Go west, young man! This historic cliché still resonates when it comes to road trips. But whether it's bombing to the Bay Area along the often dull-as-dirt I-80 or trying to find traces of iconic Route 66 amid a tangle of bland Interstates, the old paradigm of thinking horizontal when planning a road trip is simply not the way to go.
A massive herd of caribou grazes the Arctic tundra. Sea birds fatten up on shellfish along the Chesapeake Bay before flying thousands of miles to winter in South America. A pod of orca glide past Pacific islands blanketed in fir and cedar as they hunt for salmon.
A national park ranger fell to his death on Mount Rainier Thursday afternoon while assisting in the rescue of four injured climbers.
A great road is a great road, but if you're riding a motorcycle, you're looking for something special: twisties, vistas, turnouts, that perfect stretch of smooth tarmac, and biker-friendly stops that make getting there most of the fun. Here are 10 of the best roads across America for an unforgettable motorcycle journey:
Members of the U.S. military and their families are now eligible for free annual passes to national parks and monuments as part of a program timed to celebrate Armed Forces Day on Saturday, the White House announced.
The National Park Service said Saturday that the National Christmas Tree located just south of the White House has died due to complications from "transplant shock."
CNN's John Zarrella takes us on a tour of the Florida you don't see in all those campaign stops, but probably should.
Soak up history and the outdoors this weekend with a fee-free visit to a national park. All 397 national parks will waive admission fees Saturday through Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Obama administration on Monday announced a 20-year ban on new mining claims on more than 1 million acres of public land near the Grand Canyon, a move meant to protect the iconic landmark from new uranium mining.
National park officials said Monday afternoon that the man found dead in Washington's Mount Rainier National Park is Benjamin Colton Barnes, the suspect in the shooting death of park ranger Margaret Anderson the previous day.
Authorities scoured the national park around Washington's Mount Rainier on Sunday for a man they say fatally shot a park ranger and fled into the woods, a park spokeswoman said.
On November 7, Great Falls in Paterson, New Jersey, became the latest addition to the national park family. After a long fight by Paterson residents and officials to have the 77-foot waterfall recognized, their dreams were fulfilled -- partially -- by Monday's agreement. There remain years of work to mold Great Falls around National Park Service standards, but the will, and the funds, can now be brought fully to bear on the project.
CNN's Brian Todd has new video from inside the Washington Monument when the earthquake hit August 23.
A team of engineers will delay until Wednesday their plans to rappel down the sides of the Washington Monument, a photographer for the contractor said Tuesday, citing bad weather as the cause.
The Washington Monument remains "structurally sound" and is "not going anywhere," a top National Park Service official said Monday, announcing the result of a comprehensive assessment of the structure's interior.
The CNN Espanol studio in Washington shook during the earthquake that was generated near Mineral, Virginia.
The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island will undergo renovations totaling more than $27 million beginning in late October, according to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.
The National Park Foundation will match donations totaling up to $2 million for a memorial in Pennsylvania commemorating United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed on September 11, 2001, after hijackers took over the plane, according to an official of the fundraising effort.
Neighbors of Brian Matayoshi react to his death after he was attacked by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park.
The grizzly bear that attacked and killed a man in Yellowstone National Park acted in defense, park officials said on Thursday, adding that they have no plans to kill the bear.
A man was killed by a grizzly bear Wednesday morning at Yellowstone National Park, according to the National Park Service.
A fast-growing wildfire in southeast New Mexico prompted the evacuation Tuesday of White City, a small community on the outskirts of the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, a fire official said Tuesday afternoon.
These 12 lakes go to all the right extremes -- highest, deepest, clearest -- and showcase nature at its most spectacular. Soak up the views from a boat, a cable car, a trailhead or a castle tower.
Summer in the U.S. and Canada is all about road tripping. Here are 7 of our favorites, some well known, others following country roads that only locals usually travel. All of them have plenty of room for improvisation.
An average of $32 million a day in national parks revenue could be shut off if the Beltway showdown results in a government shutdown, officials say.
It took us hours of heated debate, weeks of research, and years of experience to whittle down America's monuments to a definitive list of 15 musts for anyone under 15. Not only are these attractions fun and (shhhh) educational, they're especially magical through the eyes of a child.
Spring is in the air, and now, on the ground. CNN talked to garden experts to get the scoop on this year's best destinations to view beautiful, budding flowers.
Scores of law enforcement officers are scouring rugged terrain in Utah for a wounded man they say repeatedly shot a park ranger, authorities said.
As the only African American permanent ranger in Yosemite National Park in California, I often lament that I'm more likely to meet visitors from Japan or France than I am to see an African-American family from nearby Sacramento or Oakland. So I couldn't be more appreciative of my recent opportunity to lead Oprah Winfrey through this national treasure for a two-part television special that airs Friday and Monday.
Dave Paladino, who was with the missing hikers, shares his thoughts on their condition. KETV reports.
Three experienced hikers were rescued from California's Mount Whitney, but a father and son in a separate group are missing, the National Park Service said.
Rescue workers in Utah have found the wreckage of a small plane that crashed Friday night, killing two park rangers on board.
"I commend you for wanting to try the Cinder Cone trail," the park ranger said ominously at the visitor center of Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California.
A pair of brush fires broke out within two hours of each other Wednesday afternoon on New York's Staten Island, closing part of a national park.
Check out these 10 scenic spots to swim, float and soak in the sun at the West's amazing national parks.
The majestic views overlooking the Grand Canyon make it one of America's favorite destinations, but a new report finds several man-made threats are contributing to the deterioration of Grand Canyon National Park.
A fire at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming continues to spread in the same area where a 2001 fire burned at the park.
There is at least one bright spot amid this otherwise wretched job market: The National Park Service is hiring!
A French tourist is recovering after falling 75 feet into the Grand Canyon, hospital officials said Saturday.
Vice President Joe Biden visited Grand Canyon National Park on Tuesday to check in on construction and maintenance projects being funded by stimulus money meant to help kick-start a struggling economy.
A southern Colorado wildfire ignited two weeks ago by a lightning strike has burned nearly 5,000 acres, a national park spokesman said Monday.
Authorities shot and killed a grizzly bear that mauled a 70-year-old man near Yellowstone National Park, a Wyoming Game and Fish Department spokesman said Saturday.
The case of a war memorial shaped like a cross in the California desert got stranger Thursday when someone erected a replica after the original disappeared 11 days ago.
A war memorial shaped like a cross that has been at the center of a Supreme Court fight has been torn down by vandals from its remote perch in a California desert.
A cross in the Mojave Desert becomes the subject of a Supreme Court fight, as Kate Bolduan explains. (From 2009)
The Supreme Court narrowly ruled Wednesday that a white cross, erected as a war memorial and sitting on national parkland in the Mojave Desert, does not violate the constitutional separation of church and state.
It takes $25 per car before visitors driving into Grand Canyon National Park can enjoy its spectacular beauty, but the price of admission is going away -- for just a little while.
No offense to the nation's capital, but the landmarks of our heritage extend far beyond the District of Columbia.
A wildfire in Yellowstone National Park has grown to 9,300 acres and closed a section of the main road through the park, but Yellowstone is still open and National Park Service officials said Monday there was no danger to travelers.
Audrey Peterman grew up surrounded by Jamaica's verdant mountains and lush mango orchards. She'd watch fish and an occasional shrimp dart in the stream that flowed near her house. When she settled in America, she yearned to relish the natural beauty of her new homeland.
From Yellowstone National Park to the Everglades, America's 391 national parks are in need of repair -- and thanks to the economic stimulus signed into law, help is now underway.
Millions in stimulus money is going to National Parks for repairs and renovations. CNN's Kate Bolduan reports.
Joe Wasilewski drives along a narrow stretch of road through Florida's Everglades. The sun is setting, night is coming on quickly, and Wasilewski is on the prowl for snakes -- and one snake in particular.
Search teams combing the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona found a body on Saturday believed to be that of a missing 20-year-old hiker, the National Park Service said.
Our most protected lands -- and the dramatic drives that give access to them --are all too often conga lines of taillights and tourists. These four itineraries revive the majesty.
A man died after his car plunged 600 feet off the edge of the Grand Canyon's South Rim, authorities said Tuesday.
The crown of the Statue of Liberty will reopen to tourists on July 4.
The crown of the Statue of Liberty will re-open to tourists on July 4, the Interior Department said Friday.
It's hardly a bailout, but the federal government is hoping that waiving fees at national parks will help boost local economies across the country.
A chain link fence now stands between Tim Lambert's land and the impact site of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed here on September 11, 2001. The property has been in Lambert's family for almost 80 years.
It's that rare vacation moment when everyone is happy at the same time. And all it took was an old-fashioned train in a remote Arizona town and a singing cowboy leading the kids in a spirited rendition of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm."
Conservationists claimed one of their most significant victories of the new administration Monday as President Obama signed sweeping land reform legislation designating 2 million additional acres of public wilderness areas.
Juan Lopez reads meters with one eye and looks for snakes with the other. Lopez is a member of the "Python Patrol," a team of utility workers, wildlife officials, park rangers and police trying to keep Burmese pythons from gaining a foothold in the Florida Keys.
Burmese pythons are making a land grab and there's only one way to stop them. CNN's John Zarrella reports.
More than 14 months after they fled fighting between rebel and government forces, park rangers who monitor mountain gorillas in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo have returned to the reserve.
Visitors love driving Oregon's coast, but it's a shame not to get out and hike the stunning landscape, too. Here are several trails to get you started.
In March of 1997, hiker Bill Maddrell set off on a solo trip down the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, a well-worn ribbon that slices through 14 states, eight national forests and six national parks from Maine to Georgia. Determined to walk the entire 2,176 miles, he took a 60-pound backpack, but his relatives thought that wasn't enough. "They asked me if I was going to carry a gun," he said.
A trip through sweltering Alabama to experience some of the civil rights movement's most important sites brought history books to life for my family and me.
A look back and a sneak peak at a key site in civil rights history.
"A moose!" exclaimed my 10-year-old son Matt, "A real moose!"
Critics fear the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will adopt a rule in the waning days of the Bush administration that will make it easier to build coal-fired power plants near national parks
I'm at the Blue Ridge Arsenal in Chantilly, Virginia, the biggest gun store in northern Virginia. I'm looking at a holster on the hip of Arsenal's John Summer in which a black .22-caliber pistol sits snugly.
The development of a Revolution Center in Valley Forge National Historical Park provokes vigorous opposition from preservationists and local residents
Yellowstone officials face fierce criticism for slaughtering bison to prevent the spread of disease.
More than half of Yellowstone National Park's bison herd has died since last fall, forcing the government to suspend its annual slaughter program.
Dirk Kempthorne, the Secretary of the Interior, opens valves at Glen Canyon Dam to release water into the Grand Canyon.
As December storms paint Bryce Canyon National Park with fresh snow, you won't find a more beautiful winter landscape anywhere in the world.
With help from the NRA, nearly 50 Senators are pushing to end a two-decade-old rule forbidding people from openly carrying firearms in most national parks
Like many Vermonters, Deborah Lisi-Baker enjoys the outdoors. "I've always loved the wilderness and the woods. It's very serene. It clears your head just to get to appreciate all the sounds and colors and shapes."
The U.N. has taken the Florida swamp off its endangered list. But critics complain the Bush Administration is playing eco-politics again
This remote, relatively unknown region hides a fascinating, unique landscape. In "Travels with Charley," novelist John Steinbeck says of the area: "It was so beautiful that I stopped near a thicket of dwarfed and wind-warped cedars and junipers, and once stopped I was caught, trapped in color and dazzled by the clarity of the light."
CNNMoney: The call of the wildupdated: Wed Jul 06 2005 13:45:00
Hotel rates are on the rise this summer according to a recent study by consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers. That's just another reason to skip the room service and polish up those tent poles.
Two elderly hikers with more than 30 years of hiking experience were missing in California's Sequoia National Park late Thursday, two days after they were to have returned from their outing.
One day after she was fired, former U.S. Park Police Chief Teresa Chambers accused the Bush administration Saturday of silencing dissenting views in the rank and file.
The Statue of Liberty, which has been closed to the public since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, is set to partially reopen on August 3, Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced Wednesday.
Whether it's because fireworks have lost their fizzle or beaches seem ho-hum, some travelers are turning to Revolutionary War-era sites to celebrate America's birthday and savor a unique summer vacation.
Several of the nation's national parks are choking on bad air, according to a report released Thursday by a coalition of conservation groups.
This summer, instead of elbowing for room around Old Faithful or vying for a picnic table with a Grand Canyon view, consider packing up the family and pointing the car toward some of America's lesser-known national parks.
The Statue of Liberty, which has been closed to visitors since the September 11, 2001, attacks, will be reopened shortly, national park officials told Congress on Thursday.
Unless you live in Minnesota or maybe one of its neighboring states, you've probably never heard of Itasca State Park, which is located in a fairly remote area of Minnesota's northwest quadrant.
Unless you live in Minnesota or maybe one of its neighboring states, you've probably never heard of Itasca State Park, which is located in a fairly remote area of Minnesota's northwest quadrant. An...
Winter always poses a travel conundrum for me--I don't like to ski, and I go quietly out of my mind if I'm stuck on a tropical beach with nothing to do. Basically, what I want to do in winter is th...
Several years ago I embarked on a lengthy cross-country drive. I tend to be rather statistics-oriented--okay, geeky--so when I got home and friends began asking about the trip, I was ready with a l...
If you've read Lost in America with any regularity, you've probably figured out that I love road trips, especially if there are small towns, offbeat roadside attractions, undiscovered eateries and ...
Money Magazine: June Travel Buysupdated: Thu Jun 01 2000 00:01:00
--CAMPING The National Parks Less Traveled.
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