The Ranger Desk
Begin your outdoor journey at The Ranger Desk: a resource for parks and all things wild.
Recent Essays
There are countless Native American cultural sites for visitors to explore in the Pacific Northwest. Here are some of the best.
Discover national parks that celebrate American Latino heritage, a community whose stories and culture are woven into the fabric of America.
"What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" The line is not a call to action, but a call to inaction. A call to be free.
Play: it's not just for kids--it's for adults, too. Research shows that play combats depression. Discover ways to add play to your life.
When nature calls: National parks are being overwhelmed with human waste. Here are the reasons why and how not to be a part of the problem.
"You can't climb on her!" a child called out. The forest giants of Bernheim Forest are so realistic they entrance the child in all of us.
Five reasons to be hopeful about climate change--the global outlook for climate action is no longer doom and gloom and here's why.
How to talk to climate change deniers about climate change, including reasons to hope and when to give up and move on.
Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage is celebrated in America's national parks. Here are three such parks, and links to many more.
Featured Essay
Ranger Stephanie (who started this site) recently discovered the missing piece to her park ranger origins. Find out what that is in this month’s featured essay.
Many people have asked why I became a national park ranger, but I never had a story to tell. Until now. Here is my park ranger origin story.
Today the Göreme Valley brings in visitors who want to see its rock formations as well as those interested in its architecture and history.
At over 1,300 acres, Forest Park in St. Louis is one of the largest city parks in the United States, larger than Central Park in New York.
Acadia National Park was the first national park east of the Mississippi River and remains the only national park in the northeastern US.
César E. Chávez National Monument oversees property donated by the Chávez family, including César and his wife Helen's home and gravesites.
The mountain forests of Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve attract millions of butterflies each winter.
Valley of Fire State Park, the largest state park in Nevada, is renowned for its colorful rock formations, petroglyphs, and scenic highway.
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Popular Essays
Interested in US national parks? What about living a wild life? Get started with these popular essays.
Want more? Peruse an archive of All Essays.
Being a park ranger is not as dangerous as people think, but it can be. My most dangerous ranger job was climbing the side of a cruise ship.
Learn what an interpretive theme is and what it isn't. A theme is not a topic. A theme is the glue that binds the topics together.
An interpretive park ranger conveys a park's story. Every park has a story, a reason that it was protected and staffed with park rangers.
Learn the twelve must-haves for your wilderness first aid kit, including items not found in a traditional first aid kit.
As a former ranger, I'm often asked how to become a national park ranger. These are my tips for prospective park rangers.
In the early days of US national parks, rangers did it all–built trails, fought fires, caught poachers. What do park rangers do today?
Stephanie McCullough
A former US national park ranger with a master’s degree in environmental education, I created The Ranger Desk to share my passion for national parks and the natural world.