep state Highway 12 open. The visitors center at Wright Brothers National Memorial was the fi rst in the park system to be LEED-certifi ed. Hallac is working with the community to develop a plan to protect the Ocracoke Light Station, built in 1822, from the eff ects of climate change. It’s not just sandy beach areas on the coast that are feeling the eff ects. For example, extreme weather in recent years has resulted in multiple days when pathways around the Tidal Basin and monuments in Washington, D.C., have been closed. In New York Harbor, the combination rising seas and sinking land mass has resulted in water levels rising 18 inches at Liberty Island, where the Statue of Liberty stands. “It can be discouraging, but the only way to approach this is to appreciate the opportunity we have each day to manage this challenge and keep these places alive and well for the public,” Hallac says.

Dozens of sites in the national park system include coastal or ocean areas at risk from rising seas. Above, sea water floods the lawn at Castillo de San Marcos National Monument in St. Augustine, Florida. The site is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States, built by the Spanish in the late 1600s. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

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Visitors to the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor can take in the view from the terrace atop the pedestal and even climb to the crown. But the torch has been closed to the public for over a century. TARIQ ZEHAWI/NORTHJERSEY.COM

Regional wonders await, from sea to shining sea National Geographic Staff Writers

Special to USA TODAY

If you’re looking for your next outdoor adventure, you don’t have to go very far. With 423 parks, monuments and other sites in the national park system and 6,600 state parks throughout the United States, there are millions of acres to explore right in your own backyard. All you have to do is know where to ﬁ nd them. And there are plenty of things to do and see in just the 63 designated National Parks, which are found in every region of the United States. So get ready to pack the car and explore. The great outdoors are calling! See REGIONS, Page 66

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Located about 60 miles southeast of Seattle, Mount Rainier rises 14,411 feet. The mountain is an active volcano. CRAIG MELLISH/ASHEVILLE CITIZEN TIMES

Regions Continued from Page 64

WEST COAST You can stand among giants — thousand-year-old sequoias, the largest trees in the world — at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, nestled side by side in the Sierra Nevada in California. At Sequoia, the General Sherman tree is the world’s largest by volume. It stands 275 feet tall and is more than 36 feet in diameter at the base. Then make a special trek to the Giant Forest grove of Kings Canyon, where the Grant Tree Trail leads to the General Grant tree, the second-largest tree in the world. The body of water that gives Oregon’s Crater Lake National Park its name is the deepest lake in the United States at 1,943 feet. With a surface area of 21 square miles, the lake contains more than 5 trillion gallons of water. Beyond the lake’s size, it is the stunning sapphire water that etches itself in your memory. While the core of the park is the lake itself, the surrounding mountains and high plateaus oﬀ er visitors unique opportunities to explore volcanic terrain. Towering nearly 8,000 feet above the neighboring Cascade peaks, Mount RaiSee REGIONS, Page 68 The giant sequoia known as General Sherman is the world’s largest tree by volume. More than 2,000 years old, it looks out over Sequoia National Park. MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

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Regions Continued from Page 66

nier forms the roof of Washington State, reaching 14,411 feet. Mount Rainier National Park, in all its diversity, represents a unifying icon for Washington’s grand landscapes — the most identifi able landmark around. The park boasts an array of terrain including fl owering park lands, 300 lakes, dozens of waterfalls, 25 glaciers and 50 permanent snowfi elds.

MID-ATLANTIC AND NORTHEAST Acadia National Park in Maine proves that a park doesn’t need vast wilderness to off er gorgeous scenery and the chance for immersion in the natural world. Small for a national park, it is still among America’s most visited. And for good reason: The park preserves a glacier-carved landscape of rugged mountains, pristine lakes, lush forests and long stretches of rocky shore — all ripe for exploring. (See Pages 33-34.) The newest full-fl edged national park, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia is a haven for hiking, climbing and rafting. The park encompasses 72,000 acres, with plenty to do and see, including whitewater rafting on the river, ziplining through old oak forests, 1,400 established rock-climbing routes and immersive history lessons in 17 stops along the African American Heritage tour. (See Page 74.) The 105-mile-long Skyline Drive runs the length of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Tracing the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains and off ering more than 75 scenic overlooks, the roadway is a marvel. But Shenandoah deserves more than a drive-by look. Hiking, fl yfi shing and camping off er back-to-nature escapes just 75 miles outside Washington, D.C. Shenandoah is laced with 500 miles of hiking trails, including 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail. The beloved fi gure of the Statue of Liberty National Monument is visible from airplanes over New York City, the tip of Manhattan Island, commuter ferries in New York Harbor and the highways of New Jersey. But it’s well worth the journey to Liberty Island to see the inspirational sight up close. Go inside the statue’s pedestal and, if you can, make the 162-step climb to the crown. The statue is as tall as a 22-story building. But alas, you can’t climb into the torch, closed to the public since 1916.

The highest point on the Eastern Seaboard, Cadillac Mountain in Maine’s Acadia National Park is known as the ﬁ rst place in the U.S. to see the sunrise each morning — although this is true only from early October to early March. ROBERT F. BUKATY/AP

SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST

Shenandoah National Park in Virginia is famous for its scenic Skyline Drive, but the ﬁ shing isn’t too bad either. JEFF ZILLGITT/USA TODAY

Biscayne National Park preserves the beautiful blue waters of Biscayne Bay, just outside the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. Within sight of the city skyline, the 270-square-mile park, 95% of which is covered by water, off ers a wealth of opportunities for cruising, fi shing and picnicking along the shore. Among the least crowded parks in the U.S., with just 110,000 or so annual visitors, Congaree National Park is a hidden treasure in South Carolina. The largest intact old-growth bottom land hardwood forest in the United States off ers plenty to see and do. Head away from the northwestern corner of the park, where most visitors wander, and make your way instead to the trails among the moss-draped tangle of primeval fl oodplain forest in other parts of the park. One of the world’s great natural wonders, Mammoth Cave National Park lies beneath Kentucky hills and hollows. See REGIONS, Page 70

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The Rotunda, a quarter-acre space located 180 feet underground, is one of the largest chambers in Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave National Park. 2011 PHOTO BY ED REINKE/AP

Regions Continued from Page 68

It earned its grandiose designation early in the 19th century, when tourists marveled at the sheer scale of the underground chambers. With more than 400 miles of mapped passageways, Mammoth encompasses the planet’s longest known cave system, with ﬁ ve levels and caves yet to be discovered.

MIDWEST Between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio sits Cuyahoga Valley National Park, a patchwork wonder with a vast array of pleasures. In what other national park can you ride a scenic railroad, stop at a roadside farm to buy fresh-picked blueberries, watch a glassblower create a decorative bowl, jog alongside a 19thcentury canal, and hear a concert by one of the nation’s fi nest symphony orchestras? (See Pages 31-32) The only national park named for a person, Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota is a fi tting honor to the president who helped establish fi ve national parks, 18 national monuments, and scores of wildlife reserves and national forests. The park’s landscape includes streams, canyons, bluff s, buttes and colorful mounds dotting the badlands. Signature park attractions include bison, pronghorn sheep and elk that are easily spotted in herds around the park.

Bison herds at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota are carefully managed to prevent overpopulation. Every few years, some animals are sent to other parks, zoos, tribal lands and other destinations. JANICE SHANKS, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

On the shelf Looking for more parks to visit? Check out National Geographic’s “Guide to the National Parks, 9th Edition” and “Secrets of the National Parks, 2nd Edition,” available wherever books are sold.

Imagine camping on your own private island, cooking freshly caught walleye for dinner and walking in the morning to the sound of loons and the sight of a bald eagle ﬂ ying over a sparkling lake. All of that is possible within Voyageurs National Park in the North Woods of Minnesota. The park is 40% water, including four major lakes, but also oﬀ ers 655 miles of shoreline and 500 islands to roam.

SOUTH CENTRAL With its intriguing mix of history, geology and nature, Arkansas’ Hot Springs National Park holds a unique place in the parks system. The smallest of the designated national parks, it wraps around a modern urban area set within a valley of the rugged Ouachita Mountains. The park’s 5,500 acres encompass wooded uplands, crisscrossed by 26 miles of hiking trails. Of course, the center of many park activities is Bath-

house Row; the Buckstaff Bathhouse has been in continuous operation since 1912. First designated as a National Monument in 1933, White Sands National Park was elevated to full-fl edged park status in 2019. The white sands represent the world’s largest expanse of gypsum dunes, which have been shaped over more than 200 million years and spread across 275 square miles of New Mexico’s Tularosa Basin. Protecting about 40% of the dune fi eld, the park off ers many ways to explore and enjoy the strangely beautiful terrain, including short drives and a challenging desert hike.

SOUTHWEST More than 2,000 stone arches rise throughout the 240 square miles of Arches National Park in Utah, the world’s most concentrated display of these natural formations. To experience the best of the park, take the 18-milelong paved Arches Scenic Highway to spots where you can get out and hike through some of the park’s most iconic features including Devils Garden, Park Avenue and the Garden of Eden. Carved by glaciers and dominated by Wheeler Peak, more than 13,000 feet high, remote Great Basin National Park protects Nevada landscapes of high-altitude desert valleys, salt ﬂ ats, and rolling ridges. Explore the lake, which reﬂ ects rocky scenes, and the Lehman Caves, brimming with palaces, and stay until dark to see the night sky dazzle with stars.

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The highlight of some parks is having no light at all Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota has been designated an International Dark Sky Park. Unlike in the vast majority of the U.S., where artiﬁ cial light drowns out all but the brightest stars, the skies over Voyageurs are awash in beauty, including occasional performances by the northern lights. STEVEN DIMSE/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Lisa Meyers McClintick Special to USA TODAY

Adventurers have been escaping to the remote campsites and trails of the northeastern Minnesota wilderness since long before the pandemic made solitude a more coveted commodity. They canoe and fi sh in more than 1,100 lakes, hike rugged trails past some of the planet’s oldest exposed rocks and watch for wildlife that make this boreal forest home. As their campfi res settle into embers, they know that the pristine scenery doesn’t disappear when the sun sinks in golden fl ourish. Stars that may glitter like pinpricks in a countryside sky will multiply and blaze into dizzying depths in this newly designated Dark Sky region fi ve hours from the Twin Cities and three hours from Duluth

“Hearing wolves howling at night while you’re experiencing the night sky is pretty cool.” Bob DeGross

superintendent at Voyageurs National Park

along Lake Superior. “These are some of the darkest skies in the Lower 48 states,” said Bob DeGross, superintendent at Voyageurs National Park, where most of the almost 150 boatin campsites perch on hundreds of islands and or on the 650 miles of shoreline for wide-open celestial shows. The Arizona-based International Dark Sky Association accepted Voyageurs National Park as a Dark Sky Park and the adjacent Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area as a Dark Sky Sanctuary in 2020. Together, the two areas stretch about 250 miles along the Canadian border, where they merge with Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park, a new Dark Sky destination as of this year. The non-proﬁ t Dark Sky Association estimates that about 80% of the United

States cannot see the Milky Way in the night sky due to light pollution. The association’s eff orts to improve visibility include encouraging the use of light fi xtures that direct light downward rather that spread it in all directions. The National Park Service has a Natural Sounds and Night Skies division, and Voyageurs joins 61 other U.S. park service sites with dark-sky designations. It has the added attraction of surround sound — such as loons fi ring up a nighttime chorus that echoes across the lakes and river that make up 40% of the park’s 218,000 acres. “Hearing wolves howling at night while you’re experiencing the night sky is pretty cool,” DeGross said. Lucky visitors also may spot the unpredictable but spectacular northern lights.

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Thrill-seekers can Gorge themselves The newest national park oﬀ ers an array of adrenaline adventures Erin Gifford

Special to USA TODAY

Attention, thrill-seekers: Add New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia to your go list. The newest of the full-fl edged national parks is a stunner just for its iconic steel arch bridge, soaring 876 feet above the New River. Yet there’s so much more, such as whitewater rafting on frenzied, heart-pumping rapids. More than 70,000 acres of mountainous terrain fl ank a river that, its name notwithstanding, is believed to be one of the world’s oldest. The park stretches 53 miles, interweaving rugged natural beauty with a storied mining history. Dozens of scenic and historic hiking trails crisscross the park. Among the absolute musts for adventurers: h Whitewater rafting. Adrenalinechasing visitors fl ock to the furious rapids of the wildly wondrous New River. Book a guided rafting trip on Class I-IV rapids with Adventures on the Gorge

A West Virginia icon — it was featured on the state quarter in 2005 — the New River Gorge Bridge is the third-highest bridge in the U.S. ADVENTURES ON THE GORGE

The Bridge Walk is a dizzying (but safe) stroll on a 2-foot-wide catwalk beneath the bridge, nearly 90 stories above the New River. ADVENTURES ON THE GORGE

(adventuresonthegorge.com) or ACE Adventure Resort (aceraft.com). Rafting excursions range from rigorous overnight trips on the Gauley River and Lower New River to leisurely family fl oats on the mild whitewater of the Upper New River. Scenic Fayette Station Road runs under the bridge, welcoming helmet-clad rafters as they disembark from brightly-colored rafts, oars in hand. h Bridge Walk. Step into a safety harness for this thrilling guided walk along a catwalk that runs 25 feet under the New River Gorge Bridge. This is decidedly not for the faint of heart — nearly 90 stories up on a walkway 2 feet wide (but with a sturdy railing). Every step of the 3,030foot-long route off ers mesmerizing river and gorge views (bridgewalk.com). h Ziplining: An open-air zipline course at Adventures on the Gorge allows intrepid visitors to soar as high as 200 feet above the ground. Six high-fl ying ziplines provide striking birds-eye views across three counties. Finish up with the 3,150-foot-long Adrena Line. Riders often hit speeds up to 65 mph. h Bridge Day. For the ultimate adrenaline rush, Bridge Day is the granddaddy of all adventures at New River Gorge. This is the oldest and largest organized BASE jumping event in the world, taking place each year in October.

Rafting adventures in the park range from roaring rapids to leisurely floats. Contrary to its name, the New River is believed to be one of the world’s oldest rivers. It’s also one of the longest U.S. rivers that flow from south to north. ADVENTURES ON THE GORGE

The one-day festival draws about 100,000 visitors to watch parachute-fi tted thrill-seekers toss themselves off the bridge. First-time jumpers are welcome, too. offi cialbridgeday.com

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Epic land rush got its start on this prairie

The Homestead National Historical Park Heritage Center near Beatrice, Nebraska, is shaped like the plows that broke the soil of the tallgrass prairie. Commemorating the 1862 federal law that eventually gave away more than 270 million acres in 30 states, the park is located at the site of the ﬁ rst land claim. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Diana Lambdin Meyer Special to USA TODAY

From your high school history classes, you may remember the Homestead Act of 1862, which basically gave away more than 270 million acres in the American West to anyone willing to work the land for at least ﬁ ve years. Ellis Island in New York Harbor opened to accommodate the nearly 12 million European immigrants who responded to that promise of free land. That was the American dream — owning land. One in 3 Americans, or 90 million of us, are considered to be descendants of homesteaders.

It’s believed that Daniel and Agnes Freeman fi led the very fi rst claim under the Homestead Act, for 160 acres in southeastern Nebraska. That land is a fi tting location for Homestead National Historical Park, a unit of the National Park Service dedicated to examining the land rush and its far-reaching eff ects. The popular image of pioneering immigrants working the prairie is just a part of the story. The Homestead Act eventually applied to 30 states from Florida to Alaska, and homesteading remained federal policy until 1976. Homesteaders included families, single men and single women, former enslaved people and Native Americans.

The popular image of pioneering immigrants working the prairie is just a part of the story.

Of course, the law was also the ﬁ nal blow for many Native American tribes that were forced oﬀ their ancestral lands. Their story, too, is told here. Find help researching your family story, listen to oral history recordings and shake your head in awe at the fortitude of these pioneers. Walk trails through the tallgrass prairie, partake in the prairie bird count weekends in May and explore the cabin where Daniel and Agnes Freeman raised a family and built a life. The nearby city of Beatrice hosts the Homestead Days festival June 23-27 (see beatricechamber.com). The park is located 4 miles west of Beatrice. For more information: nps.gov/home.

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A ranger talks to a student group on the Anhinga Trail in Everglades National Park. Abundant nearby wildlife makes Anhinga a popular trail. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Foundation gets kids out into nature’s classroom

Diana Lambdin Meyer Special to USA TODAY

Carlos Mancebo is a third-grade teacher at Dante B. Fascell Elementary in Miami. At least once a year for the past 25 years, Mancebo has chaperoned a three-day camping trip with 26 students to nearby Everglades National Park. “In a textbook, the Everglades just looks like a bunch of grass and water, but when you get there and see the birds and touch the grass and feel the water, you understand the science of this special place,” Mancebo says. Back in the 1990s, when Mancebo started teaching, the Everglades oﬀ ered a program called “Hands on the Land” which encouraged teachers to bring students to the park for hands-on learning.

Mancebo and colleagues created a nature club that met once a week after school. Once a month, they took a ﬁ eld trip to the park; once a year, they’d spend a couple of nights. The program has evolved over the years. It’s now known as Open Outdoors in the Classroom and is funded by the National Park Foundation. In 2019, the foundation provided transportation and lunch for more than 225,000 kids in under-resourced areas to spend a day learning in a national park. “The good thing about the national parks is that there are so many lessons we can teach in history, science and more,” says Will Shafroth, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation. See EDUCATION, Page 80

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Rumpl’s Original Puffy Blanket in Joshua Tree, one of six designs inspired by national parks.

Bring the outdoors in For more than 50 years, the National Park Foundation has supported the park service in protecting and maintaining America’s awe-inspiring parks and offering programs for visitors. When you buy these and other products, a portion of the proceeds goes to the foundation. h Stay super toasty with Rumpl’s machine-washable Original Puffy Blanket, available in six parks-inspired designs. $129 at rumpl.com/collections/ national-parks-blankets-collection.

Yvette Cano, director of education at Everglades National Park, shows a sample of blladderwort — a carnivorous marsh plant — to participants in a distance-learning program. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Education Continued from Page 78

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h Plan for upcoming camping trips with Field Notes’ Memo Books. Five percent will be donated to the National Parks Foundation. $12.95 for a pack of three at ﬁ eldnotesbrand.com. h Savor curated bean blends in The National Parks Collection from Drive Coffee, which donates a portion of proﬁ ts to the National Park Foundation. $60 at drivecoffee.com.

“Our national parks are America’s largest classroom.” At Fascell Elementary in Miami, more than 80% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. “I would guess most of my students have never been to even a state park, certainly not a national park,” Mancebo says. “For most of these kids, they’ve never spent a night outdoors or away from their families.” Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic threw a monkey wrench into everything. Like much of the world, the park service had to make a quick pivot. Distancelearning programs were set up or beefed up to assist educators and students. The foundation has provided $1 million to expand this digital option this year. While Mancebo is eager to get back to the Everglades, he was impressed by the detail provided in Zoom classes. “One ranger would be in an oﬃ ce with a PowerPoint presentation, but they

would switch to a ranger out in the fi eld with a laptop and real-time study underway,” Mancebo says. “It was better than anything I could have developed myself.” Such excellence is typical of the Everglades, a model for educational programs throughout the national park system. Yvette Cano participated in those programs as a child. Now she is the park’s director of education. “I wanted to provide a window to the outdoors for these kids, to help reduce the stress of COVID and distance learning, while providing a valuable lesson,” she says. She says a passionate staff deserves credit for any success. In a typical school year, the Everlades program reaches about 16,000 students in seven counties. However, a silver lining of COVID is that more than 30,000 students from across North America and Europe took part in the Everglades program in the 2020-21 school year. To support the foundation’s eff orts, visit nationalparks.org. For information on distance learning at specifi c parks, go to the park website, click the “Learn About the Park” tab, then “Education.”

“I wanted to provide a window to the outdoors for these kids, to help reduce the stress of Covid and distance learning, while providing a valuable lesson.” Yvette Cano

director of education, Everglades National Park

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Make yourself at home, on the road

Project M truck topper Four Wheel Campers Starting at $9,295 Here’s an ultra-light, rugged shell for weekenders wanting a real mattress at night. Great for entry-level campers who still need the bed of their truck during the week. Also great for campers wanting to add on as they rack up experience. Upgrades include solar and battery power. The pop-up roof offers standing room. Sleeps 2.

FOUR WHEEL CAMPERS

Kodiak Cub Trailer

Kris Millgate

Dutchmen

Sleeping under the stars is quaint until there’s a thunderstorm overhead. Luxury hotels are nice until there’s a party next door. You might have to put up with either on your next adventure — unless you bring your own roof with you. Hauling your lodging on wheels is doable for ﬁ rst timers and for the well-seasoned, but while it’s never been easier to shop for a camper or RV, it’s a lot harder this year to actually get your hands on a unit. “We joked that it took three to ﬁ ve years to buy our product. It was a major decision,” says Dan Welty, vice president of Four Wheel Campers. “Now most of our buyers come in and they’ve been watching videos for two weeks and they’re ready to buy. The speed of deci-

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Starting at $28,624 This option works for families without trucks — a travel trailer light enough to tow with an SUV. Includes bunks and queen bed; USB ports, a bathroom with walk-in shower; and a kitchen with fridge plus two-burner stove. Sleeps 4-6. KODIAK

See RVS, Page 84

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A GUIDE TO OUR NATIONAL PARKS Kestrel teardrop trailer Timberleaf Trailers Starting at $8,500 This trailer is for minimalists who don’t want extras and want to hitch to smaller vehicles. Think of this as a hard-sided tent with entry doors to a double bed on both sides, plus cabin storage. Batteryoperated LED lights. Sleeps 2.

DYLAN H. BROWN/TAXA OUTDOORS

TIMBERLEAF TRAILERS

RVs TigerMoth Overland trailer TAXA Outdoors Starting at $24,950 What’s worth noting here is the word “Overland” in the name — meaning you can take this model off-road. The designers increased the amount of space between the ground and the bottom of the trailer. No more staging in paved lots with low-ride motor homes. Put your vehicle in fourwheel drive and really get away from the crowd. Sleeps 2-4.

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sions has changed dramatically.” Four Wheel Campers turns 50 next year. In its ﬁ rst four decades, it catered to retired couples wanting to add campers to their trucks. Demographics changed drastically in 2019. New buyers are younger, want smaller options and make decisions more quickly — plus, there are more buyers wanting to get out on the road as the pandemic recedes. That’s why Four Wheels’ orders are triple what they were in 2020 and its build time of 13 weeks is extending to 63 weeks. “The pandemic is a layer on top of everything that was already happening,” Welty says. “Rather than taking a cruise for $8,000, buyers are applying those dollars to an RV, and they can talk themselves into it because they can use it for a while. When you’re done with the cruise, you’re done. With an RV, you’re not done until you sell it.” RV demand is high and supply is tight. Narrow your search by comparing options here before you wait in line for the newest unit. Outdoor journalist Kris Millgate is based in Idaho. See more of her work at tightlinemedia.com .

Seismic ﬁ fth-wheel toy hauler Jayco Starting at $121,841 JAYCO

Rize Class B Van Thor Motor Coach Starting at $75,000 Sweating bullets at the thought of driving (or turning, or parking) a full-size RV or manipulating a massive trailer? This van packs in all the necessities — including bathroom and kitchen — while still ﬁ tting in a regular parking space. It’s taller than a traditional van but smaller than a motor home. Sleeps 2.

ROB PERISHO/THOR MOTOR COACH

Comfort and luxury have plenty of room in this unit. So do your toys. Queen bed in front for you, loading ramp in the back for your adventure extras, with kitchen and bath between. You’ll need a full-size truck to pull this trailer, and you lose most of the truck bed to the hitching rig required for a ﬁ fth-wheel. Two door entries plus residential appliances and furnishings. Sleeps 8.

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A GUIDE TO OUR NATIONAL PARKS

What’s got to be in your backpack Ellen Wulfhorst

Special to USA TODAY

PARKSPROJECT.US.

Fun additions Here’s a few other items you can pack that, while not essential, will enhance your next adventure. h Parks Project’s Lasso Bear Enamel Mug is a campsite classic. Each purchase helps protect and preserve our parklands. $18 at parksproject.us. h Enjoy a gentle campﬁ re-like crackle from the wooden wick in Good + Well Supply Co.’s Yellowstone National Park Candle. $36 at huckberry.com. h Get your kids excited to explore early with Gathre’s Mini+ National Parks Map. $86 at gathre.com.

Loading a backpack with hiking essentials means taking the things you’ll defi nitely need — and things you may not need at all but will be eternally grateful to have if worse comes to worst. Even on a simple day trek, hikers could get caught in a deluge, fall into an icy stream or suff er a sprain and thus fi nd themselves needing a rain jacket, a warm blanket or a bandage. So plan ahead and do some research, says Wesley Trimble, spokesman for the American Hiking Society. “A lot of times when people run into unexpected situations in the backcountry or on hiking trails, it always comes down to whether or not they were prepared before the hike,” Trimble says. “There’s a lot that people don't always think of when they fi rst start getting into hiking and backpacking.” Experts at the American Hiking Society, National Park Service and Sierra Club recommend packing the “Ten Essentials” when heading out. Here’s a look at those essentials:

1. Hydration Carrying water is a no-brainer, but also bring a collapsible container and water puriﬁ cation supplies or a ﬁ lter.

2. Fire Take waterproof matches, matches in a waterproof case or a lighter. Candles are an option, too.

3. Navigation

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h Get your pooch in on the fun with Pendleton’s Medium National Park Dog Bed. Sales support two landmark preservation projects. $119 at pendleton-usa.com.

Follow the route with an up-to-date trail and topographic map and a compass. Don’t expect your smartphone to be able to get a signal for guidance. “You can’t rely on your cell phone,” says Aaron Leonard, a campaign representative with the Sierra Club’s Military Outdoors program and a leader of wilderness adventure outings. “The No. 1 rule with the cellphone is you can bring

Courtney Lamm takes a photo of Lover's Leap Arch in the distance while backpacking in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The park sits on the shore of Lake Superior on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. CHELSEY LEWIS/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL

it, but you cannot use it as your ﬂ ashlight or your map or compass.”

ing a light, you might be hiking in the dark, which can be risky,” Trimble says.

4. Skin protection

8. Tools

Sunscreen is essential, and sunglasses, a hat, insect repellent and lip balm are good protection, too.

These can include a pocketknife — especially one with extra blades, screwdriver heads, a can opener, an awl and other features — a collapsible drinking cup, a whistle and duct tape.

5. Insulation Having extra clothing will pay oﬀ if the weather turns wet or cold. Consider a light jacket, a water-resistant shell, a foldable poncho and extra pairs of dry socks. Even a plastic garbage bag can be welcome protection in the rain.

6. First aid Bring adhesive and elastic bandages and a topical antiseptic cream or gel.

7. Light Pack a headlamp or a ﬂ ashlight, with fresh and extra batteries, even if you’re planning just a daytime jaunt. “You take a wrong turn or you roll your ankle — there’s any number of reasons you might get delayed and without hav-

9. Nutrition Carry at least an extra day’s supply of food that’s easy to pack, such as dried fruit, protein bars and jerky.

10. Shelter This could be a Mylar space blanket or a lightweight tarp. Give the list some thought. Maybe someone on the hike takes a daily medication, and packing some extra pills could make a diﬀ erence in a delay. The park service has added a couple pandemic-era essentials, too: a face covering and hand sanitizer. It may be the great outdoors, but other people will be out there enjoying it as well.

“A lot of times when people run into unexpected situations in the backcountry or on hiking trails, it always comes down to whether or not they were prepared before the hike.” Wesley Trimble

Spokesman for the American Hiking Society

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