Essays

Get started on your national park journey by perusing our extensive archive of essays. Whether you want to be a park ranger, learn more about rangers and parks, or cultivate a wilder life, we have an essay that will help.

Parks

two hands forming a heart shape in the forest

How can you be a respectful national park visitor while parks are experiencing staffing shortages or other crises? Here are seven tips.

a stone archway reading For the benefit and enjoyment of the people

Here are five ways you can support national parks. America's national parks are under threat like never before, but there are ways to help.

mountains and waterfalls reflected in a lake

National parks are more efficient than most businesses. In fact they are not just economically efficient, they are wildly so. Here's how.

a stone sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr

Here are 10 national parks that celebrate Black history, because we refuse to forget this vital part of our heritage.

a closed sign blocking a path

Trump's federal hiring freeze is another step toward privatization--selling off America's national parks to the rich. Here's how.

a path in dense forest

A national park helped a man find solace from his grief, and I was lucky to be his guide. What I learned from him changed how I view parks.

Wild Living

a ring of trees seen from below

People are not a plague on the Earth. We are not a disease; we are ill, infected with a sense that we are not natural, that we don't belong.

a black and white photo of a woman in historic dress

Eliza Scidmoore is one of countless forgotten women who were integral to some of our favorite national parks.

a large tree with roots in water

Completely unique, Reelfoot Lake State Park has bizarre origins, shallow waters, odd-looking trees, and some spectacular eagle viewing.

sign for the Lorraine Motel

One man had a dream: the civil rights journey may be ongoing, but the Lorraine Motel is today a signpost, reminding us how far we’ve come.

orange tent with sunlight beaming down on it

"You're so brave!" is a common phrase said to women who camp or travel alone. It says more about the people saying it than it does about us.

photo of a photo album with handwritten message under a photo of a moth

The book that taught me to fly: though we lived very different lives, my grandmother introduced me to books that sparked my imagination.