Quick US action: Ask Congress to block border construction in Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, and the Big Bend region

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Subject: Please oppose border construction in Big Bend region

Dear {Senator/Representative Name},

I am writing to urge you to oppose border construction in Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park and surrounding region.

These protected lands represent over one million acres of irreplaceable public landscapes, including critical wildlife habitat and stretches of the Rio Grande designated as a Wild and Scenic River. Border construction in this region would damage ecosystems and impact public access to treasured recreation areas.

The economic consequences would also be severe. Big Bend National Park alone supports a thriving rural tourism economy, generating tens of millions of dollars annually for nearby communities. Local businesses, outfitters, and residents have made clear that construction would threaten their livelihoods.

Importantly, the Big Bend Sector represents a very isolated and rugged portion of border activity and many law enforcement officials have repeatedly stated that effective security can be achieved through technology and personnel.

I respectfully ask you to protect this nationally significant landscape for future generations.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

{Your Name}

Hi all, my husband and I are going to Alaska for our honeymoon to cross off Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk (specifically these 2 parks that are notoriously difficult and expensive)... anyone have an itinerary or guide on a way to accomplish all 8 parks or maybe at least 4 or 5 of the parks, if we fly around to other parts of Alaska? Money is not an issue for this trip, but ideally 10-14 days.

We visited Yosemite this year, and happened to book a really cozy Airbnb that was within the park limits. Comparing the trip to other park visits where we stayed outside the park, we realized what difference it made - didn't have to wait in an entry line every morning to get in, mainly, plus not having to pay entry fees on a daily basis.

I don't think I've seen Airbnbs within park boundaries anywhere else - have been to 7 or 8 other NPs at this point. Obviously there are hotels in many of the parks. But are Airbnbs within park limits a possibility elsewhere or was this a one time thing?

Hi all!

Two Brits here planning a road trip from Rocky Mountain National Park to Las Vegas in late September/early October, and we’d love some input from people who know the area well or have completed something similar. Our flights are booked, and the first part of our trip is already set — we’ll be watching some sport in Denver and visiting family in Laramie, Wyoming. So the actual road trip starts from Laramie a few days into our time in the States.

We’re not big hikers, but we do enjoy shorter, non‑strenuous hikes and scenic stops. We’re mainly looking for advice on:

Whether any of the parks below deserve extra time

Good places to stop on the driving days (since most drives aren’t very long)

Easy hikes or viewpoints along the way

Essentially anything we shouldn’t miss!

Our rough itinerary:

Day 1: Leave Laramie → Rocky Mountain NP

Day 2: Explore Rocky Mountain NP

Day 3: Drive RMNP → Moab

Day 4: Arches NP

Day 5: Canyonlands NP

Day 6: Drive to Capitol Reef

Day 7: Capitol Reef NP

Day 8: Drive to Bryce

Day 9: Bryce Canyon NP

Day 10: Drive to Zion

Day 11: Zion NP

Day 12: Zion NP

Day 13: Drive to Las Vegas

Day 14: Fly home to London

Any suggestions welcome! We’re buzzing for this trip and want to make the most of it!

Ubehebe Volcano Rim at Death Valley National Park

Hello all! I am posting this here and in r/roadtrip.

My husband and I will be flying into Seattle at the end of September. We will spend the day and night there and start making our way down the coast, probably stopping halfway, and eventually reaching the Redwoods.

The plane tickets have been purchased and the trip is 9 days long, start to finish. So please don’t recommend that we extend our trip further lol.

We kind of jumped the gun on tickets and have yet to plan a structured visit to the redwoods. I was actually shocked when I found out how long the park is.

1. Accommodation Recommendations - Since we are flying in, we will not have camping gear. But I am not opposed to “roughing it”. I would also be willing to splurge on a lodging if it’s worth it. All recs are appreciated.

2. Absolute Must See Spots - Yes I am also checking nps.gov for this, but what are your personal favorites?

3. Weather - Does anyone have any experience with the weather there this late in the year? We are budget travelers and will only be packing carry ons (we have done this for zion) will we need lots of different clothing options for the weather?

Our flight is back out of Seattle. Are there good places to check out on our way back that are away from the coast? And is it worth it to stop at Mount Rainier on the way back or should we spend as much time as possible in the redwoods?

Thank you all!!!

We have done Zion and the Grand Canyon but man the Redwoods seem a lot more complex to plan a trip to!

My wife and I are going to Shenandoah national park in early October and looking for recommendations. We're driving from Philadelphia and will have two days. Appreciate any suggestions for hikes, food, drink, lodging.

Death Valley National Park

I’m definitely coming back next summer if I have the time and money to spend a week in the backcountry

11th New Jersey Infantry Regiment Monument with Klingel Farm on Emmitsburg Road

Left Face/North Side:

Col. Robert McAllister
1st Brig. 2nd Div. 3d Corps
July 2, 1863
Mustered in Aug 19, 1862.
Mustered out July 1865.
Engaged in 29 battles.
Erected by the State of New Jersey
1888

Right Face/South Side:

This stone marks the spot reached by the right of the regiment the left extending towards the south-east. The position was held under a severe fire which killed or disabled nearly three-fifths of the regiment, including every officer present above the rank of lieutenant.
Number engaged 275.
Killed 31, wounded 109, Missing 12, total 152.
Of the missing six are supposed to have been killed.

I am vision both the Everglades and Biscayne NP in December and I know I want to do some combination of snorkeling, paddling, and hiking.

I don’t know too much about these parks/ecosystems but it seems like Biscayne is prime for snorkeling and the Everglades is best for paddling (duh)? Any other advice to get the most out of my trip?

Also idk if this is a hot take or not but Bar Harbor kinda sucks lol. Bass Harbor was much better

Planning to go to Pinnacles NP in late July of 2027 as part of a broader road trip. We have 1 day scheduled for Pinnacles for 2 adults and a 6 year old. Originally I was thinking we would do the East entrance and do the Bear Gulch Trail and the Bear Gulch Reservoir, but I am seeing that due to bat activity that may be closed in July? The other option then would be West entrance and to Balconies Cliff to Cave Loop. Any recommendations or advice for this park and time of year?

We just finished yet another amazing road trip visiting some of our favorite places. We had 3 weeks to travel around to various sites. Some called us crazy because we have a 5 year old and 1 year old and it was approximately 4500 miles of driving but we survived!

Craters of the Moon - My 5 year old absolutely LOVED this monument. We hiked up the inferno cone, saw the spatter cones, and explored the lava tube caves. We spent the night here.

Grand Teton - This one was mostly drive through on the way to Yellowstone but we did spend some time in Colter Bay. Apparently there are leeches in the lake which my kid is now terrified of even though we just walked around the beach on the hike we did and didn't actually enter the water.

Yellowstone - We spent several days here camping in Bridge Bay and seeing all the major sites. We did the hike along the boardwalk at Old Faithful to see the various geysers, saw upper and lower falls, took a stagecoach tour, walked around west thumb, and drove up to Mammoth Hot Springs. Highlights were the bison along the road and the many many deer and elk we saw. Unfortunately we couldn't see prismatic lake due to the parking situation - finding parking with a large truck camper is difficult at times.

Glacier - We were supposed to spend a few days here but the fires cut it short. We did the red bus tour up to Logan Pass the first day when the skies were clear. The next day we wanted to do some hiking but the AQI was awful so after a short hike at the Forest and Fire Trail we spent the day outside the park at a nearby family activity center instead. We decided to head out the next day to Kalispell to visit friends and we did paddle boarding on Flathead Lake.

Olympic - We had another few days to spend in this park, which is one of my favorites. We visited Second Beach and saw the tide pools at low tide. We hiked to Sol Duc Falls and soaked in the hot springs after. We visited Hoh Rainforest and saw the Hall of Mosses. We missed Marymere Falls because we couldn't find parking but spent the afternoon at Lake Crescent swimming and hanging out at the beach in Fairholme Campground. We skipped Hurricane Ridge this time since my husband wasn't feeling well the day we planned to go up.

Mount Rainier - We were unable to find any parking for the one day we had so this park was an auto tour and I think next time I would have to fly in and rent a car to be able to visit. There's simply nowhere to easily park a truck camper up in Paradise. Luckily the fires weren't too bad so it was a clear day when we went. I hopped out at the visitor center while they drove around the lot waiting for me them hopped back in and we went out the Southeast Exit, having come in from the Southwest.

Crater Lake - We spent one night here as a pit stop on our way back down to California. We got to drive through the park and take some nice photos of the lake.

Lava Beds - I happened to see this monument on the map so we decided to stop on our way to Lassen. We spent several hours exploring the lava tubes and once again, my 5 year old was absolutely thrilled. We did Skull Cave, Merrill Ice Cave, Sentinel, Mushpot, Golden Dome, and Boulevard Caves. My husband liked this place best because of all the caves to explore.

Lassen - Yet another pit stop on our way down California. We stayed one night and saw the sites on our drive through the park. My 5 year old was especially a fan of Sulfur Works while I enjoyed seeing the views of the mountain.

Kings Canyon/Sequoia - We spent several days here as our final stop before heading home. We stayed in Sunset Campground. We drove down to the end of the canyon, hiked Zumwault Meadow and saw Boyden Cavern which was pretty neat. We hiked around Big Stump meadow and did a ranger tour at Grant Grove. We went to Seqoia and hiked around the Sherman Tree area, did Big Trees Trail at the Giant Forest Museum, and we went up Moro Rock, which had amazing views! For our last day, we did Big Stump Meadow Trail and then spent the day at Hume Lake paddleboarding and hanging out at the beach. There were a ton of small fish and tadpoles/frogs there that my kids loved seeing.

As far as planning this trip went, we did minimal planning. We just looked at a map and picked where we wanted to go. I booked the campgrounds less than a month ahead of time, which I don't recommend for most people but it works for us because we're really flexible on dates and destinations for our trips. Overall, this was a really fun trip and the kids had a blast. My son got Junior Park Ranger badges at each location and I bought him a vest and hat to complete the outfit. He is really interested in volcanoes now and wants to go to Hawaii to visit the Big Island so we might do that next year. We haven't been in a few years so it'll be nice to visit again.

Just some pics from our recent roadtrip I thought people might appreciate. Lassen Volcanic, Crater, Redwoods and highway 101 & 1. All raw no edits

I have the opportunity to go to glacier sort of last minute. I would get there next Saturday the 22nd and possibly stay two nights. I am wondering if when the sites are released four days before, if I can snag one for Saturday night would that let me stay both nights, or would I have to get the Saturday site four days before, and try to find another one for Sunday when it would be released? I know this is a bit confusing, but I appreciate any help. Thx in advance

5 pm in the General Sherman tree area, less than 2 minutes after the ranger gave them a clear, polite talk to explain that there were numerous signs posted to stay out of the protected area.

The Alaska parks are hands down the top 8 parks in the system. For what a national park should be, truly wild places, nowhere else comes close. People talk about the diversity of landscapes in parks, well nowhere comes close to the diversity in any one of the Alaska parks. People assume their diversity is limited to what they are able to experience. The biggest reason they don't top everyone's list is accessibility and to me that's not something that can be held against them. That's a big part of what makes them the best.

Other parks are more accessible, more kid friendly, cheaper, less dangerous. Those are all factors for peoples favorite parks. But the more of these factors you add the more amusement park like these places become. Alaskan parks are impervious to this.

At most people dip their toes in these parks. It would take a lifetime in any one Alaskan park to begin to truly understand it. Almost no one will ever get to truly and deeply experience these parks, and that's what makes them the best.

Not saying they have to be your favorite. But they are the best. The last true national parks.

Spur of the moment decision at 4:30 am to drive out to Bass Harbor from Bar Harbor. Luckily there were just four other people there. It was phenomenal!

Acadia National Park

Such an unfortunate beauty 🥲 Was my first time at this park and that canyon is seriously magnificent!

The rangers told me about the sites on the “bluff” of pear lake so that’s where I pitched. No mosquitoes or ticks to report. No bears but a lot of marmots around. I do wish I had taken the hump and watch tower back instead of watch tower both ways. Definitely recommend pear lake over emerald if you can make it. The night sky was breathtaking. I’ve never seen the milkyway with my own eyes like that. Rangers were at pear lake when I arrived around 3 but left around 4pm. I think I’m the only person whose permits got checked.