Parks

National, state, and local parks, as well as forests, wildlife preserves, national recreation areas, and museums: there are so many special places around the world worth exploring and protecting. Learn more about them and the people who care for them.

laps of people sitting and taking notes

Take time for your mental health. When we wake up and are not okay, we should all have the right to take a Karen Day.

anhinga bird with chicks

Discover 10 wild facts about Everglades National Park, including the best time to visit and how to breakfast with manatees.

a small hill surrounded by trees

Learn lessons from the dead: take a trip to Shiloh Battlefield, where an abandoned ancient village sits amid the relics of war.

mother bear and cubs at the edge of a mountain lake

Ever wonder how to stay safe in bear country? Here are seven safety tips and several bear stories from a former national park ranger.

historic cannon in front of a fence and autumn trees

An interpretive park ranger conveys a park's story. Every park has a story, a reason that it was protected and staffed with park rangers.

a butterfly cupped in a child's hands

Butterflies, children, and guns. How a terrified child's question about butterflies changed the way I thought about migration and borders.

an outdoor sign reading "this is grizzly bear country"

Why are there no stupid questions to ask a park ranger? Because the biggest questions provide the biggest opportunities to learn.

exit sign outside in the brush

I quit the national park service for the same reason I became a ranger in the first place: to find and do what makes me happy.

fence open in front of a field of grass

Naturalist gatekeeping can frighten people away from trying new things. Lets encourage beginners to love what we love, not shame them.

a log cabin

This land tells a story: Booker T. Washington National Monument. Stand in the spot where a family of slaves learned that they were free.

a pale pink flower

Discover where to stop on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. Ten scenic stops and hikes along the parkway's northern section.

A dirty and well-worn green and white bag with first aid printed on it

Why I became a Wilderness First Responder: how a scary accident taught me that doing your best is always enough.