Author's posts
Sep 04 2024
Double O Arch in Arches National Park
Double O Arch is one of the most rewarding destinations in Arches National Park, but reaching it requires far more effort than visiting many of the park’s famous roadside formations. Hidden deep within Devils Garden, the unusual sandstone feature consists of two openings stacked within the same fin, creating the distinctive double-ring appearance that gives …
Sep 04 2024
Delicate Arch in Arches National Park
Delicate Arch is the most recognizable natural landmark in Arches National Park and one of the most famous rock formations in the American Southwest. Rising alone from a broad sandstone bowl with the La Sal Mountains often visible in the distance, the graceful freestanding arch has become an enduring symbol of Utah and the signature …
Sep 04 2024
Wildlife of the National Park of American Samoa: Flying Foxes, Birds & Marine Life
Wildlife in the National Park of American Samoa is unlike anything found in the continental United States. There are no native deer wandering through the rainforest, no squirrels darting among the trees, and no bears or other large terrestrial mammals. Instead, giant fruit bats soar over tropical forest ridges, colorful native birds feed among banyans …
Sep 02 2024
Precipice Trail in Acadia National Park: Iron Rungs, Cliffs & Hiking Guide
Precipice Trail is one of the most thrilling hikes in Acadia National Park, climbing more than 1,000 feet up the steep eastern face of Champlain Mountain with the help of iron rungs, ladders, handrails, stone steps, narrow ledges, and exposed granite slabs. It is less a conventional hiking trail than a carefully engineered climbing route …
Sep 02 2024
Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park
Jordan Pond is one of the most recognizable landscapes in Acadia National Park, a clear glacial lake framed by evergreen forest and steep granite mountains in the heart of Mount Desert Island. At its northern end rise two rounded peaks known as the Bubbles, creating the classic view that has appeared in countless photographs, paintings, …
Sep 02 2024
Acadia National Park Beehive Trail
The Beehive Trail is one of the most exciting short hikes in Acadia National Park, climbing the steep south face of a 520-foot granite peak with the help of iron rungs, metal bars, stone staircases, handholds, and narrow cliffside ledges. The complete loop is only about 1.4 miles, but this is not an ordinary mile-and-a-half …
Sep 02 2024
Thunder Hole at Acadia National Park
Thunder Hole is one of the most famous stops along the rocky coastline of Acadia National Park, where Atlantic waves surge into a narrow granite inlet and sometimes produce a deep, booming sound powerful enough to resemble distant thunder. When the tide, waves, and wind align, seawater rushes into the constricted opening, traps and forces …
Sep 02 2024
Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park: Sunrise, Summit & Visitor Guide
Cadillac Mountain rises 1,530 feet above Mount Desert Island, making it the highest point in Acadia National Park and the highest point along the eastern seaboard of the United States. From its exposed granite summit, visitors can look across Frenchman Bay, the Porcupine Islands, Bar Harbor, neighboring mountains, forested valleys, and the broad waters of …
Sep 02 2024
Yellowstone National Park Geysers: Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic & More
Yellowstone National Park contains the greatest concentration of geysers on Earth, along with thousands of hot springs, fumaroles, mudpots, steaming vents, and other hydrothermal features. Beneath its forests, rivers, lakes, and wildlife-rich valleys lies an immense volcanic system that continues to heat groundwater and shape the landscape in ways that visitors can see, hear, smell, …
Sep 02 2024
The Yellowstone National Park Caldera
Beneath Yellowstone National Park lies one of the world’s most famous volcanic systems: the Yellowstone Caldera, an enormous collapse basin formed during a colossal eruption approximately 631,000 years ago. Measuring roughly 30 by 45 miles across, the caldera is so large that visitors can drive through it for hours without realizing they are traveling across …
