The Secret Lives of Parks

Of Hawks and Hellcats

For most national park enthusiasts, a who’s who of early park champions might include names like John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt and Stephen Mather, among others. One notable 

Parks and the Art of Paying Attention

Study after study has shown that time in nature enriches us mentally and physically. Just a couple of hours outdoors each week can improve our mood, reduce our stress, bo

The Bird Nerds of Big Ivy

Neotropical migratory songbirds spend the winter in Central and South America and travel each spring to their breeding grounds in the U.S. and Canada. These species are t

Florida’s Untenable Alcatraz

In late June, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that the state was moving forward on plans — negotiated without public or Tribal input — to build a tent-b

The Sum of Its Parts

Earlier this month, the National Park Service had a major victory in a place you’ve probably never heard of and didn’t know was in danger. The focus of this good news is

Return to the Bat Cave

Over a decade ago, an explorer conducting surveys at Grand Canyon National Park noticed what appeared to be an opening in a red rock cliff face high above him in the park

Squeezed Thin: Park Staff in Upheaval

Multiple staffing crises are harming the National Park Service, including mass layoffs, a hiring freeze, forced retirements and delays in onboarding seasonal employees —

Bonus: On the Trail with Amy

On April 18, the National Parks Conservation Association will host a 10-day silent auction. As part of this fundraiser, The Secret Lives of Parks cohost Jennifer Errick i

On the Road Again... and Again

To celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service in 2016, journalist Conor Knighton visited all 59 capital-N, capital-P parks in one year — turning that experienc

The Angel of Glen Echo

The Clara Barton National Historic Site in Glen Echo, Maryland, was the first national park site created to honor a woman and one of just 13 such sites across the country

Save the Dinosaurs

Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah is the original Jurassic Park, created 110 years ago to protect a trove of more than 1,500 fossils, including the Allosaur

Photographing Parks After Dark

“Half the park is after dark.” This phrase was coined by the astronomer and artist Tyler Nordgren in 2010 as part of a series of posters he created of nightscapes at publ

A New Park for an Old Hero?

The Mojave Desert of Southern California is a place where creatures move and grow at a slow pace. In this vast, harsh landscape, the desert tortoise has served as a hard-

A School Year on Wheels

Have you ever dreamed of living on the road and exploring national parks for months at a time? One Minnesota couple uprooted their lives to go on a year-long adventure wi

The Woman Behind the Weekend

If you enjoy having time off on the weekend, you can thank the woman who standardized the 40-hour workweek and made the concept possible. Frances Perkins also created Soc

In the Footsteps of Grizzlies

Since childhood, award-winning author Kevin Grange has been fascinated with one of the most fearsome and misunderstood predators on the continent: grizzly bears. His pass

For the Love of Dog

Our pets are family, and when we travel, it only makes sense that we want to bring our dogs with us. Many national park sites are ideal places for our canine companions,

It Takes a Village

Last month, several hundred people gathered in Greenwich Village to celebrate the opening of a new visitor center at Stonewall National Monument and to honor the movement

Before the Gate

On the remote Sea Islands of South Carolina, golf courses and gated developments are changing the rural character of some of the first African American-owned lands in the

A Brief Shining Moment

They say the stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Texas... but what about the middle of the day? Not just any day—in this episode, we experience the rec