The Ranger Desk
Begin your outdoor journey at The Ranger Desk: a resource for parks and all things wild.
Recent Essays
Take time for your mental health. When we wake up and are not okay, we should all have the right to take a Karen Day.
"They are monsters": these words showed me one side of the Israeli people. A message of hope and a shared love of birds showed me another.
Discover 10 wild facts about Everglades National Park, including the best time to visit and how to breakfast with manatees.
Learn lessons from the dead: take a trip to Shiloh Battlefield, where an abandoned ancient village sits amid the relics of war.
Ever wonder how to stay safe in bear country? Here are seven safety tips and several bear stories from a former national park ranger.
Discover the best hidden gems on the Olympic Peninsula. Explore unique scenery and heritage in two (or more) can't miss stops.
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.
To embrace the inevitable chaos of travel, accept that something will always go wrong. And learn to roll with the changes.
When you need help, tell people. When I was injured and limping on trail, I asked strangers for help. What happened next surprised us both.
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.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park oversees a whopping ten percent of the world's total coral reef ecosystems and is the size of Japan.
Lincoln Park is Chicago's largest park, spanning over 1,200 acres and over seven miles along the shores of Lake Michigan.
Craters of the Moon is known for its ancient lava formations, including some of the largest open rift cracks in the world.
At nearly 45,000 sq km, Wood Buffalo National Park is larger than Switzerland and the second largest national park in the world.
Independence National Historical Park is made up of several sites important to the founding of the United States.
Slide Rock State Park is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Arizona and regularly makes national lists of favorite water holes.
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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.
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.