Yellowstone opens for winter visitors

by Kraig Becker on

Winter may officially still be a few days off, but that hasn’t prevented Yellowstone National Park from opening for the season. According to the National Park Service, as of yesterday, all roads are now open for travelers who want to make the oversnow journey through the park’s scenic interior.

Visitors who want to explore Yellowstone, the nation’s first national park, in this manner will have to contract with a commercial guide service. Each day, up to 318 snowmobiles and 78 coaches will be allowed to roam the groomed trails from the South Entrance to West Thumb, and on to Old Faithful, with a few more trails opening up over time. Along the way, they’ll find miles of serene, snow covered backcountry that is as engaging in the winter as it is in the warmer months.

In addition to the trails opening, the Old Faithful Visitors Center opened yesterday as well, and by Friday the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, gift shop, and restaurants. The Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel will follow suit on Monday, December 21st, offering more places to stay for those looking to visit the area and play in the snow.

For those who would prefer to drive through Yellowstone, there are roads open for four wheeled vehicles as well. The highway from the North Entrance and from Gardiner, Montana, through the park’s Northeast Entrance, by way of Mammoth Hot Springs and Cooke city are kept well maintained throughout the year, although winter storms can make them treacherous at times. The drive is also highly recommended and scenic as well.

National Park Service pledges $875k for trails

by Kraig Becker on

The U.S. National Park Service has announced a number of updates and improvements to existing trails throughout the park system, and backed the plan by pledging nearly $875,000 specifically ear-marked to complete the initiative. The “Connect Trails to Park” project will be funded from a grant program created last year to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the National Trails System.

Created back in 1968 with legislation that mandated the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails, the system now consists of over 52,000 miles of trails. 11 of those are National Scenic Trails with another 19 being designated as National Historic Trails. Over a thousand other hiking routes are listed as National Recreation Trails as well.

All told, 17 projects will receive funding from the grant, which is designed to “restore or improve existing trails and trailhead connections, provide better wayside and interpretive services, encourage innovative educational services, support bridge and trailhead designs, and provide planning services for important trail gateways.” In other words, we can expect improved infrastructure on the projects that are receiving funding, which includes the Continental Divide Trail and the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, amongst others.

These infrastructure upgrades kick off the “Decade of National Trails” initiative that will see similar updates on a number of other routes in the years ahead, leading up to the 50th anniversary of the trail system in 2018.

To see the complete list of trail upgrades, and where the money is being spent, click here.

New permit system announced for Grand Canyon

by Kraig Becker on

The National Park Service announced a major change to the way it will distribute permits for those seeking to camp over night in the Grand Canyon yesterday, with administrators saying the move will level the playing field, allowing for every applicant to have a the same opportunity to earn one of the highly sought after permits.

Each year, the Park Service makes 11,500 permits available to hikers, but they also average more than 23,000 requests for those permits. This discrepancy has led to a highly competitive situation, in which people will actually camp outside the Grand Canyon permit office in order to be first in line on the day the permits become available. Those who cannot go in person are forced to fax in their applications, and with only one fax line, that can turn into an exercise in frustration. Worse yet, hikers without access to a fax machine have to mail in their applications, putting them even further behind those that can physically visit the office.

Beginning in February of 2010, the Park Service will no longer accept applications in person however, and everyone will be forced to apply via fax or mail. This process should, in theory, give all applicants the same opportunity to to earn one of the coveted permits.Of course, not everyone is happy with the new system. There are 26 companies that are chartered to guide paying customers into the Canyon, and many of them have relied on the fact that they are located close to the permit office, allowing them to fill their needs year in and year out. Now, they’ll have to enter the lottery like everyone else, and run the risk of not getting a permit at all, severely cutting into their ability to operate.

While I do applaud the Park Service making the system more fair, I do have to wonder if they’ve heard of a little thing called the Internet. I have to think that there must be some way that the applications can be taken online, making the whole fax/mail system obsolete.

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Find your way around U.S. National Parks with your iPhone

by Scott Carmichael on

The TV commercials keep telling us “there’s an app for that”, and in most cases they are absolutely right. If you enjoy spending time in the 392 National Parks, then check out Park Maps by Big Air Software.

The application covers 250 different parks, and downloads zoomable maps directly to your iPhone or iPod Touch. Because the maps are stored on your device, you’ll be able to view them when you are in the middle of a park without any cell coverage.

The app is fairly basic, you don’t get navigation, and no additional information is provided for the various parks, but at just 99 cents (temporary lower price), it is a fun and handy tool to have on your device, just in case your day takes you somewhere you had not expected to end up.

You’ll find the application in the app store at this link.

National parks free for Veterans Day!

by Kraig Becker on
Veteran’s Day is next Wednesday, November 11th, and to celebrate the National Park Service has announced that they will once again waive all entry fees to every national park, forest and monument across the U.S., giving travelers the opportunity to experience hundreds of amazing places for free.

This past summer the NPS offered several fee free weekends, which were extremely popular with visitors everywhere. In fact, those weekends were so popular that they helped several parks, such as Yellowstone, to set new attendance records.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar made the official announcement on this Veteran’s Day celebration, saying “The Department of the Interior is honored to offer this fee free day to thank our nation’s service men and women,” He went on to say, “The sacrifices and achievements of the brave men and women of our armed forces can never be understated. We invite all of our visitors to enjoy this fee free day and take time out on this national holiday to remember our service men and women who are currently serving overseas in harms way.”

Join in on the celebration for yourself by finding a park near you. Then head out to enjoy the best natural resources the country has to offer on Wednesday.