National Park News

With significant snowfall throughout the park over the past 48 hours, Yellowstone National Park will ring in the New Year by transitioning fully to oversnow travel beginning at 7:00 a.m. Saturday, December 31.

Update on the Everglades National Park General Management Plan

Effective January 1, 2012, Denali National Park and Preserve will collect only the $10 per person entrance fee for visitors age 16 and older. The $20 per vehicle fee has been eliminated, because the park does not collect the fee at an entrance station as the majority of national parks do. The fee is valid for seven days.

Take a look at ocean-related mythology at this month’s Family Fun Fest!

The only snowmobile trail currently open is the Green Trail from Rainy Lake/Black Bay to Kabetogama to Ash River. Snowmobiling conditions are marginal in the park because the lake surface has little snow and numerous bare icy spots. Several hazardous pressure ridges have formed along the Green Trail on Kabetogama Lake.

Twenty-nine original watercolors by the Tropical Botanic Artists Collective will be on display at the Coe Visitor Center during the month of January 2012

Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) and the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park are pleased to announce the first Lyceum Lecture in this year’s series. On Friday, January 20, 2012, Kerry Gunther from Yellowstone National Park presents “Grizzlies!”

JoshuaTreeNP: Clear skies and sunshine are forecast for the weekend. Perfect for a brisk hike to work off some of those holiday goodies! ~sk

Winter trails conditions update for Voyageurs National Park. One section of snowmobile trail is open.

Paurotis Pond closed for 2012 Nesting Season

Tis’ The Season To Visit Everglades National Park Ranger-Guided Programs Begin December 23th

Recent storms have brought additional snow to the park, and the Superintendent has determined that there is now adequate snow cover for the use of snowmobiles for traditional activities in all of the 1980 additions to Denali National Park and Preserve.

Sobriety safety checkpoints will be set up within Grand Canyon National Park this holiday season in an effort to assure the safety of park visitors and residents.

Yellowstone National Park’s East Entrance will open to the public for the winter season as scheduled on Thursday, December 22.

Revised Spruce Railroad Trail Expansion and Improvement Environmental Assessment to be developed in 2012.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds used to benefit the environment

Programs for exploring nature with children and discovering the park’s backcountry will be offered this winter and spring at Wind Cave National Park.

Learn the art of snowshoeing and discover the winter wonderland of Paradise with a guided snowshoe walk beginning December 17. The Paradise snowplay area opening is delayed due to lack of adequate snow depth.

Yosemite National Park announces that Park Rangers will be staffing visitor centers in the gateway communities of Mariposa, Oakhurst, and Groveland from Saturday, December 17, 2011 through Monday, January 2, 2012. Park Rangers will be helping to staff the Mariposa Visitor Center, the Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau in Oakhurst, and the Yosemite Chamber of Commerce in Groveland. The hours of each of the visitor centers varies.

Grand Canyon National Park’s Trail of time was recently honored with a National Association for Interpretation Media Award – first place in the Wayside Exhibit category.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park welcomes volunteers to participate in the nationwide Audubon Christmas Bird Count.

Current conditions are not adequate to support snowmobile use and travel is not recommended on any lake surface.

Superintendent Eric Brunnemann has announced that the Ben Reifel Visitor Center at Badlands National Park will be closed on Sunday, December 25 and Sunday, January 1.

Contractor to begin dam demolition work on Monday, December 19.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park got an early Holiday gift on December 14, when the Friends of the Smokies officially transferred 20 acres of new land to be added to the Park.

Artist in Residence, Bill Brody, will demonstrate his artwork and talk to visitors about his large scale landscape paintings

The Oral History Collection at Yellowstone National Park contains recordings made by people from all walks of life who have visited the park, or worked or grown up in the area.

Yosemite National Park announces the extension of the public scoping period for the Mariposa Grove Restoration Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will close on Friday, February 3, 2012. The socping her period has been open since August, 2011. The Mariposa Grove is the largest of the three giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) groves in Yosemite National Park and was part of the original Yosemite Grant signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864 (the rest of the grant included Yosemite Valley). The park is asking for the public to help park managers identify issues and concerns that they would like considered for preparation of the EIS.

Due to decreased visitation, some services will be reduced or ended for the winter season, announced Superintendent Jock Whitworth.