Infos querbeet zu NPs, NMs, SPs, etc.

250th Anniversary of the American Revolution

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Commemorating 250 Years of Revolution in Boston

2025-2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Siege of Boston (1775-1776). Following the first shots at Lexington and Concord, colonial forces laid siege on Boston for 11 months while the British Army tried to maintain control of the town and the harbor. This siege was the first chapter of the eight year war for American Independence.

Join the National Parks of Boston as we commemorate significant moments of this siege and consider how successive generations of Bostonians looked to this pivotal moment as inspiration in later political and social movements.

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More National Park Service Sites Announce Hour Reductions And Campground Closures

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National parks continue to make changes. Cancelations are ongoing, along with delays for visitors following the layoffs. Concerns are also growing over US National Park campground reservations, with several parks delaying the process, or keeping quiet about future plans.

In the following, we have the very latest on National Park closures and hour changes. Some parks have changed availabilities, while getting rid of certain activities altogether.

We'll take a closer look at that situation, and what visitors can expect when heading towards the likes of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, and Denali National Park and Preserve.

National parks have announced more closures, along with a change in the hours. This trend continues to grow following the layoffs that have taken place across national parks in the US. The layoffs are expected to extend throughout March and into April.

Denali National Park and Preserve also made a major announcement, canceling all youth camps for 2025. Curecanti National Recreation Area is also set for some changes.

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This Is the Quietest Trail in the U.S. - and It Follows a Stunning 76-mile Scenic River

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For peace and quiet, head to Nebraska's Niobrara National Scenic River.

True silence is something most people rarely get to enjoy. Even when we're exploring seemingly remote places, human-made noises can still reach our ears, be it airplanes buzzing overhead or the distant rumble of a highway. That's why Quiet Parks International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving silence, started identifying, evaluating, and recognizing the quietest parks and trails in the world.

The first trail in the United States to receive the rare “Quiet Trail” designation is a watery one: the Niobrara National Scenic River, located near Valentine, Nebraska. The nationally protected waterway is a popular destination for river recreation—from canoeing on calm, early-morning water to floating on tubes with friends. But, it is also surprisingly quiet.

The trail was awarded Quiet Trail status in October 2023. To earn the designation, qualitative and quantitative sound data was collected from the river over two years.

“Our testing process is very exact," Gordon Hempton, cofounder of Quiet Parks International, said in a statement. "Beyond collecting standard acoustic data, each team member must agree, unanimously and unhesitatingly, that natural quiet prevailed throughout the testing period. The Niobrara River’s splendid geologic landscape, unusual atmospheric conditions, and outstanding wildlife all contributed towards a positive outcome,”

The 76-mile Niobrara National Scenic River stretches from Valentine, Nebraska, to just north of Newport, Nebraska. It is also where six major ecosystems converge, resulting in around 160 plant and animal species. The presence of a diversity of wildlife only makes the waterway’s role as a quiet escape even more important; quiet places benefit all living things, not just overstimulated humans.

“Quiet is rare globally, as 97 percent of the U.S. population faces noise pollution from sources like aviation and highways," said Susan Cook, a superintendent at Niobrara National Scenic River. "Destinations where one can experience the pure sounds of nature are becoming increasingly scarce, so we are thrilled to be able to offer this at Niobrara National Scenic River."

While Niobrara National Scenic River is the first Quiet Trail in the U.S., it does have two international counterparts. There's Cuifeng Lake Circular Trail in Taiwan's Taipingshan National Forest as well as the Montañas Vacías Bikepacking Trail in Spain. Trails around the village of Finnhamnen in the Kvarken Archipelago of Finland and Haleakalā National Park in Hawaii are currently being evaluated.

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San Francisco eröffnet neuen Küstenpark Sunset Dunes

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San Francisco hat mit dem Sunset Dunes Park ein neues Naherholungsgebiet geschaffen. Der rund 20 Hektar große Küstenpark am Ocean Beach entstand aus einem gesperrten Highway und verbindet nun laut Tourismuswerbern Erholung, Kunst und Naturschutz.

Wo zuvor Autos fuhren, sind künftig Spaziergänger, Skater und Radfahrer unterwegs. Mit dem Sunset Dunes Park wurde in San Francisco ein 3,2 Kilometer langer Abschnitt des früheren Great Highway dauerhaft in eine Strandpromenade umgewandelt. Die neue Anlage verbindet den Golden Gate Park mit dem Zoo am Sloat Boulevard und erstreckt sich über 20 Hektar direkt an der Pazifikküste.

Bereits während der Corona-Pandemie hatte die Stadt den Highway provisorisch für den Autoverkehr gesperrt, teilt San Francisco Travel mit. Daraus entwickelte sich ein Konzept, das nun als Kaliforniens größtes Fußgänger-Umbauprojekt umgesetzt wurde.

Der Park setzt auf ein klares Leitsystem, das Wege für Fußgänger und Strecken für zügigere Aktivitäten trennt. Mit farbigen Wandmalereien und Skulpturen wolle man dem Ort einen künstlerischen Charakter verleihen, so die Macher. Zudem sorgen in Sunset Dunes Hängematten, Sitzbereiche, Outdoor-Fitnesszonen und Parcours für Abwechslung.

Neben der Freizeitnutzung spielt laut San Francisco Tourism auch der Umweltschutz eine Rolle. Bereits im Februar pflanzten Freiwillige über 1.500 einheimische Strandgräser zur Stabilisierung der Dünen und zum Schutz vor Erosion. Weitere Renaturierungsprojekte seien geplant, um die Artenvielfalt zu stärken.

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Blue Ridge Parkway Begins Virginia Pavement Preservation Work

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Parkway Visitors Can Expect Single-Lane Closures in 21-mile project area

The National Park Service announced today that approximately 22 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia will be resurfaced this summer as part of a pavement preservation program on the historic motor route. Work is expected to start next week and continue through this September. Visitors that encounter active work zones can expect short duration, single lane closures. Work will take place from milepost 122, at US 220, to milepost 143, near Pine Spur, including paved overlooks.

As with any road project, motorists and park users must exercise caution. In the interest of visitor safety, park visitors are asked to:

Check the Parkway's Alerts and Conditions page for regular updated work zone information.

Expect delays while work takes place Monday through Friday. Lane closures will be managed with flagging operations and a pilot car to lead traffic through work zones.

Observe reduced speed limits in work zones, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; to maintain safe operations and allow for proper curing of pavement.

Anticipate loose gravel on the road surface during pavement curing times. Bicyclists and motorcyclists are asked to exercise extreme caution as loose gravel on top of the paved surface, during the required curing time, could result in loss of control. On-site message boards will advise against bikes.

When circumstances prevent bicyclists from keeping up with traffic, dismount and move off the road to let the on-coming traffic pass when traveling through a single lane closure.

Contractors will work in short sections and repeat the resurfacing process as they move from section to section of the full project. The steps in this process include prepping the surface, applying a chip seal surface of liquid asphalt and stone chips, allowing the surface to properly cure, vacuuming the work area to minimize loose gravel, applying a fog seal on top of the chip seal surface, and finishing by painting new road marking lines. The process will then repeat on the next section of the project.

The Blue Ridge Parkway inventory of paved roads includes bridges, tunnels, parking areas, spur roads, service roads, campground, and picnic area roads, in addition to the 469-mile Parkway motor route itself. Given the large inventory of paved surfaces along the Parkway, and to effectively invest available funding, the pavement preservation strategy focuses on keeping the good sections good and returning fair sections to good condition.

Pavement preservation is a regular road maintenance strategy in national parks. Studies find that for each dollar spent on pavement preservation between $6 and $10 in future pavement rehabilitation costs are saved. Funding for road maintenance in national parks, including the Parkway, comes in large part from the Highway Trust Fund, which is derived from a federal gas tax managed by the Federal Highway Administration.

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This California Waterfall Is Called the '8th Wonder of the World'—and It Reopened After 9 Months With a Gorgeous New Trail

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The trail to the Burney Falls at McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park is open again to visitors. Here's how to see it responsibly.

The National Park Service reported a record 331.9 million visits in 2024, showing just how much we are all craving getting a little time outside with Mother Nature. However, we sometimes love Mother Nature a little too much, which was the case with one particular site in the McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park in Northern California, which was forced to close several trails for nine months for repairs after its record-breaking visitor numbers.

But now, the trails are back and ready for (responsible) action—and will lead you to arguably one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the nation.

Located about a five-hour drive north of San Francisco, travelers can explore the park's five miles of trails, several of which lead to and around the 129-foot Burney Falls, which the park website says "is not the highest or largest waterfall in the state, but possibly the most beautiful."

The park's site additionally explains that the water for the falls comes from its underground springs, flowing to Lake Britton, "getting larger along the way to the majestic falls."

The spring months are, without question, when the falls peak thanks to additional spring rains and snow melt. This helps push more water down its face, flowing over moss and ferns, tumbling into a crystal clear pool at the base, giving a truly picture-perfect experience.

It's such a beautiful scene that visitor numbers swelled from 250,000 to over 350,000 annually over the last few years, according to Active NorCal. And that excessive use caused the 1.1-mile Burney Fall Loop Trail and the 2.6-mile Burney Creek Trail infrastructure to fail, creating a potentially dangerous environment for visitors.

California State Parks quickly took action, closing the trails for the better part of 2024 as part of an $835,000 project to repair both. It also worked in tandem with Caltrans' multi-million-dollar Highway 89 improvement project, which is also the main route to access the park and trails.

And just as the parks department estimated, everything is now back up and running at the park just in time for the spring and summer season. However, California State Parks is warning people: "McArthur Burney Falls State Park experiences extremely high visitation beginning in April and continuing through October. Most weekends all summer, the park will fill to capacity, and entrance into the park is subject to closure due to limited parking availability."

It added that would-be visitors should expect traffic delays "for up to an hour prior to entering the park due to the increased visitation experienced at this park."

Still, if you're up for an early-morning adventure, or time your trip well, it could all be worth it. After all, it's such a beautiful sight that former President Teddy Roosevelt even nicknamed it "the eighth wonder of the world." Just make sure to abide by the Leave No Trace Principles to keep this place as pristine as you found it.

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