National Parked

Acadia winter closures begin

Acadia NP Comments Off

Oct 242012

Winter season closures are beginning in Acadia National Park. On October 31, Hulls Cove Visitor Center and Sand Beach Entrance Station will close for the season. Beginning on November 1, information will be available every day at the Winter Visitor Center at park headquarters on Route 233, except on Thanksgiving Day, December 24 and 25, and January 1. In January and February, the Winter Visitor Center will not be open on weekends.

Park Loop Road will close on December 1 unless there is a major snowstorm before then. When it is closed, there are two miles left open, from Schooner Head overlook to Otter Cliff Road. Access to this section is via Schooner Head Road in Bar Harbor. Jordan Pond can also be accessed via Jordan Pond Road in Seal Harbor. During November, park roads may close temporarily depending on the weather.

Bear kills hiker in Denali

Denali NP Comments Off

Aug 262012

Denali National Park officials confirm that a solo backpacker was killed by a grizzly bear along the Toklat River the afternoon of Friday, August 24. A wallet with probable identification of the victim was found near the kill site, and NPS rangers are working to make positive confirmation and notify next of kin.

It should be noted that this is the first fatal bear attack ever reported in the park. Millions of visitors have a safe and wonderful experience in Denali. The park requires all backcountry visitors to are required to particpate in “Bear Aware” training. With caution and common sense, the vast majority of visitors have no issues. At the same time though, it must always be remembered and respected that you are in a wild and untamed place, with no guarantee of safety. Most people would consider that one of the best draws of a national park.

Katmai seeks new bridge to avoid “bear jams”

Katmai NP Comments Off

Jun 162012

Katmai National Park officials are studying possible plans to replace the bridge over the Brooks River near Brooks Camp. The current bridge is a floating, temporary span that is installed at the beginning of the tourist season, and removed in the fall. Anyone who has visited the park has likely heard the term “bear jam”. Brown bears are very active near the bridge area, and if they are too close, the park closes the bridge temporarily. This can strand visitors on one side or the other, often for several hours. While it is one of the endearing quirks of the park, a more permanent and convenient plan to cross the river is being studied.

Fremont River waterfall area closed for summer

Capitol Reef NP Comments Off

Apr 042012

Fremont River waterfall in Capitol Reef National Park The Fremont River waterfall area in Capitol Reef National Park has been closed to public access, and will remain closed throughout the warm months. This is a very unfortunate thing, because, in our opinion, it’s one of the more unique things to be seen in the region.

However, this feature is not a natural one. It was created when the river was rerouted for the construction of Utah Highway 24. The river has since cut a deep slot in the sandstone above the falls, resulting in a very scenic, but quite dangerous area. The area closure resulted from three nearly fatal incidents in the summer of 2011.

While it’s understandable that the park service needs to protect visitors, it’s unfortunate that everyone loses access to this beautiful area. Frankly, it’s very obvious that the area is dangerous, and that swimming there is a terrible idea. Nevertheless, apparently people do it anyway. Because of this, everyone, even those able to exercise care and common sense, can no longer make this area part of their visit. I’ve personally been to this area several times, and never felt in danger. But then, I exercise common sense. This area is no more dangerous than hundreds of other sites in the national parks. Perhaps now, when people drive by this spot and see it closed, they will think twice before doing dumb things at other areas.

HD video pages and clips updated

Site News Comments Off

Mar 182012

We have finished a complete replacement of our HD video clips. Our cameras recorded all of these scenes in full HD 1080p, but we had edited and uploaded them in 720p. They have all been re-encoded and uploaded in full 1080p. The embedded player on our video pages is now internally hosted through our own gallery site. Within each page there is also a link to view the same video on Youtube. We encourage you to also subscribe to our National Parked channel on Youtube for the easiest way to know when we add new videos.

Big Oak Flat Road to reopen earlier than expected

Yosemite NP Comments Off

Mar 082012

Big Oak Flat Road in Yosemite National Park is expected to reopen at 6AM on Saturday March 12th. This is a full month earlier than was expected. Once work was begun, it was found that the damage was not quite as bad as thought. Also, the very mild winter weather allowed crews to work 24/7 on the project. The remaining minor work will be completed while keeping the road open. There may be occasional short delays with one lane at a time closed for the next few weeks.