Welcome

There are nearly 400 parks, preserves, historical parks and battlefields, monuments, historic sites, memorials and other units that are part of the National Park Service of the United States in 2010. They attracted about 285 million visitors in 2009.

Since 2002, University of Miami journalism students have prepared a series of about 390 pages of feature articles, photographs, maps, lists, and multimedia content.

Our stories, images, and multimedia content tell you about the activities, environments, scenic rivers and recreation areas, the unusual places, monuments, historical sites, cultural heritage, museums, nearby places, and the people of Our National Parks.

We hope you will find our work interesting and worth reading and viewing.

We are currently planning our spring 2010 parks project. We will be visiting the New Orleans area and Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve and the New Orleans Jazz Historical Park. We will also develop new content about the four South Florida parks and preserve as well as our latest look at national issues and concerns involving the national parks system. We will have more details about our current projects soon.

In fall 2009, we visited Yosemite National Park in Northern California. For a quick look at one of our focal points, Yosemite Falls, click on the video above. We continued our on-going work focusing on our home region parks of South Florida. Writers visited Everglades, Dry Tortugas, and Biscayne national parks as well as the Big Cypress National Preserve. We also added to our collection of stories about the parks sites in New York. In all, we have prepared nearly four dozen new stories, photographs, narrated multimedia slide shows and video, and information graphics presentations.

We also reported and wrote a series of new stories in fall 2009 focusing on current issues facing the U.S. national parks system. We published a similar series of stories in 2008 and 2007 for our readers.

The name of our site comes from the ground-breaking 1901 book by naturalist John Muir, Our National Parks. It is in the spirit of Muir's life-long effort to preserve some of America's most remarkable wilderness spaces that we have developed this journalistic work.

We remind our readers that the information in these articles was current when it was posted, but information may have changed as time passes. Each article that we prepare has a posting date at the top right of the page. Conditions in the parks change as well. Always check for changes in fees, facilities, hours of operation, dates, and other information before traveling.

Featured Parks and Locations

		Yosemite Valley and Yosemite National Park We spent some time in Fall 2009 exploring Northern California's Yosemite Valley, the heart of Yosemite National Park. We focus on present-day activities such as bicycling and hiking and we look at the people and natural life of one of America's most-visited and long-beloved national parks.
		San Francisco Bay national parks and recreation areas During two recent trips to the San Francisco Bay area, we visited national parks, recreation areas, and historic sites. We focus on Alcatraz, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods, Point Reyes National Seashore, the area’s maritime history, and the area’s remarkable culture.
		The U.S. Virgin Islands National Park During our trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands, we visited the national park and national monument on St. John Island. We focus on activities such as snorkeling, kayaking, exploring secluded beaches, and hiking the trails around St. John. We introduce you to the people and places of the islands, their unique history, and wonderful cultural offerings.
		Issues and Problems facing Our National Parks This unique section of our Web site examines many of the most pressing issues and problems that involve our parks at both the national and regional levels. A new set of stories is being prepared this fall and we offer our work from 2008 and 2007. We talk to park officials and experts about funding, safety, preservation, and other concerns.

Photographs and video by Bruce Garrison. Statue of Liberty photograph courtesy of the National Park Service.