Opposition growing to Gettysburg casino

by Sean McLachlan on

The fight for the future of Gettysburg National Military Park is heating up once again. Four years ago, the local community and thousands of history buffs stopped plans to construct a casino on the outskirts of town, and now a new attempt to build a casino is starting the battle once again.

David LeVan, who is behind the casino project, says it will bring much-needed jobs to the area, which despite getting more than a million visitors a year has a spiraling unemployment rate. Opponents say it’s disrespectful to the sanctity of the historic site and that casinos are “predatory” businesses that rarely deliver the economic boom they promise. The anti-casino group has set up a website and an online petition.

The Evening Sun, a regional paper, conducted a poll and found the majority of residents approve of the casino, but the poll was widely criticized by casino opponents as biased, prompting an angry editorial defending the poll.

It’s difficult to see who will win, but in the meantime you might want to check out some of these lesser known battlefields, none of which have casinos. Yet.%Gallery-73514%

National Park Service invites you to Cumberland Gap this weekend

by Kraig Becker on

Now that spring is officially here, the National Park Service is beginning to welcome visitors back to their most popular and scenic locations. Take for example Cumberland Gap National Historic Park, which stretches across parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. This weekend, Cumberland Gap will play host to a series of great events, with something to offer the entire family.

The festivities get underway on Saturday, when visitors will have the opportunity to meet legendary frontiersman Daniel Boone himself. Boone will be on hand beginning at 10 AM to regale young and old alike with tales of his daring adventures inside the Cumberland Gap, which he helped explore. His daring exploits eventually cleared the way for westward expansion by early American pioneers. Daniel will be in the park’s visitor center throughout the day, with his famous flintlock rifle close at hand.

On Sunday it’s movie day in the park, with a special screening of a Kentucky Life special that will take viewers to the top of the Cumberland Gap and then descend into the depths of Mammoth Cave. The film will also highlight the important role that Kentucky played in the early development of America, opening the way for settlers to travel west. The screening begins at 2 PM in the visitor center auditorium, with traditional movie snacks on hand for the show.

Perhaps the best activity is reserved for Monday however, when park rangers will take visitors on a guided moonlight hike through the Cumberland Gap itself. The route is specially planned out so that hikers will arrive at the saddle of the Gap just as the moon rises above the surrounding mountains. If you want to take part in the 1.2 mile round trip hike, simply be at the Thomas Walker parking area at 8 PM, and be sure to bring your hiking shoes.

I’m sure these will be just the first of many great activities in Cumberland National Park in the months ahead, but why not make a weekend out of it, and try to take in all three options? The moonlight hike sounds especially promising.

U.S. national parks were popular destinations in 2009

by Kraig Becker on

2009 was a banner year for America’s National Park System, which remained popular with travelers, both foreign and domestic, despite the sluggish economy. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar recently announced that the parks experienced 10 million more visitors last year than they did in 2008, which represented a 3.9 percent increase.

The Park Service says that more 285 million people payed a visit to one of the parks or monuments that are under their care in 2009, which made it the fifth busiest year in the history of the system. The record for most visits ever was set back in 1987 when 287.2 million people spent time in the national parks.

The news of the upswing in visitors is seen as a good thing on a number of different levels. It meant that Americans and foreign visitors were still viewing the national parks as quality destinations despite challenging economic conditions around the globe. It was also seen as a good sign for Americans becoming more active, with many travelers hiking the trails and enjoying other outdoor activities.

The list of the top ten most visited parks remains generally the same year in and year out. In 2009 that list, along with the number of visitors, was as follows:

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 9,491,437 visitors
• Grand Canyon National Park, 4,348,068
• Yosemite National Park, 3,737,472
• Yellowstone National Park, 3,295,187
• Olympic National Park, 3,276,459
• Rocky Mountain National Park, 2,822,325
• Zion National Park, 2,735,402
• Cuyahoga Valley National Park, 2,589,288
• Grand Teton National Park, 2,580,081
• Acadia National Park, 2,227,698

Hopefully this is a trend that will continue. The parks have been called “America’s best idea”, and visiting any one of the top destinations will only reinforce that. So? What is your favorite national park, and which ones are you planning on visiting this year?

You’re now free to carry guns in U.S. national parks

by Kraig Becker on

For nearly 95 years visitors to U.S. national parks have been prohibited from carrying firearms. In fact, the ban even extended to Teddy Roosevelt, who was once refused entry to Yellowstone while carrying a shotgun. But that ban was lifted yesterday when a new law went into effect allowing visitors to bring their guns along with them the next time they decide to visit Old Faithful or climb Half Dome.

The new law was passed as a rider bill to a credit card reform act that cleared Congress last May and was later signed by President Obama. It specifies that people who can legally own guns, and have completed the proper permitting process, can now bring their firearms with them to national parks. The law is superseded by the state laws in which the park falls however, meaning that some of the national parks will continue to have a ban on firearms.

The passage of the new law does not change the prohibition of the usage of firearms within the park, nor does it impact the ban on hunting within most parks. The Park Service also wisely points out that the ban on carrying the weapons still extends to “federal facilities,” which in this context includes visitor centers, offices, and maintenance buildings.

For their part, the NPS doesn’t believe this new law will have much of an impact on the vast majority of visitors to the parks. But just in case, they’ve updated their website providing all the specific information on each park and how the gun laws apply to that location.

All roads to Yosemite National Park closed

by Kraig Becker on

The National Park Service has announced that all roads leading into Yosemite National Park are currently closed due to excessive snow and ice, as well as fallen trees in the area. The roads were officially closed last night and will be reevaluated throughout the day today to determine when access to the park can be restored.

Winter storms hit the Yosemite region on Thursday dumping loads of fresh snow across the park. The valley floor reportedly received two feet of accumulation, which pales in comparison to other locations. For instance, Badger Pass received as much as eight to ten feet of new snow and Tuolumne Meadows also received six feet of fresh powder.

Those planning on visiting the park this weekend are encouraged to call the 24-hour road conditions hot line at 209-372-0200 to determine the current status of access to Yosemite. Additionally, all vehicles that do enter the park over the next few days are required to carry snow chains and be prepared to deal with rapidly changing conditions that could include more falling trees.

Yosemite National Park, located along the western slopes of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is a popular hiking and climbing destination throughout the year, offering more than 1200 square miles of landscapes to explore, including high peaks, remote valleys, and lush forests.