Author's posts
Jul 28 2026
Best Beaches in Olympic National Park: Rialto, Ruby Beach, Shi Shi & More
Olympic National Park protects one of the wildest stretches of coastline in the continental United States. Here, the Pacific Ocean crashes against enormous sea stacks, giant driftwood logs pile along the shore, tidepools fill with colorful marine life, and dense temperate forest grows almost to the edge of the sea. These are not typical swimming …
Jul 25 2026
Staircase in Olympic National Park: Hikes, Lake Cushman & Visitor Guide
Staircase is one of the quieter gateways into Olympic National Park, offering enormous Douglas-firs, a rushing mountain river, moss-covered forest, and access to the southeastern Olympic Mountains. Located along the North Fork Skokomish River beyond Lake Cushman, the area feels distinctly different from better-known Olympic destinations such as Hurricane Ridge, the Hoh Rain Forest, and …
Jul 14 2026
Olympic National Park Hot Springs: Sol Duc, Olympic Hot Springs & Visitor Guide
Olympic National Park has two very different hot-spring experiences. Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort offers developed mineral pools, changing rooms, lodging, camping, food, and easy road access during its operating season. Olympic Hot Springs, in the Elwha Valley, are undeveloped natural springs reached only after a long journey on foot or bicycle followed by additional …
Jul 11 2026
Kalaloch Lodge in Olympic National Park: Cabins, Dining, Beaches & Visitor Guide
Kalaloch Lodge sits on a forested bluff above the Pacific Ocean in one of the most beautiful parts of Olympic National Park. Surrounded by windswept beaches, driftwood, coastal forest, tidepools, and wildlife, the lodge offers something unusual in a national park famous for remote wilderness: the chance to stay directly along the Olympic coast without …
Jun 24 2026
America the Beautiful Pass Guide: Cost, Benefits & Is It Worth It?
If you plan to visit several national parks or other federal recreation areas within a year, the America the Beautiful Pass can be one of the simplest ways to reduce entrance costs. Often casually called the “national park pass,” it actually covers far more than National Park Service sites, providing access to thousands of participating …
Jun 20 2026
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Guadalupe Mountains National Park protects the highest peaks in Texas, an ancient fossil reef that once grew beneath a tropical sea, surprisingly lush mountain canyons, vast Chihuahuan Desert landscapes, gypsum sand dunes, historic ranches, springs, and more than 80 miles of wilderness trails in one of the most rugged corners of West Texas. From the …
Jun 11 2026
Glacier National Park 3-Day Itinerary: Best Hikes, Scenic Drives & Where to Stay
Three days in Glacier National Park is enough time to experience its famous alpine road, turquoise lakes, waterfalls, wildlife, mountain passes, and at least one memorable hike—but only if you plan the trip geographically. Glacier is much larger than it initially appears on a map. Lake McDonald anchors the west side, Logan Pass sits high …
Jun 08 2026
Crater Lake National Park
Crater Lake National Park protects one of the most extraordinary volcanic landscapes in North America: a nearly six-mile-wide caldera filled with water so intensely blue that the lake can appear almost unreal on a clear summer day. At 1,943 feet deep, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and one of the …
Jun 06 2026
Channel Islands National Park
Channel Islands National Park protects five rugged islands and the surrounding Pacific Ocean just off the coast of Southern California. Although the islands can be seen from portions of the mainland on clear days, crossing the Santa Barbara Channel creates the feeling of traveling much farther from civilization. Roads, hotels, restaurants, stores, and ordinary visitor …
Jun 05 2026
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Carlsbad Caverns National Park protects one of the most extraordinary underground landscapes in the world. Beneath the rugged Chihuahuan Desert of southeastern New Mexico lies a vast network of limestone caves containing enormous chambers, bottomless-looking pits, delicate stalactites, massive stalagmites, flowstone, gypsum deposits, cave pearls, columns, draperies, and formations that have been growing for hundreds …
