National Park Service announces fee-free days for 2012

by Kraig Becker on

The National Park Service has announced the dates of its fee-free days for 2012, continuing a recent, and very popular, tradition of waiving entry fees to national parks throughout the year. Next year, travelers will have 17 such days during which they can visit their favorite parks while saving a few dollars in the process.

Earlier this week, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the fee-free days would include January 14-16 (Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend), April 21-29 (National Parks Week), June 9 (Get Outdoors Day), September 29 (National Public Lands Day), and November 10-12 (Veterans Day Weekend).

In addition to those 17 fee-free days for next year, there are still a few free days left for 2011 as well. All of the national parks will once again allow entry to travelers without paying on Veterans Day weekend, which is November 10-12.

For a complete list of the more than 100 parks that take part in the fee-free program click here.

The concept of not charging for entry to the parks was designed to inspire people to visit these amazing destinations. Considering that attendance has been at record levels the past few years, I’d say it has been successful. Announcing the dates this early also helps travelers to plan around these days, both to take advantage of the free entry or to avoid the crowds that inevitably come with them. Either way, it’s a great opportunity to experience a national park, and I’m glad the NPS is continuing the practice again in 2012.

National Park Service saves three California state parks

by Kraig Becker on

Like many U.S. states, California has been struggling with major budget shortfalls over the past few years, and as a result, a number of state services have been directly impacted. One of the more well publicized results of this lack of funds is the announcement that the state could close as many as 70 of its parks. Now, the National Park Service has stepped in to keep three of those parks from shutting down.

An agreement between the NPS and the California State Park system was reached last week and extends to three parks that share their borders with national parks. NPS officials were quick to point out that this made for a natural partnership, as the state and federal parks already work closely with one another, sharing resources, information, and occasionally staff.

The three parks that will receive assistance from the NPS include Tomales Bay State Park, Samuel P. Taylor State Park, and Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. In order to help make up for the budget shortfall, the National Park Service will institute a $2 entry fee to the John Muir National Monument starting January 1st. That fee is expected to bring in roughly $1 million in revenue.

While 67 more state parks still face closure, I’m glad to see that a solution was found for at least a few of them. California has some of the most spectacular parks, state and national, in the U.S., and it would be a shame if there was no public access to them.

Yellowstone tops 3 million summer visitors for third straight year

by Kraig Becker on

For the third straight year, Yellowstone National Park has seen more than 3 million visitors pass through its gates during the summer months alone. Those lofty numbers come despite a colder than normal start to the season and a host of unique PR challenges that could have easily discouraged travelers from visiting.

Winter in the western U.S. was a long and cold one, with heavy snow lasting well into the spring. When the roads into Yellowstone opened in May, there was still plenty of snow and ice throughout the park. That resulted in a slower than normal start to the travel season, although June, July, and August, traditionally the three busiest months of the year, rebounded nicely.

It was a challenging summer for visitors to America’s first national park. Avalanches and rock slides closed roads early on, making travel difficult. Later forest fires were a small, but potential danger, and in July, a grizzly bear attacked and killed a hiker. That tragedy was the first of its kind inside Yellowstone in more than 25 years.

Despite those challenges however, visitors still flocked to the park, with more than 900,000 in July alone. Those impressive numbers prove that the national parks remain a popular option for travelers looking to explore the best outdoor destinations in the U.S.

Revolutionary War battlefield of Saratoga to be excavated

by Sean McLachlan on


One of the most important battlefields of the Revolutionary War is going to be excavated by archaeologists ahead of an EPA cleanup.

Back in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, General Electric dumped polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the Hudson River near Saratoga, New York. The dumping was banned in 1977 due to risks to public health, and the EPA has ordered GE to dredge up the affected silt from the river. Dredging destroys archaeological sites, though, and has already damaged Fort Edward, a British fort in the area dating to the mid 18th century. Archaeologists are working to excavate the stretch of river near Saratoga before the dredgers arrive.

Saratoga was on the frontier for much of the 18th century and played a large part in the French and Indian Wars (1755-1763) and the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). During the two battles of Saratoga in September and October of 1777, the American army stopped the British advance down the Hudson River Valley, then surrounded them and forced them to surrender. It was a major victory that led to the French coming into the war on the American side. French help was one of the deciding factors in an ultimate American victory, and the creation of the United States.

The Saratoga National Historical Park 9 miles south of Saratoga, New York, includes the battlefield, a visitor center, the restored country house of American General Philip Schuyler, a monument, and Victory Woods where the British surrendered on October 17, 1777.

Archaeologists hope to find artifacts from both wars and are currently looking for a British army camp.

[Image courtesy U.S. government]

Dinosaur National Monument re-opens Carnegie Quarry for first time in 5 years

by Kraig Becker on

Dinosaur National Monument is one of the lesser known gems in the U.S. National Park system. Spread out across parts of Colorado and Utah, the park is home to an amazing display of fossils left over from the Jurassic era. In fact, the park’s Carnegie Quarry is considered one of the best places on Earth to view the remains of a wide variety of dinosaurs. For the past five years however, the Quarry has been hidden from the eyes of visitors due to an ongoing construction project. On Tuesday, that will change.

The National Park Service has announced that the all new Quarry Exhibit Hall will officially open on Tuesday, October 4th at 11 AM local time. When the facility does open, it will allow visitors to view the world famous fossil wall, where the remains of nearly 1500 different dinosaurs are encased. Amongst the species on display are Allosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Torvosaurus, to name just a few.

The Quarry Exhibit Hall joins a new visitor center, which was just opened this past Wednesday, as well. The visitor center serves as a gateway to the Quarry and features its own exhibits, bookstore, and theater. The two were built in conjunction with one another over the past few years and are now ready for the public to enjoy.

The official ribbon cutting ceremony will be attended by Utah Governor Gary Herbert and a number of other guests, such as Park Paleontologist Dan Chure and the jazz and marching bands from a local high school. The public is invited of course, and for fans of dinosaurs, this is sure to be a grand occasion. After all, for the first time in a half-decade, we’ll all have the opportunity to see one of the best displays of natural history on the planet.