In the high-altitude forests of southwestern New Mexico is an important Indigenous cultural heritage site. Here at Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, visitors can learn about and see several cliff dwellings built by the people of the Southern...
Looking to spend a day exploring trails full of petroglyphs and a desert teeming with life and signs of an ancient volcanic past? If you love cultural sites, geology, and desert landscapes, Petroglyph National Monument is a great place to spend a day...
Emily Pennington // Western National Parks Association Winter, for some, means curling up indoors with a good book, and for others, it means zooming down the ski slopes, feeling the wind on your cheeks. However, we’d like to suggest a less-expected...
Looking to spend a day exploring trails full of historic pueblos and cultural sites and a high desert teeming with life and signs of a recent volcanic past? Wupatki National Monument is a great place to spend a day or two enjoying Northern Arizona’s...
Roger Naylor, thecelebrated and award-winning Arizona travel writer, has released a new book: Arizona National Parks and Monuments: Scenic Wonders and Cultural Treasures of the Grand Canyon State. The book is a beautiful travel companion for anyone...
Indigenous peoples have traveled through and stewarded the area now known as White Sands National Park since at least 21 thousand years ago, when they left footprints that later fossilized. The park is on the ancestral land of the Mescalero Apache...
Looking to deepen your understanding of Indigenous heritage on the Southern Plains and reflect on the history of the American West? Washita Battlefield National Historic Site preserves the location of a Cheyenne winter village that was destroyed in a...
If you’ve been outside during dawn or dusk, you may have been lucky enough to spot a bat on the wing. These fascinating creatures are the only mammals in the world that fly, and more than 1,400 different species can be found throughout the world. Learn more about why bats are so important, and how you can watch these creatures in a national park.
America’s national parks are getting unbearably crowded. Here are a few throng-free alternatives that we adore. Emily Pennington // Western National Parks Association As someone who spent a year on the road traveling to and writing about every...
Sea creatures a quarter of a billion years old. Massive prehistoric mammals. Footprints from some of the first humans to walk the continent.These fossils tell the ancient stories of our national parks, and bring us back to times well before recorded...
