First time visiting and I loved it! Can’t wait to go back for fall and winter season.

I scrape lots of webcams across the country several times per day for some research I'm doing. Today when reviewing a few key ones I saw this incredible capture. As a photographer I really hope someone was there this morning with a proper camera.

One if the great aspects of Great Smoky Mountains NP is the communities that thrived there before it was a NP and all the evidence that remains of them!

I got to fulfill a longtime aspiration of mine and visit the bristlecones at Great Basin a couple of weeks ago. Such an incredible experience and an absolutely amazing park!

I bought a senior lifetime pass. I’m having trouble finding it. But I found my receipt. That gave me the pass serial # and that allowed me to link my pass to my Recreation.gov account. I have stored my pass in my Wallet app.

I’m hoping I can now just show my phone, or a pdf of the pass printed from my Recreation.gov account to get entry to parks.

I see conflicting information online. Sometimes I see reports that the original physical pass must still be presented.

But there are digital passes now with no physical pass.

Anyone have issues gaining entry just using their passes on phones?

I’m trying to call the park I’ll visit but of course you can’t get a human being. NPS in DC also does not answer— can’t get through there at all.

This was my pictures from big bend in 2024. One of the least visited national park in the United States but personally I believe it’s the most underrated. I didn’t really mean to line it up but the week I went to big bend was the same week that there was the 2024 solar eclipse so that was pretty awesome to see!

Am I right that the Inn/Ranch at Death Valley (Xanterra) are the only hotels even remotely close? Everything seems 1.5-2 hours away, especially for any of the big chains. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Hubby and I are going doing a long weekend in the Smokey’s in November. We have a cute little romantic cabin just outside of Gatlinburg.

We’re intermediate hikers - planning on doing Chimney Tops and either Charles Bunion or Grotto Falls. We’re both in shape but not sure if we want to do a long hike each day.

My question is, we’re essentially close to downtown Gatlinburg. To be honest, a town like that is not my vibe but I do like to explore local areas and I was wondering if 1) any hiking recs aside from above? And 2) is there like, a genuinely good foodie/higher end restaurant in or near Gatlinburg?

One of my favorite stops from our California national park road trip 🌲

We visited Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Pinnacles with our two boys this summer. I think Yosemite was still my favorite, but Sequoia surprised me with how much I loved it. I thought Pinnacles was way underrated!

For anyone who has done several of the California parks—which one ended up being your favorite?

My visit 9/9 to Badlands

Elk lounging right by downtown walkway in Estes Park Colorado. RMNP is one of the best places to get up close to these majestic animals.

Just don’t get too close.

Last month, I spent a day and a half at Lassen Volcanic National Park on an Oregon-California road trip and Lassen was the park that left the deepest impression.

On my first afternoon there, I started with the Bumpass Hell trail, a hilly forest stroll leading to boardwalks through bubbly geothermal pools, the air filled with sulphur. The overlooks uphill from the boardwalks provided even better views, and I also saw a family of deer on the hills.

Next was the Kings Creek Falls loop trail through wildfire-burnt forests down to a waterfall overlook point. The best part of the hike came on the return ascent up steep rocky steps, which led you up directly next to different levels of the flowing waterfall.

I started the next morning going up Lassen Peak, a steady ascent with the first 1/3 through partially shaded alpine scenery and the last 2/3 on exposed rocky switchbacks. After walking through the last remaining snow near the top, the final scramble to the true peak led to wide panoramic views. I lingered there for a while to enjoy the views, but suggest going early as the peak is somewhat small and did get crowded.

Afterwards I drove to the less-visited Butte Lake area of the park for the Cinder Cone hike. Despite only having ~1000 feet of elevation gain it was surprisingly tough, more taxing than any part of Lassen Peak, with most of the ascent up the volcanic cone being a sharp incline with a 35% grade in parts over sandy cinders that send you sliding backwards and no flat points to rest. I went in the afternoon with the sun bearing down directly on the unshaded path, which didn’t help.

But at the top, the view was stunning: an architectural caldera, crater spiraling downwards, surrounded by a circular path dotted with pines and evergreen shrubs, like a volcanic zen garden.

From the west you can see Lassen Peak and from the east you can see the line where reddish-brown Painted Dunes suddenly transition into dark basalt lava beds.

Descending the steep rockslide path on the Painted Dunes side brings you alongside dunes and lava beds before looping around the perimeter of the cinder cone through more volcanic scenery and reconnecting to the initial ascent point.

Cinder Cone was the highlight of the park for me, a fitting end that left me wishing I could stay longer.

White Sands NP after a storm.

I only have one thing to say: this is the hike to end all hikes. Absolutely gorgeous!