The Ranger Desk

Parks

National, state, and local parks, as well as forests, wildlife preserves, national recreation areas, and museums: there are so many special places around the world worth exploring and protecting. Learn more about them and the people who care for them.

I quit the national park service for the same reason I became a ranger in the first place: to find and do what makes me happy.

Naturalist gatekeeping can frighten people away from trying new things. Lets encourage beginners to love what we love, not shame them.

This land tells a story: Booker T. Washington National Monument. Stand in the spot where a family of slaves learned that they were free.

Discover where to stop on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. Ten scenic stops and hikes along the parkway's northern section.

Why I became a Wilderness First Responder: how a scary accident taught me that doing your best is always enough.

My white privilege helped me become a park ranger. I feel safe in nature and in national parks when so many others don't.

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.

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.

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.