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.

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.

In the early days of US national parks, rangers did it all–built trails, fought fires, caught poachers. What do park rangers do today?

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.