# 8 Grand Teton National Park The National Park Service has released visitor counts for the top parks in the system. This includes the most visited places and the most visited national parks. There are no surprises for most of the names in the Top 10 lists. Despite losing nearly 1.2 million visitors from 2011 because of Hurricane Sandy, Gateway National Recreation Area in New York still made the Top...

North to Alaska By Roger Toll From the open platform of the dome car, we could see ridges, glaciers, neighboring peaks, but the tallest mountain in North America was playing hide and seek. “Is that Denali?” a child asked her father, pointing to a white pyramid floating on a blanket of cloud. We were on Alaska Railroad’s popular Anchorage-to-Fairbanks run. The train had pulled out at 8:30 a.m....

One of the best ways to see the wonders of Alaska’s Prince William Sound and the Kenai Fjords National Park is on a boat with someone who knows them well. Tour boats that ply the glacier-lined waters of Southcentral Alaska are floating classrooms. National park rangers stand by the railings, ready to answer any question about the birds and sea mammals nearby. Captains, as familiar with the pristine...

The Grand Teton National Park protects stunning mountain scenery and a diverse array of wildlife. Adorned with glaciers and snowfields, the Teton Range is unquestionably the park’s central feature. The mountains abruptly rise above the sagebrush valley of Jackson Hole and create a rugged, picturesque backdrop. A diverse array of wildlife complements the impressive mountain landscape. Elk,...

There’s no excuse for not make a free visit to one of our 397 national park in 2012. The National Park Service will  waive admission fees all week long from April 21 to 29. Additional free admission days this year include: Get Outdoors Day, June 9 National Public Lands Day, September 29 Veterans Day weekend, November 10 to 12 Learn more about our national parks.