Sep 08 2024
Cuyahoga Valley National Park contains more than 125 miles of hiking trails winding through forests, wetlands, sandstone cliffs, ravines, old farm fields, canal corridors, waterfalls, and the rolling hills surrounding the Cuyahoga River. Although the park lacks the towering mountains associated with many western national parks, its trails are surprisingly varied. A morning hike can …
Sep 08 2024
Autumn may be the most beautiful season to visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Forests covering the hills between Cleveland and Akron gradually turn from summer green into a patchwork of crimson maples, golden tulip trees, orange sassafras, bronze oaks, and bright yellow understory shrubs. Waterfalls become framed by colorful leaves, the Towpath Trail disappears beneath …
Sep 07 2024
Congaree National Park can look like a vast swamp when floodwater spreads among enormous bald cypress trees, tupelos, loblolly pines, and towering hardwoods. Water reflects the forest canopy, cypress knees rise above flooded ground, and dark sloughs disappear between the trees. Yet calling Congaree simply a swamp misses what makes this South Carolina national park …
Sep 07 2024
For a few remarkable nights each spring, the darkness beneath Congaree National Park’s towering forest canopy begins to pulse with light. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of tiny flashes appear close to the forest floor, gradually falling into overlapping rhythms until large portions of the woods seem to blink together. These are the synchronous fireflies of …
Sep 07 2024
Small enough to be mistaken for an unusually large house cat, the island fox is one of the most remarkable animals found in Channel Islands National Park. It trots through coastal scrub, searches campgrounds for opportunities to scavenge, hunts insects and deer mice, eats fruit from native plants, and sometimes wanders casually past hikers as …
Sep 07 2024
Carlsbad Caverns National Park may be best known for enormous underground chambers, delicate cave formations, and the seemingly endless darkness beneath the Chihuahuan Desert, but the park is also home to a remarkably diverse collection of animals. Some spend nearly their entire lives above ground among desert grasses, agaves, rocky canyons, and springs. Others use …
Sep 07 2024
Hickman Bridge Trail is one of the best short hikes in Capitol Reef National Park, combining colorful canyon scenery, views across the Waterpocket Fold, desert vegetation, fascinating geology, and an enormous natural stone bridge in less than two miles round trip. The trail is short enough to fit easily into a one-day visit but substantial …
Sep 07 2024
Along the sandstone cliffs beside Utah Highway 24, just east of the heart of Capitol Reef National Park, human figures, bighorn sheep, geometric shapes, and other mysterious images have survived for centuries. Some are large enough to spot quickly from the boardwalk. Others almost disappear into the dark desert patina until you slow down, study …
Sep 07 2024
Canyonlands National Park is famous for immense sandstone canyons, needles, mesas, natural arches, and the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers, but some of its most extraordinary features are much smaller and far older in human terms. Across canyon walls and sheltered alcoves, Indigenous people painted and pecked images into the rock, leaving a …
Sep 07 2024
At first glance, Canyonlands National Park can look almost empty. Vast sandstone benches stretch beneath intense sunlight, sheer cliffs plunge toward the Colorado and Green rivers, and miles of exposed slickrock appear to offer little water, shade, or vegetation. Yet the apparent emptiness is deceptive. Canyonlands supports a surprisingly rich community of animals that has …
