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National Parks

A section of the Historic Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona.

Cool Finds

A New Project Tells the Stories of the Women of Route 66

An oral history project with the National Park Service follows women on the iconic highway

The site where the historic Stonewall Inn was located will now be the United States' first National Monument to gay rights.

Trending Today

President Obama Just Created the First National Monument to Gay Rights

The Stonewall National Monument tells the story of LGBTQ struggles in the United States

The lighthouse on Loggerhead Key in the Dry Tortugas

Cool Finds

A Lucky Artist Will Be Marooned on a Deserted Island

An artist-in-residence program invites applicants to consider spending a month alone in paradise

Hal Rumel, Red Canyon, near Entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, ca. 1940

How Photography Shaped America’s National Parks

Jamie M. Allen explores how conservation and consumerism have impacted America’s natural heritage

The view looking into the Shenandoah Valley can be hugely obscured by haze.

Age of Humans

Even in ‘Pristine’ National Parks, the Air’s Not Clear

And cleaning it up might take centuries

Look up—there's more to the Grand Canyon than geology.

Cool Finds

Grand Canyon Turns Down Its Lights to Become a Dark Sky Park

Star gazers, rejoice—the skies above the Grand Canyon will never lose their sparkle

Trending Today

Five Landmarks Threatened by Climate Change

Will a warming planet destroy humankinds’ most precious cultural treasures?

Rocky Mountain National Park, CO

The Best National Parks for Wildlife Spotting

Plan your national park visits around prime viewing hours

Watkins photographed vistas like the valley’s Half Dome.

How an Obscure Photographer Saved Yosemite

The beauty of the national park became clear long before Ansel Adams

A mother and baby bison in the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

Trending Today

Baby Bison Euthanized After Tourists Try to “Save” It

Don’t touch the wildlife

Trending Today

Why You Might Start Seeing Disney And Other Brands in National Parks

Relaxed rules on donor recognition could allow corporate sponsors to fund items within National Parks

Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in the park. But what gives it its vivid rainbow colors?

The Science Behind Yellowstone’s Rainbow Hot Spring

The Grand Prismatic Spring might seem photoshopped, but there’s very real science beneath its vibrant colors

The iconic brochure format was designed by the man responsible for New York subway signage.

Cool Finds

Want to Browse Some National Park Maps? There’s a Site For That

Can you guess the most popular map?

Scarface is dead—long live Scarface.

Trending Today

Yellowstone’s Most Famous Bear Is Dead

Who shot “Scarface”?

Ginseng roots

The Fight Against Ginseng Poaching in the Great Smoky Mountains

A profitable black market for the native shrub pits the National Park Service against poor residents of Appalachia

Switzerland

Here’s Where You Can Hike a Glacier (Before They’re Gone)

Read on for five of the world’s most stunning icecap experiences

Six miles to Racetrack, a million miles from civilization—except for the tea.

Cool Finds

Death Valley Has a Secret Shrine to…Tea

Take a kettle, leave a kettle at this remote junction

Smithsonian Best Small Towns 2016

The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2016

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, our top picks this year are all towns close to America’s natural splendors

The newly named Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument was ground zero for women's rights during the 20th century.

Trending Today

The U.S. Finally Has a National Monument That Honors Women’s History

144 Constitution Avenue is now one of the women’s movement’s most significant sites

Hoh Rainforest moss

National Parks

Is This the Quietest Square Inch in the U.S.?

An acoustic ecologist reveals his findings

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