The Ranger Desk
Begin your outdoor journey at The Ranger Desk: a resource for parks and all things wild.
Recent Essays
Where to stop on the Blue Ridge Parkway: North Carolina, featuring ten must-see spots along the parkway's southern half.
I am often asked how I became a park ranger at US national parks. Here's how the greatest adventure of my life began.
Our fears have much to teach us. Instead of pushing them away, learn how to embrace your fear of hiking alone.
All-terrain wheelchairs have arrived in many parks in the US and beyond. But are hiking wheelchairs coming to a park near you?
As a former ranger, I'm often asked how to become a national park ranger. These are my tips for prospective park rangers.
Some people speed along trails; I meander. If I went any faster, I would miss out on so much. Here is why I love hiking slowly.
Time in nature is my favorite way to practice mindfulness. Learn to be fully present with these five ways to be mindful in nature.
A few years ago in a grad class, a fellow student made a statement that floored me: “LGBTQ people can’t work in national parks."
Read a former Zion park ranger's answer to the question of what to do in Zion. Here are five ranger tips for Zion National Park.
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.
Kaziranga National Park is the premier place in the world to see certain animals in the wild, like tigers or rhinos.
One of the top tourist attractions in New York City, Central Park is visited by an estimated 42 million visitors every year.
Created by Congress in 1832, Hot Springs National Park was set aside as a recreational space years before national parks were invented.
Nicodemus, Kansas is a town originally built by African Americans who migrated from other states after the end of Reconstruction.
Victoria Falls National Park is about 23 square kilometers (9 sq miles) of rainforest, river, and the largest waterfall on Earth.
Walden Pond is famous as the place where Henry David Thoreau was inspired to write his classic work Walden.
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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.