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Know Before You Go
A Visitor’s Guide to National Park Reservations
Arches, Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Shenandoah, Yosemite are among those addressing the long-term challenges of overcrowding with smart solutions to visitor use management.
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Blog Post
Yosemite Valley to Herself, After a Wait
Parks including Glacier, Rocky Mountain and Yosemite are using reservation and timed-entry systems to help manage heavy crowds — a problem that long preceded the pandemic. While these changes…
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Press Release
Yosemite Introduces Scaled Back Reservation System for Summer 2025
"Last year, over 4 million people visited Yosemite, with a more expansive reservation system in place. Smart planning doesn’t mean fewer people, just a better experience for all” -- NPCA…
More about Visitor Experience
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Read more about Don't Divide Our Habitats, Ecosystems and Communities
NPCA at Work Don't Divide Our Habitats, Ecosystems and Communities Oppose new walls and fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Read more about Casino Project Cancelled at Gettysburg
Victory Casino Project Cancelled at Gettysburg Local developer ends his third attempt to build a racetrack and casino near this hallowed Civil War battlefield.
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Read more about Save the Wild Natural Sounds of the Olympic Peninsula
NPCA at Work Save the Wild Natural Sounds of the Olympic Peninsula The Hear Our Olympics campaign seeks to protect the natural sounds of Olympic National Park, an ancient refuge from noise pollution in the Northwest.
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Read more about Local Stakeholders Give Strong Protections to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks
Victory Local Stakeholders Give Strong Protections to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks Plan finds a unique balance between conservation, recreation, and energy development, and shows just how much Utahans love their national parks.
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National Parks preserve our best, most magical places. Visit one and your heart rate slows, your stress-rate drops and you make memories to last a lifetime. Lets preserve our National Parks and make more of them! — Michelle
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Read more about Noisy Helicopter Training and National Parks Don't Mix
NPCA at Work Noisy Helicopter Training and National Parks Don't Mix Noisy helicopters and landing zones do not belong next door to our national parks, especially one with grizzly habitat and treasured wilderness. The Army has alternatives for training--and they use them now--but there is only one North Cascades National Park.
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Read more about Protect America's Coral Reefs from Irresponsible Development
NPCA at Work Protect America's Coral Reefs from Irresponsible Development Developers are looking to construct two different marinas in Coral Bay on St. John, US Virgin Islands, which is surrounded by the lands and waters of Virgin Islands National Park and Coral Reef National Monument.
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Read more about Find Your Voice
NPCA at Work Find Your Voice The Find Your Voice initiative engaged a new generation of advocates to speak up for parks through a series of special events and hands-on projects during the 2016 National Park Service centennial.
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Read more about Create a Marine Reserve at Biscayne National Park
NPCA at Work Create a Marine Reserve at Biscayne National Park A marine reserve will help protect the incredible resources of Biscayne for the benefit of all Americans, now and for generations to come.
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Read more about Grand Canyon Protected from Threat of Mega-Development
Victory Grand Canyon Protected from Threat of Mega-Development You helped to stop a massive development proposed just outside the boundary of Grand Canyon National Park that had the Park Service and park supporters worried about negative effects on the park—especially the dozens of fragile creeks, springs, and seeps that rely on underground water sources the development could have legally tapped.
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Read more about Proposed Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area
NPCA at Work Proposed Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area The Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area would include sites spanning four coastal counties: Matagorda, Brazoria, Galveston, and Jefferson. This region boasts natural areas, outdoor recreation opportunities, and historical sites. The proposed area would be built around a core of existing sites through coordinated management by public, private, and nonprofit landowners.
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Read more about Our National Parks Need Sound Science
Blog Post Our National Parks Need Sound Science The National Park System’s breathtaking landscapes and cultural and historic sites serve as living laboratories for science and discovery that help safeguard our nation’s legacy. Yet today, conservation and research science that support national parks are threatened.
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Read more about 4 Activities for Connecting Your Family to Nature
Blog Post 4 Activities for Connecting Your Family to Nature Try these fun ways to engage the whole family next time you’re exploring your favorite national park or place in nature.
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Read more about Helene Recovery, 7 Months After the Storm
Blog Post Helene Recovery, 7 Months After the Storm Recovery is underway at national park sites hit hard by Hurricane Helene in September 2024. We offer updates as visitors consider spring and summer travel.
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Read more about Your Guide to 3 Hikes Within the Rim of the Valley
Blog Post Your Guide to 3 Hikes Within the Rim of the Valley Get out there and make a connection with this land in California that could one day be part of the National Park System.
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Read more about 2025 Park Visitation: Prepare for the Unexpected
Blog Post 2025 Park Visitation: Prepare for the Unexpected In changes seen and unseen, we outline what you can expect when visiting a national park this year in light of recent changes in the federal government.
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Read more about 5 Reasons to Visit Katahdin’s New Contact Station
Blog Post 5 Reasons to Visit Katahdin’s New Contact Station Established eight years ago, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument will welcome the public to a new contact station this summer.
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Read more about Parks Are Being Dismantled Before Our Very Eyes
Blog Post Parks Are Being Dismantled Before Our Very Eyes Under the second Trump administration, we are in an unprecedented moment in the long history of national park protection. The situation has become dire, but a record number of park lovers are speaking up on behalf of parks.
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Read more about Lost Jobs, Broken Hearts and Harms to National Parks
Blog Post Lost Jobs, Broken Hearts and Harms to National Parks Employees terminated from the National Park Service Feb. 14 speak out to share their stories, frustration and anger — and how the loss of their dream jobs will affect our national parks.
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Read more about The Irreplaceable Value of National Park Service Staff
Blog Post The Irreplaceable Value of National Park Service Staff What would national parks be without rangers and other National Park Service staff? Certainly not the same parks you love to visit. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at why staffing resources should stay strong.
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Read more about How the New Administration’s Actions Will Affect National Parks
Blog Post How the New Administration’s Actions Will Affect National Parks Will there be a shortage of national park rangers this visitation season? Our policy experts weigh in on the latest developments.
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Read more about Sustaining Indiana Beaches
Resource Sustaining Indiana Beaches The scenic beaches of Indiana Dunes are disappearing. In order to sustain this critical asset to Indiana’s economy and quality of life, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must conduct a federal damage mitigation feasibility study.
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Read more about It Takes a Village
Podcast Episode It Takes a Village 55 years after Stonewall, one of the participants in the uprising shares his experience and celebrates the opening of a new visitor center.
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Read more about Transportation Funding in and Near National Parks: NPCA & Partners Field Guide to Federal Grants
Resource Transportation Funding in and Near National Parks: NPCA & Partners Field Guide to Federal Grants This guide was developed to provide National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) staff and partners the resources and contacts necessary to pursue federal funding for transportation and transit projects in and near national parks.
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Read more about Arches National Park: 2022 Pilot Timed-Entry Visitor Experience Survey Technical Report
Report Arches National Park: 2022 Pilot Timed-Entry Visitor Experience Survey Technical Report This Utah State University report provides the findings of a study of visitor experiences with the pilot timed-entry system implemented in Arches National Park in 2022.
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Read more about NPCA and Nature Valley
Video Series NPCA and Nature Valley Watch the full video showcasing Daniel Hernandez’s experience and learn more about NPCA’s partnership with Nature Valley and its impact.
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Read more about Hiking with Spoons
Podcast Episode Hiking with Spoons Three years ago, an outdoor lover in the Pacific Northwest went on a painful and frustrating hike and is now using that experience as a way to make the park more welcoming, especially for the millions of people living with disabilities and chronic illnesses. How can parks offer a truly accessible experience to people with different interests, needs and ability levels?
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Read more about Visualizing “Build-Out” in the Upper Delaware River Corridor
Resource Visualizing “Build-Out” in the Upper Delaware River Corridor Envisioning the future of the Upper Delaware River Corridor
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Read more about Hiking with Spoons
The Secret Lives of Parks Hiking with Spoons An advocate in the Pacific Northwest turned a frustrating hike into a mission to make parks more welcoming for the millions of people with disabilities and chronic illnesses.
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Read more about A Guide to Summer 2021
Resource A Guide to Summer 2021 As our national parks prepare to welcome record-setting numbers of visitors this summer, here's our guide for what to expect and how to plan ahead
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Read more about Don't Feed the Landfills
Infographic Don't Feed the Landfills Waste in national parks is an ongoing challenge where on average, nearly 70 million pounds is collected annually. Working with our many partners, we set out to address this mounting issue starting at Denali, Grand Teton and Yosemite National Parks.
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Read more about Growler Tracker
Resource Growler Tracker Have you heard the Growlers while visiting Olympic National Park? Let us know about it using our Growler Tracker tool.
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Read more about National Parks Via Metro-North and Zipcar
Resource National Parks Via Metro-North and Zipcar Plan your next vacation to a nearby national park with the help of Metro-North, National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) and Zipcar.
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Read more about NPCA & The Mission Continues Join Together to Protect Our Parks
Video NPCA & The Mission Continues Join Together to Protect Our Parks NPCA has been working with veterans organizations across the country to provide experiences and opportunities for our vets to enjoy and support national parks in their communities, and to speak up on behalf of these important places. One of those organizations is The Mission Continues, with which NPCA have worked with on projects benefiting parks and communities across the country. In February 2018, NPCA and The Mission Continues worked together on a park restoration project in South Florida.
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Read more about Pipelines and National Parks
Resource Pipelines and National Parks Congress is trying to make it easier to build gas pipelines through national parks.
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Read more about Positioning Pullman
NPCA/AIA Positioning Pullman Collaborative Ideas Workshop for America's Newest National Monument
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