The Ranger Desk
Protect parks. Protect park rangers.
Recent Essays
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.
Butterflies, children, and guns. How a terrified child's question about butterflies changed the way I thought about migration and borders.
Why are there no stupid questions to ask a park ranger? Because the biggest questions provide the biggest opportunities to learn.
The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon up to 4,000 feet deep that delineates the border between the states of Oregon and Washington.
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Popular Essays
Interested in US national parks? What about living a wild life? Get started with these popular essays.
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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.