Acadia National Park passes on sale at half price

Acadia National Park is selling its annual park pass for half price December 1-31. The passes are available at the winter visitor center at park headquarters on Eagle Lake Road, open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day except Christmas. Passes cannot be purchased by phone. For more information call 207-288-3338 extension 0.

Yosemite's Tioga and Glacier Point roads closed

Yosemite National Park has announced that Tioga and Glacier Point roads have closed for the season eliminating vehicle travel through the eastern entrance of Yosemite. Authorities also issued a reminder that all roads within the park, which is open year-round, are subject to chain control or temporary closures. Visitors should carry chains at all times while driving inside park boundaries, and can check on road conditions by calling (209) 372-0200.

Yellowstone grizzly bear deaths down

Fewer run-ins between Yellowstone grizzly bears and hunters and renewed efforts to protect them led to a sharp drop in bruin deaths in 2009, officials say, but the decline has failed to quiet growing concerns about the long-term fate of the species.

The lower death toll comes just a year after a record number of the region's grizzlies were killed. In September, they were returned to the threatened list.

Biologists say it's unlikely this year's death toll will grow much beyond an estimated 46 killed so far, because the massive bears are denning up for the winter. Seventy-nine were killed last year -- by hunters acting in self-defense, wildlife officials dealing with problem bears, natural causes and vehicles slamming into the animals.

Environmentalists pointed to last year's deaths as evidence the bear's slow recovery from near-extermination had turned sour. They argued in part that climate change was forever altering the animal's food supply. But federal officials say last year -- when a short summer drove hungry bears out of deep wilderness and into areas where they got into trouble -- will likely be an exception.

Grand Canyon North Rim to close for season

Motorized access to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon ends for the season next week. The Arizona Department of Transportation will close State Route 67, the roadway leading to the North Rim. Most North Rim facilities closed on October 15.

However, scenic roadways and overlooks, as well as gas stations, camping and gift and book stores have remained open in order to provide basic services until the road closes for the season. State Route 67 and all services on the North Rim are expected to reopen next May. South Rim facilities and the inner canyon remain open year-round. The North Rim campground will still be available for winter camping and is accessible by inner canyon trails from the South Rim or by cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

SOURCE: www.kswt.com

Great Basin NP in winter

If you've never been to Great Basin National Park just east of Ely, Nevada on the Utah border, try taking a winter trip to the park. Expect snow when you get up into the higher parks of the park, but all visitor center operations have moved to low territory at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center at park headquarters for the winter. The visitor center will be open every day through thewinter except for Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.
Superintendent Andy Ferguson invites visitors to enjoy the special opportunities the change of season brings to Great Basin National Park. Cave tours will continue, also through the winter.

The park maintains the entrance road to the Lehman Cave Visitor Center; the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive to Upper Lehman Creek Campground; and the road into Lower Lehman Creek Campground year round.

Lower Lehman Creek Campground, with 11 sites is open your round on a first come first serve basis.

Road and trail conditions are posted at the park's website. Read more here.

Lassen Volcanic National Park closed for season

You can forget about visiting Lassen Volcanic National Park until late spring. A winter storm and other due Friday has forced the closure today of Highway 89 through the park .

There was 18 inches of snow on the road near Lake Helen at about 8,250 feet and 4 1/2 inches of snow near the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center at 6,700 feet.

This year, the new Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center features a new webcam. Read more here.

Happy Birthday Blue Ridge Parkway

This year is the 75th anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway whose construction began in 1935 at Cumberland Knob. The last stretch was completed fifty-two years later near Grandfather Mountain, NC.

The 469-mile roadway that crosses through 29 counties from Waynesboro, VA to Cherokee, NC will be celebrated throughout 2010, just as Great Smoky Mountains National Park celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2009.

The Blue Ridge Parkway, although not technically a national park, draws more visitors than Great Smoky Mountains National Park--roughly 20 million a year. (The Smokies are still considered the most visited national park because of its true national park status).

Expanded parking at Grand Canyon Visitor Center

On Friday the National Park Service announced that the first phase of the improvements called for in Grand Canyon National Park’s South Rim Visitor Transportation Plan is nearing completion. New parking areas at the visitor center are expected to be open in time for Thanksgiving.

This is welcome news for all park visitors because it means things are going to get better--traffic and parking.

Phase I improvements address problems associated with traffic congestion and significant parking shortages in and around Mather Point and the Grand Canyon Visitor Center, including:

• realignment of the South Entrance Road to loop around the Visitor Center area to the south and west
• three new visitor parking lots which will provide parking for up to 600 vehicles
• a new parking lot which will provide parking for 40 commercial tour vehicles.

Click here for more information.

New guide service at Grand Canyon: Your cell phone

Your cell phone can now do double duty as your tour guide to Grand Canyon National Park. You can listen to a park ranger give a two-minute narration on various aspects of the canyon from geology to Native American history to the night sky. You can listen to these narrations at many points of interest on the South Rim from Hermit Road to Yaki Point. Just look for the “Park Ranger Audio Tour” signs, call 928-225-2907, and enter the stop number.

Since this is a phone tour, you can be anywhere along the rim where there is cell phone coverage to listen to the messages. Feel free to stroll along the rim as you listen, then stop and enjoy the view to reflect on what you have just learned. There is no additional charge to listen to these messages. Cell phone coverage at Grand Canyon can be spotty, and not all providers offer service in the park.

You can also download the audio tour files onto your MP3 player or iPhone.

Plenty to see, do at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Colorado's Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park's unique and spectacular landscape was formed slowly by the action of water and rock scouring down through hard Proterozoic crystalline rock. The canyon contains some of the oldest exposed rock on Earth. No other canyon in North America combines the narrow opening, sheer walls, and startling depths offered by the Black Canyon of the Gunnison -- not even the Grand Canyon.

For RVers and other campers, there's good news: the park's campgrounds are spacious, scenic, close to the canyon, and campsites are seldom fully booked. Some sites even have hookups. The National Park, only 10 years old, is located approximately 250 miles southwest of Denver. This excellent eight-minute video provides a great overview of the park and its attractions with a special look at campgrounds.

Documentary filmmaker, Ken Burns, scores millions for National Parks

Ken Burns' acclaimed documentary, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," is being credited with the House's increasing the budget of the National Park Service by $218 million--$47 million more than the administration has asked for. The documentary was shown on PBS in September and October and showed spectacular footage of Yosemite, Yellowstone, and others in our National Parks system.

In addition to highlighting the best features of the parks, it also illustrated how the park service has always ended up shortchanged by Congress, requiring more money than Congress was willing to give it. But as the documentary pointed out, the parks had 275 million visitors last year, and could go over 300 million next year.

The additional money it receives in 2010 will go toward expanding educational programs and facilities, and 45 construction projects. Read the entire article, published in the Federal Times, here.

Fire Island National Seashore fall programs

Don't wait another minute to sign up for Long Island New York's Fire Island National Seashore's special programs. Some of these special programs for the remainder of November and for December 2009 are already filled, but additional tours and activities still have plenty of room for more participants.

The Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society (FILPS) is offering several evening tower tours and other holiday activities, as well as routine tours at the Fire Island Lighthouse.

The Old Mastic House at Fire Island National Seashore's William Floyd Estate closes for the season on November 15, but several special grounds tours and walks will be offered this fall and winter, including a late autumn bird walk on November 22. The program is free, but reservations are requested. (Phone 631-399-2030)

A number of children's programs and activities will be offered during November and December at the Wilderness Visitor Center, including a new Junior Ranger program workshop.

Glacier National Park officials seeking comments

Officials at Glacier National Park are seeking comments to help in an environmental assessment for the development of a wildlife viewing plan for the Many Glacier area.

A number of ideas are being considered, according to a news release from Glacier Park, including:

• New exhibits on wildlife viewing.
• Enlarging some pullouts and/or adding new ones in safer locations to view wildlife
• Reducing the size or removing pullouts altogether in known wildlife crossing areas or those pullouts that place visitors in close proximity to wildlife.
• Lowering speed limits along the entire road or portions of it.
• Constructing viewing platforms at pullouts and at the Swiftcurrent parking lot
• Providing ranger naturalists and spotting scopes at pullouts along the road.

Many glacier, located in the northeast portion of the park, three valleys and several vegetation zones converge, forming a crossroads for many different species of wildlife. The area includes majestic landscapes, lakes and waterfalls, trails, and wildlife viewing.

These valleys provide natural travel corridors for bighorn sheep, black and grizzly bears, mountain goats, wolves, wolverines and many other animals. The Many Glacier Road bisects the travel corridors for these species providing outstanding wildlife viewing.

Heavy visitor traffic, large bear jams, and other safety concerns, combined with new knowledge and understanding about how wildlife travel through and within this region, has prompted the National Park Service to look for ways to protect wildlife while continuing to provide visitors with safe viewing opportunities in this corridor. Human presence and activity that is too close to wildlife can disrupt feeding, caring for young, and the animal's movement through an area.

Public comments are invited on Many Glacier planning.

Comments can be sent directly through the National Park Service planning Web site. Go to http://parkplanning.nps.gov/glac and select Wildlife Viewing Plan-Many Glacier.

Written comments can be mailed to Superintendent, Glacier National Park, Attention: Wildlife Viewing Plan, P.O. Box 128, West Glacier, Montana 59936.

Free Admission to National Parks on Veterans Day Nov. 11

In honor of all the men and women in our armed services, the Department of the Interior announced that it will waive all entrance fees to public recreation land--the National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Reclamation--on Wednesday, November 11, 2009.

In a news release, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, said, “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 harm’s way. ”

Only entrance fees are waived. Fees associated with camping, lodging or other activities will be collected.

Beware of bears this time of year

If you plan to camp this fall in areas populated by bears, including National Parks, be careful. This time of year bears are in constant search of food before denning for the winter. Bears are moving up and down in elevation and moving along river valley bottoms looking for calories -- fruits and vegetables, unsecured food in residential areas (pet food, garbage, bird feeders), and carcasses from hunter harvests. Hikers, campers, hunters -- all recreationists — should use care and be familiar with how avoid encounters in bear country.

Here are some tips about traveling and camping in bear areas.
• Always carry bear pepper spray, have it close at hand, and know how to use it.
• If you are going to be alone in bear country, let someone know your detailed plans; better yet, don’t go alone.
• Be alert to signs of bear activity.
• Think in advance about what you would do in the event of an encounter.
• Make noise as you travel.
• Cook any meals at least 100 yards from any backcountry campsites.
• Store any attractants, including game carcasses, at least 100 yards from any backcountry campsites.
• Hunters: after making a kill get the carcass out of the area as quickly as possible; while field dressing, keep a can of bear spray within easy reach; use special precautions if you must leave and return to a carcass, including placing the carcass where you can easily observe it from a distance when you return. Do not attempt to frighten away or haze a bear that is near or feeding on a carcass.

The only extraterrestrial visit to a national monument: Devil's Tower

In the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind the alien spaceship landed in Devil's Tower, Wyoming, driving Richard Dreyfuss nutty. Remember him modeling a replica of what he saw in his head, which turned out to be the bigger-than-life volcanic monolith that defines the park? For many people, that was their first view of this giant 50-million year old igneous extrusion that rose abruptly out of the grasslands and forests of far northeastern Wyoming.

In fact, if you were one of those first time viewers, you may have found it hard to believe. It had to have been enhanced in Photoshop. This steep-sided, ribbed, black, eruption of molten lava, that rises 1,267 feet above the Belle Fourche river. Besides its monstrous, alien-attracting size, a striking characteristic is surface of the tower covered with vertical polygonal columns (there are some four, and six-sided columns as well) that measure 15 to 20 feet in diameter at the base and taper to about ten feet at the summit.

Think of that when looking at the tower to get an idea of its enormous size. And believe it or not, over 50,000 climbers (see arrow on photo at right) have made it to the top and signed the log. And it make it even more weird, these climbers report that they have seen squirrels, rattle snakes, and pack rats among the prairie grasses and prickly pear cactus. How did they get there?

The park is open all year and a 50-site park campground (open April thru October) hugs the river and a KOA is nearby. And while you're here, visit the prairie dog town and hike the trail all the way around the tower of this 1,347-acre monument.