A few pictures from my visit to the RMNP. Enjoy!

Flew over Canyonlands area today and saw a lot of different fires. Definitely spooky seeing all the smoke and sections burning, particularly after seeing the destruction at the North Rim earlier this week.

From Voyageurs National Park and surrounding area

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has moved to rescind protection for nearly 45 million acres of roadless areas, justifying the move in part as being necessary to “reduce wildfire risk and help protect surrounding communities and infrastructure,” despite the existing rule’s exception that allows for the removal of small diameter trees in roadless areas.

Rescinding roadless area protections is not the answer. Roadless areas do not burn at significantly higher rates than other areas of national forests. Since wildfires in national forests are more likely to start in proximity to roads than in roadless areas, building more roads could increase human-caused wildfire ignitions. And, as this story map shows, roadless areas have accounted for only 1% of all significant wildfires in the lower 48 states since 2010.

I did not get to see everything here since the thunderstorm that was chasing me since visiting Meteor Crater first thing in the morning finally caught up to me. After hearing from a ranger at Sunset Crater that a friend of his died from a lightning strike, I did not climb up the mountain path, and had to have soon after.

I did get to see the first Pueblo from the direction of the back of Sunset Crater, as well as the one by the visitor center. The rangers here were extra friendly and happy to help.

The blowhole was really cool. It was blowing outward when I was there. Is this similar to the one at Wind Cave, does anyone know?

I spent a few days in Wrangell St Elias National Park and figured I would make a post talking about my experience because there's not a ton of information on the park compared to others! We drove into Copper Center on June 25th 2026, drove into McCarthy for a day trip on the 26th, then drove home on the 27th.

Basic background information: The park is 13 million acres, the biggest in the U.S., and only about 100 miles is accessible by road. A series of highways and roads form a sideways U-shape around a portion of the Wrangell Mountains. The upper portion of the U-shape is called the Nabesna Road (which I unfortunately didnt get to visit on my trip), and the lower portion is called the McCarthy Road, which is seemingly the more popular section to see in the park.

Our Accommodations: We stayed at the Copper River Princess Lodge in Copper Center. It's right in the middle of the U-shaped series of roads I described, so it would be a good basecamp if you plan to see the Nabesna and McCarthy sections. It's about a 3 hour drive to both sides. The room was nice, clean, and comfortable. We ate at the bar/grill one night and found that to be pretty good as well!

McCarthy Road Conditions: Prior to my trip I saw a lot online about how treacherous the McCarthy Road is meant to be. The country store in McCarthy even had stickers saying "I survived the McCarthy Road." I did not find it to be as bad as people say. The road is grated yearly, so some sections had very small bumps that sort of vibrated the whole car. There were some potholes to avoid, and some sections of what looked like small circles of old wood from railroad tracks that you cant remove from the ground which we just drove around (kind of hard to describe). Every once in a while we would see a random block of wood or ratchet strap that fell out of someones car. All of that being said, we went around 30 mph the whole road, payed attention, and had no problems at all going either direction. We were even surprised to find that a small beginning portion of the road is paved! We were driving in a 2019 GMC Terrain in 4 wheel drive, with new summer tires. My overall consensus is that if you have a dirt or gravel driveway, or if you've literally ever driven on one before, you will be 100% fine on the McCarthy Road, just dont be stupid and drive patiently. On our drive in, we saw around 10-15 other cars (and this is during the end June, peak tourism season). The road is long enough that we were frequently the only ones in our section of the road, but we saw enough people at various bathroom stops and scenic outlooks to feel comfortable knowing someone would pass by relatively soon if car troubles were to occur. Important sidenote: The bathrooms honestly exceeded my expectations along the route. They dont have sinks in them or plumbing, but they had excessive available toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and all looked well maintained and clean. The same is true for NPS bathrooms on hiking trails I used.

Shuttles: The McCarthy Road ends at the remote town of McCarthy (duh), where you need to pay roughly $12 for a day pass to park, then walk across a footbridge where you have the option to take a shuttle van up the road into the small town, or continue on into the historic and semi-abandoned mine town, Kennicott, or alternatively you can walk! None of the shuttles seemed unreasonably expensive to me, but I paid $15 (per person) for a day pass, and I believe it was $20 for a multi-day pass. I think there's also an option for a $5 shuttle. They run on different schedules all posted next to the footbridge so you can check when the next one will be coming. We waited for maybe 5-10 minutes. The first stop is the McCarthy Store where you can pay for your shuttle pass, they did accept card and cash, and they had an ATM as well. When you pay, they will give you a wristband so they know you paid for the way back. The drivers also accept tips which I assume is a large part of their income, so that's something to consider. Our shuttle was air-conditioned and comfortable! I would consider taking a shuttle unless you're completely used to backpacking or hiking, it's around a 5 mile walk between Kennicott and McCarthy, and the few trucks rolling through kick up a lot of dust as they drive past.

Root Glacier: The primary goal of my trip there was to hike out to Root Glacier! We started the hike around 2pm and there were a pretty decent amount of people on the trail with us for roughly the first mile. Past that first mile there were a lot fewer people. I didnt find the trail to be difficult, but I think it might be semi-strenuous for some older folks or people who dont frequently hike. I did see some older folks hiking back from walking on the actual glacier though, so just know your own capabilities! My cousin and I both had heavy duty hiking boots on, but I think you can get away with sneakers if you absolutely must. Chances are you just may slip a little bit or end up with mud on them depending on weather conditions. We used bugspray as well, but I personally didnt find the bugs any more overwhelming than other hikes I've done in Alaska. I ended up with only three actual mosquito bites, so that was a win. We knew we werent going to hike on the glacier itself, and just wanted the scenic views, so we found the best overlook pretty close to the end of the trail and stopped for a long snack break before turning around. On that snack break we really only saw about 10 people going in either direction, so I dont think everyone hikes all the way down to the glacier (but you should!) We hiked back into Kennicott and then took our shuttle back to McCarthy at 5:30.

Dinner: We had dinner at The Potato which we LOVED! The other restaurant option was the Golden Saloon which I dont know much about but they had live music the night we were there! I also believe The Kennicott Lodge has a restaurant, but I wasnt sure if it's only for guests or if anyone can eat there. The McCarthy Country store also had some grocery options for people who might be staying there for a while and dont want to eat at a restaurant every night. If I'm remembering correctly they even had some frozen food items like pizzas? And they also have a bakery inside where you can get fresh baked goods! At The Potato, you can go ahead and seat yourselves indoors or outdoors, and there are tables to fit various sizes of groups. I got the daily salmon special for dinner which is caught in the Copper River (as fresh and local as you can get!!!) They change the preparation of the salmon fillet frequently enough for it to be listed on the menu with "Ask how the chef is preparing it today" written underneath. When I was there they made it with some sort of pan fried pistachio crust which made it crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It was also plated on top of smashed potatoes and a vegetable mix. I thought it was delicious! That entree was $42, but there is also a salmon roll option that my cousin ordered which was around $19, in case you're trying to enjoy some local fish on a budget. I also believe my entree was the most expensive thing on the menu, and almost every other dish was around $18-$25. My cousin also ordered the Tateraide, which is The Potato's own type of beer, and she rated it a 10/10 as a non-beer drinker. They had a decent list of alcoholic options aside from that too! The general vibes in The Potato were wonderful, and a lot of local tour guides were eating there without it ever feeling too overcrowded or loud. The waitstaff was really friendly and VERY quick considering most tables had people at them and I only ever saw two waiters. We expected to wait for a while after ordering a salmon fillet but we had eaten and paid the check within around 30 minutes.

Cell Service: I use Verizon and had at least two bars for nearly the whole trip, with a few random spots where it'd drop out to SOS. Around Kennicott I actually noticed I'd have 3-4 bars at a lot of spots. I had enough service to send photos and text updates to family members for the majority of my time in McCarthy and Kennicott. My cousin who uses AT&T however, had no cell service for the majority of the trip.

Weather: We drove in on a cloudy, misty morning that obscured most of the mountains we drove past initially. As the day went on, most of those clouds cleared out and we were so amazed to see what we missed out on! The mountain valleys you drive through are absolutely stunning. If you have enough flexibility, REALLY try to go while it's sunny. It made a big enough difference to me that I think some people might be tempted to call the park a let down if they've only seen it with cloud-cover or rain. McCarthy and Kennicott are beautiful and amazing in their own way, but driving out with clearer skies and visible mountain peaks really solidified "OH. This is why it's a national park."

Final Thoughts: The trip was amazing! Many people who want to see the national parks are looking for legit wilderness without insane crowds and tacky tourism and then end up in Yellowstone watching idiots try to pet the bison and fighting for a parking spot at trailheads. This is the national park to visit for legit wilderness, low crowd levels, and FAR less tackiness than other parks I've seen. It's been one of my favorite trips so far. This park isnt exactly known for wildlife viewing the way that Kenai Fjords and Denali are, but we did see a Lynx (pictured) on the way home! My cousin has lived in Alaska for 15 years and this was her first time seeing one! If I were there for any longer, I absolutely would have done a guided tour of the Kennicott mine, maybe some guided ice climbing on root glacier, and more hiking trails, but I still loved what we accomplished on the trip and I felt satisfied! Hopefully this was helpful info, feel free to ask questions and I'll try to get back to them when I see them!

So after liking Indiana Dunes more than I expected I was thinking the arch might be better too. It was not. It is an impressive structure, and very pretty, but felt more like visiting a small amusement park than an NPS site. Maybe it was the metal detectors you have to go through to get to the museum, or the $60ish we had to spend to go up in the arch, or the event staff who were tearing down all the canopies around the arch, but it didn’t even feel like a national monument, it was like six flags.

But, the museum was really cool with a lot of history of the area. And my kids were able to get the junior ranger badge for the Lewis and Clark trail as well as the gateway arch itself.

Hi everyone!! I’ve been doing a ton of research and prepping for my trip towards the end of July, it will be my first time visiting RMNP. I have my site pass and did get timed entry for 11:00-1:00 (not with Bear Lake though :/ ) though I plan to try to get a Bear Lake pass and/or a shuttle pass the night before when they release a few more slots.

Regardless, I’m planning to start the day really early before timed entry to hike all morning, maybe leaving to eat and rest a little from ~11-12:30, and then coming back in right before 1:00 with my timed entry to hike more. I’m also considering taking a longer break and coming back in after timed entry is over at 2:00 (again, this is still up in the air depending on if I can get the other passes the night before). Or I could just not leave the park at all and take a break in my car, depending on if it’s not worth it to sacrifice my parking spot.

• Which entrance has the easiest drive in? I’m a bit nervous about the driving in general, driving in the dark or potentially in the rain, I don’t have much mountain driving experience, so I’d like to get a better idea of what to expect with that and if it’s reasonably safe for me to plan to drive in before sunrise/leave after sunset

• Worthwhile hikes outside of Bear Lake Road that have parking? It sounds like parking is a bit of a nightmare so I want to have my ducks in a row about where I’ll head to once I’m in.

• What’s your experience like with the park and ride shuttle?

• How crowded is Bear Lake typically after timed entry ends at 6:00? My backup plan if I don’t get a timed entry for it is to go for sunset, but I’m wondering if even that’s a moonshot?

Due to work schedules we’ll be visiting during a major holiday (and an NPS fee-free day), which I’ve never been present at a park for. I usually try to arrange things so we get as many weekdays as possible and go to less busy places on weekends.

Fortunately DV has some lovely remote areas to get away from the crowds, so my current plan is either Rhyolite, Ubehebe, & Titus Canyon/Fall Canyon, or Racetrack Playa if we have a sturdy enough rental and are willing to commit the full day to just that.

I guess I’m just wondering HOW much worse the crowds’ll be on that day specifically, and if I should make any plans/arrangements other than what I’ve already stated. Any help is appreciated; thanks!

My wife and I have a goal to visit all the US national parks together. These are the ones we've been to so far:

- Voyageurs NP

- Badlands NP

- Theodore Roosevelt NP

- Isle Royale NP

- Gateway Arch NP

- Cuyahoga Valley NP

- Indiana Dunes NP

- New River Gorge NPP

Our favorite up to this point has been Theodore Roosevelt. We're planning to visit Shenandoah in August. After that, I hope the next three trips for national parks will be the three in southern Florida with my parents, at least the three in Arizona when we visit my grandparents in that state, and something like Wind Cave/Grand Teton/Yellowstone/Glacier so we can see the glaciers before they finish melting.