National Parks

Backpackers hike near Crescent Lake in Alaska's Chugach National Forest.

Alps-Style Hut-to-Hut Travel Is On Its Way to Alaska

Several ambitious projects are poised to bring a long trail and 25 new huts to the Last Frontier

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The Rarest Fish on Earth Has an Unlikely Home—Nevada

Amid the vast Mojave Desert sits an oasis, one brimming with rare flora and fauna that exists nowhere else on earth

Participants on a bus tour at the 2014 community pilgrimage to Tule Lake

Why the Language We Use to Describe Japanese American Incarceration During World War II Matters

A descendant of concentration camp survivors argues that using the right vocabulary can help clarify the stakes when confronting wartime trauma

Covid-19 lockdowns had all kinds of effects on wild populations, helping some and hindering others. In one Mexican marine park, though, the sudden lack of tourists led to an increase in the density and diversity of marine species.

During Covid-19 Lockdowns, Fish Flourished in This Park

In the absence of tourists, the animals increased within Mexico’s Cabo Pulmo National Park

Because St. Lucie's hull was raised and repaired, the anchor is all the remains from the 1906 wreck.

Anchor From 1906 Shipwreck Found in Florida

The steamship "St. Lucie" went down in a hurricane, killing 26 passengers on board

A mule deer carcass in Yellowstone National Park tested positive for the fatal neurological illness known as chronic wasting disease.

'Zombie Deer Disease' Documented in Yellowstone for the First Time

The neurological condition, called chronic wasting disease, has a 100 percent fatality rate in the deer, moose and elk it infects

Journey Castillo is only 3 years old, but she's already traveled all over the country with her parents.

Meet the 3-Year-Old Who Visited All 63 U.S. National Parks

Journey Castillo and her parents, Eric and Valerie Castillo, started their quest during the pandemic

Bison were nearly hunted to extinction but are now thriving in several national parks, including Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.

The Ecological Benefits of Rehoming a National Park's Booming Bison Population

In Theodore Roosevelt National Park, staffers are keeping the local ecosystem in balance by sending 300 bison to Native American tribes

California condors are attracted to shiny things and sometimes ingest wrappers, coins and padlock keys.

'Love Locks' at the Grand Canyon Could Be Harming Endangered California Condors

Park service officials urged visitors to stop attaching padlocks to fences and throwing keys into the canyon below, where the birds could eat them

Grazer, also known as 128 Grazer, stands in a river in September 2023, after bulking up for hibernation.

Meet Grazer, the Winner of Fat Bear Week 2023

A fiercely aggressive mother and a skilled angler, the massive brown bear has been crowned this year's champion in the annual online popularity contest

A mother bear and two cubs in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

Before Fat Bear Week, Don’t Forget the Corpulent Cubs Competing in Fat Bear Junior

The offspring of Katmai National Park’s famous brown bears will face off in a bracket all their own

Isabella Bird ascended the 14,259-foot-tall Longs Peak, now part of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Following British Explorer Isabella Bird's Footsteps Through the Rockies, 150 Years Later

The intrepid Victorian-era author proved that a lady’s life could be in the mountains, and I am forever grateful for that

Minerals from a melting glacier mix with clear water and wind a colorful path through the trees at Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

Explore the Great Outdoors With Photography From U.S. National Parks

Travel the country's beautiful natural wonders from home with these breathtaking highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

This fall, Guernsey is celebrating the 140th anniversary of Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir's visit in 1883.

Five Places Worth Traveling to This Fall

New museums, a monumental exhibition and a skywatcher’s dream festival beckon in the coming months

Throughout the spring, biologists captured this behavior among adult members of Mollie's Pack using a trail camera.

Watch Adult Wolves Bring 'Toys' to Their Teething Pups at Yellowstone

When they can't bring food back to the den, the animals retrieve bones, sticks and antlers for their young to chew on—and biologists captured it on video

Yosemite became the country's third national park in 1890.

This Resort Is Offering Free Spa Treatments to Guests Who Clean Up Trash in Yosemite National Park

Yosemite Facelift is an annual park-wide cleanup effort that started 20 years ago

The chicks were both born in early May and should take their first flights later this year.

Two Baby Condors At Pinnacles National Park Are Healthy, 'Adorable Fluffballs'

The nestlings provide some good news for California condors, which faced a major setback from bird flu earlier this year

Tourists in Great Onyx Cave, now part of Mammoth Cave National Park, in 1925

How the Kentucky Cave Wars Reshaped the State's Tourism Industry

Rival entrepreneurs took drastic steps to draw visitors away from Mammoth Cave in the early 20th century

Australian spotted jellyfish typically reach up to 18 to 20 inches in diameter.

Invasive Australian Spotted Jellyfish Washes Up on Texas Beach

The prolific jellies can form huge swarms and clear zooplankton from wide areas of water, sending ripple effects up the food chain

Researchers counted 31 individual wolves during their annual survey from mid-January to early March.

Wolves Are Making a Comeback at Michigan's Isle Royale National Park

Since their reintroduction in 2018, the wolves have rebounded from just two inbred individuals to 31 healthy animals

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