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The Grand Canyon faces threats from every side.

The national park's namesake tree may be designated endangered

The rarely visited national park is home to tropical beaches, pristine coral reefs, some untapped surf, and not much else. Matt Skenazy went exploring and found a few good waves and a lot of mysterious South Seas mojo.

In which Wells Tower braves the rain, smog, and peak-weekend hordes of Great Smoky Mountains National Park to give his three-month-old son a first taste of nature’s sweetness

A new initiative gives complimentary national park access to every fourth-grader in America. Can a class field trip turn kids into lifetime fans of the outdoors? Mike Kessler hops on the yellow bus—and endures high-decibel Bieber sing-alongs—to find out.

John Muir rhapsodizing about Yosemite is one thing, but Ian Frazier has had it with people calling their favorite outdoor spots “cathedrals,” “shrines,” and “sacred spaces.” The false piety detracts from the real task at hand: seeing these places as they actually are.

With the Parks becoming more bike-friendly, choice trails are opening up everywhere—including in 
this California gem. Here’s how we roll.

We found the guide-worthy gear. The fishing skill is all on you.

New ways to get lost, beat the crowds, and find the perfect summer adventure

Ten essentials for going vertical

Base-camp comforts for the whole family

Hawaii's 33-room Volcano House got a multimillion-dollar face-lift

The best way to see a Yellowstone few people ever do

For long-distance trail runners looking to play like antelope, it is heaven with a hydration vest

Take an Alaskan wilderness safari

The founder of Latino Outdoors is looking for the next generation of advocates

At Death Valley’s Furnace Creek Inn, it looks like you’re on the moon but feels like you’re in heaven

Three standout series capture the national parks

Bringing the national parks to the 21st century

Webcams have changed the way we interact with the wild

Get lost, in a good way

Grab a wetsuit and a paddleboard, and hit the little-visited lakes on the park's western edge

Here are a few of our favorite things about all it has to offer

It’s not all fun and games in the parks

There's a bounty of other amazing sights in the park system—beyond the national parks

The name may have changed, but all the stuff that made it legendary is still here

The 100-mile stretch along the Gulf Coast is full of adventure

A three-day, 33-mile canoe float through Boquillas Canyon, the farthest-flung and mellowest route in the park

Circumnavigate St. John by sail, then revisit the gems with a paddleboard and a towel

Hipcamp allows you to easily find and reserve great campsites nationwide

A ten-summit high-altitude climb in Grand Teton National Park

NatureBridge allows kids to see that the parks are their world

An increasingly popular but unforgiving route

And it’s coughing up the cash to make that happen

The Park Service connects with the next generation

A 36-mile ride, through five ecosystems, to the top of the volcano and back

The most rewarding section of the Pacific Crest Trail

All you need is some crowd-ditching, trail- and river-running, wonder-inducing intel

But first, get comfortable climbing in situations where you might fall

A 92-mile ride above the Colorado and Green Rivers in Can­yonlands National Park

And Charles Lindbergh’s grandson thinks he’s found a quieter way to fly

It’s time to move beyond the divide between conservation and recreation

The only in-park brewery offers an unadulterated (and alcoholic) taste of our public treasures

A new generation of classic national parks posters are frame-worthy

Climbing rangers In Yosemite, Denali, and Grand Teton are helping Sherpas become better guides

When a group of canyoneering beginners were swept away in a flash flood last September, it was the worst disaster in Zion's 97-year history. And it illustrates a growing question: How far should national parks go to keep their visitors safe?

With its high peaks and pristine forests, there are few places more beautiful for cycling than Rocky Mountain National Park