Author Archives: Eric R

Merced River Plan Could Transform Most Popular Parts of Yosemite

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Stoneman Bridge – Credit: Jim Goldstein

The comment period for the Merced River Plan will end tonight. The Merced River Plan will drive a number of changes to the park around the Merced River, affecting everything from how many visitors the park can accommodate to the number of campsites.

This plan is separate from the plan to expand Yosemite National Park, and focuses on how to preserve and restore space existing in the park. This summary document (5.6 MB PDF) provides a good overview to the 6 alternatives (including the “do nothing” option). Continue reading →

10 Least Visited US National Parks System Properties – Part 2

Continuing yesterday’s post on the least visited National Parks, here are the bottom five. Ranging from a single former residence to a couple remote Alaskan parks, this is a diverse collection of rarely visited national treasures.

5. Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial Continue reading →

10 Least Visited US National Parks System Properties – Part 1

Looking for some elbow room this summer when travelling around? How about checking out the least visited U.S. national parks.

This list is a pretty eclectic mix – you might think they would all be located in remote areas or Alaska, but in fact many are near major population centers, and even within the city limits of some large cities! Granted, not all of them are parks in the vein of Yellowstone or the Great Smoky Mountains – one is a single building, and some monuments or historical sites are former manors or other properties preserved for their importance in history, not necessarily their natural beaty. But they are all under the National Parks system. Continue reading →

Bill Could Expand Yosemite National Park by 1,600 Acres

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A bill, likely timed to correspond with National Parks Week, is currently in front of Congress which could expand Yosemite National Park by 1,600 acres, or about 2.5 square miles.

The Pacific Forest Trust, a non-profit land trust, has reached an agreement with a group of private landowners to sell land that both parties own to the National Parks service to add land along the Merced River to the park. This would fit in with the vision John Muir originally had for the boundaries of the park, but timber and land interests won over conservation 120 or so years ago. Now, this move could win out over local residential development efforts as subdivisions are being built near this land now.

While Yosemite is over 760,000 acres, meaning this addition amounts to only about 2% more space, this land is being sold below market value, and it will help conserve this scenic area and river for all to access and enjoy.

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National Parks Week Is This Week – April 20-28, 2013

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national-park-service-logoThis week is National Parks Week in the U.S., and at CampingBlogger, we’re going to celebrate with a series of posts focusing on the parks, with stats, information and more about the great U.S. parks system.

One big feature of National Parks Week is free admission from April 22 to April 26. Continue reading →