California

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument

February 4, 2026 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument

California

Managed by U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management

Established 2015

344,476 acres

Website: https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/california/berryessa-snow-mountain-national-monument

Overview

North of the San Francisco Bay and west of Interstate 5, flat-topped 7,056-foot Snow Mountain sheds water into the Berryessa Valley and the Sacramento River. High elevations are dominated by conifers, while below there are oak-studded hillsides, canyons full of riparian trees, and rocky serpentine ridgelines where only specially adapted plants can tolerate the heavy metals in the soil. In 2024, the 13,696-acre Molok Luyuk (“Condor Ridge” in the Patwin language) was added to the National Monument since it contains evidence of human occupation dating back more than 10,000 years.

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Highlights

Cache Creek Wilderness, Knoxville Recreation Area, Nye Cabin, Prather Mill, Deafy Glade Trail, Redbud Trail

Must-Do Activity

In the portion of the National Monument run by the Bureau of Land Management, Cache Creek Wilderness is one of the main attractions for whitewater rafting and backpacking. Redbud and Judge Davis Trailheads off paved Highway 20 provide the easiest access for hikers. Further south, Knoxville Recreation Area encompasses rugged terrain for exploration with off-highway vehicles (OHVs). The northern portion of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument within Mendocino National Forest has a network of dirt roads that are also popular with OHV riders. In the far north, Hull Mountain is utilized by hang gliders.

Best Trail

In Mendocino National Forest, Deafy Glade Trail starts at a tiny roadside pullout along Fouts Springs Road where campgrounds were full of RVs getting ready for a motorcycle event. Our hike took us far from any road noise, past congregations of lady bugs that numbered in the hundreds as we waded across the frigid South Fork of Stony Creek and climbed steeply to the boundary of the 60,076-acre Snow Mountain Wilderness. The trail continues to climb 4,300 feet total to the summit over the course of eight miles. It is half that length with only 2,000 feet of elevation gain from the west via Summit Trail, although the last 1.5 miles of the access road may be impassable to vehicles.

Photographic Opportunity

From our turnaround spot on Deafy Glade Trail we got great views of the Rice Valley.

Peak Season

Spring

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Fouts Springs Road (Forest Road M10) is a well-maintained gravel road that crosses the National Forest west of Stonyford. That area is popular with OHVs, so keep an eye out for them. Further south, Highway 20 is a paved route to trailheads in Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, but four-wheel-drive may be required to access Buck Island Campground. The new Molok Luyuk section northeast of Clear Lake is reached by the gravel Walker Ridge Road that requires a high-clearance vehicle.

Camping

Mendocino National Forest manages Bear Creek Campground and Lower Nye Dispersed Campground, plus numerous others outside the National Monument boundaries. There are several campgrounds on Lake Berryessa, in addition to the ones at Clear Lake State Park and Cache Creek Canyon Regional Park.

Eldorado National Forest (California)

Muir Woods National Monument (California)

Nearest National Park

Lassen Volcanic

Explore More – How did the Berryessa Valley get its name?

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments

List

Top 10 of the 63 National Parks for Multiple Return Visits

January 28, 2026 Raven About The Parks 10 Comments

For years I have been helping my Mom visit National Parks and she enjoys seeing new places and adding a sticker to her National Parks water bottle. In June 2025, together we finally made it to Kobuk Valley National Park in Alaska (my last of the 63 National Parks and 401 of 433 NPS sites). Recently we went to Big Bend National Park, number 55 of 63 for her. It was my third visit there, but I hiked several new trails and it made me think about how there are so many different places to explore in some of the National Parks. I have returned to most of the parks in researching my travel guidebooks, so I thought I would make a list of my favorite ones that I keep going back to. I was surprised how the list varied from my rankings of the Top 10 National Parks and Top 10 National Parks for Hiking (click here to see all our Top 10 Lists).

If you or someone you love are interested in visiting the 63 National Parks, our travel guidebook A Park to Yourself makes a great gift!

10. Olympic (Washington)

So many trails to hike through ecosystems ranging from the coast to the alpine regions; after multiple visits, I am still hoping to make it to Staircase someday.

9. Yosemite (California)

You have to come in multiple seasons because spring is best for waterfall flow, Glacier Point and Tuolumne Meadows are closed in the winter, Half Dome has chains in the summer (reservations required), and Horsetail Fall only glows at sunset in late February (reservations required).

8. Great Smoky Mountains (Tennessee-North Carolina)

Countless trails to waterfalls (if you can find a parking spot), amazing fall foliage, the seasonal road closure to Clingman’s Dome, and backpacking the Appalachian National Scenic Trail all mean this a year round destination.

7. Grand Canyon (Arizona)

It takes good planning to visit both the North and South Rims in one trip, plus it is worth the long drive to see Toroweap (free online permit required). If you are able, hike to the bottom of the canyon or take a long float trip on the Colorado River.

6. Mammoth Cave (Kentucky)

There are many different cave tours to choose from and miles of trails to hike or backpack, plus opportunities to float the Green River.

5. Death Valley (California)

In my many visits I have avoided the summer, which is the only time to drive up to Telescope Peak, so I still need to return for that experience.

4. Rocky Mountain (Colorado)

The road across the park closes in the winter, when snowshoeing is still possible from many trailheads on both the west and east sides. High elevations open up for exploration after spring snowmelt, as does the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.

3. Big Bend (Texas)

A great National Park to hike and drive in the winter, the elevations of Chisos Basin are inviting when the desert heats up the rest of the year. I still want to canoe part of the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River.

2. Sequoia (California)

I prefer snowshoeing through the sequoia groves in the winter, when you can also reserve a bed in the Pear Lake Ski Hut. Summer melts the High Sierra for exploration, including Mt. Whitney (permits required).

…and finally the #1 National Park for multiple return visits:

1. Yellowstone (Wyoming-Montana-Idaho)

If you have never been to the world’s first National Park in the winter, then book your snow coach (or snowmobile) and lodging as soon as possible. It is very different than a summer visit and wildlife is still abundant (except bears). I have been to Yellowstone more than a dozen times and plan to return.

Honorable Mentions

Pinnacles (California)

There are two different entrances east and west that are a long drive apart, both have hiking access to different caves (check before going to avoid seasonal closures).

Theodore Roosevelt (North Dakota)

Most of us will not make it back to this remote corner of North Dakota, but it does have a North and South Unit, plus surprisingly good fall foliage.

Channel Islands (California)

Every island is different (I have backpacked overnight at Anacapa and did a kayaking tour of Santa Cruz) and I would like to see them all.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes (Hawaiʻi)

The unpredictability of lava flows mean that you might have to come back to see active eruptions, or maybe you want to make the strenuous backpacking trip to the top of Mauna Loa. Who wouldn’t want to return to the Big Island?

Wind Cave (South Dakota)

This is a personal favorite because of the Wild Caving Tour and free permits to backpack on the prairie with the free-ranging bison herd. The Black Hills keep calling me back.

Know someone who loves National Parks? Gift them our travel guidebook A Park to Yourself: Finding Solitude in America’s 63 National Parks.

Wyoming

Medicine Bow National Forest

January 21, 2026 Raven About The Parks 5 Comments

Medicine Bow National Forest

Wyoming

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region

1,403,892 acres (1,096,885 federal/ 307,007 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/mbrtb

Overview

Medicine Bow National Forest is spread across three separate units in southern Wyoming and another located to the north between the cities of Laramie and Casper. Within the latter unit is 10,272-foot Laramie Peak, a major landmark along the historic Oregon Trail. Snowy Range Scenic Byway (Highway 130) provides access in the summer to the high-elevation recreational opportunities found in the mountains. In 1995, Medicine Bow National Forest was administratively combined with Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grassland.

Know someone who loves the National Forests? Gift them our travel guidebook Out in the Woods so they can learn more about this and the 154 other National Forests.

Highlights

Snowy Range Scenic Byway, Brooklyn Lake Campground, Medicine Bow Peak, Lake Marie, Sierra Madres, Aspen Alley, Hog Park Reservoir, Happy Jack Recreation Area, Vedauwoo, Laramie Peak Trail, Continental Divide National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

Medicine Bow Peak stands at 12,013 feet within the Snowy Range near the Wyoming-Colorado border and has two steep, rocky trails to its summit which can be combined into a long loop. The 29-mile-long Snowy Range Scenic Byway cuts across this rugged landscape and is a great place for summer camping, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and backpacking. The road closes in the winter, but is still a destination for snowmobiling, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. Medicine Bow gets its name from annual tribal gatherings when ceremonies were held and mountain mahogany was gathered for bow making.

Best Trail

Vedauwoo Recreation Area is visible from Interstate 80 between Laramie and Cheyenne, but feels worlds apart. Its maze of boulders is a fun place to visit in the winter or summer (when the campground is open). The 3.2-mile Turtle Rock Trail circles the area, but it is more fun to climb around off trail. Near the end of winter, snow drifts pile six-feet-high next to ground swept bare. In the glens protected by the 200-foot-tall rock outcrops, snowflakes cling to the bare branches of aspen and maple trees, and stick in the needles of junipers, Douglas-firs, and ponderosa pines. Vedauwoo is an Arapaho word meaning “earthborn,” also the name of a nature spirit character in summer theater performances held here in the 1920s by the University of Wyoming. This forest was once depleted for telegraph poles and railroad ties before the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) planted 280,000 trees in the 1930s. It was used for over 50 years of military target practice, significant because there are unexploded munitions still in the ground. Vedauwoo is located near the Happy Jack Recreation Area, which at 8,640 feet is the highest point along Interstate 80 between San Francisco and New York City. This cross-country road was originally called the Lincoln Highway, hence the giant sculpture of Abraham Lincoln’s head at the nearby rest area.

Watchable Wildlife

After a cold day on the National Forest’s cross-country ski trails at Brush Creek (built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps) or Chimney Park, we always made it a point to stop in Saratoga where hot springs water is piped into the free outdoor Hobo Pool adjacent to the North Platte River. This area is a favored wintering ground for bald and golden eagles, so you may witness a flyover during your soak. Also watch for mule deer in town and a variety of waterfowl along the river. Moose, elk, and pronghorn (at lower elevations) are found in the National Forest. Black bears, mountain lions, coyotes, and red foxes reside here, too. Trout fishing in lakes and streams is a major draw to the mountains.

Photographic Opportunity

Lake Marie along the Snowy Range Scenic Byway is one of the most widely used photographs for tourism publications in this corner of Wyoming.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

Day use fees of $5 per vehicle (or America the Beautiful pass) apply at Vedauwoo, Tie City Trailhead, Happy Jack Trailhead, and the western terminus of Headquarters National Recreation Trail, as well as Sugarloaf and West Lake Marie Trailhead along Snowy Range Scenic Byway.

Road Conditions

The gravel Vedauwoo Road (closed in spring) is good enough for RVs, as are some of the side roads off paved Snowy Range Scenic Byway (closed in winter). Beware the rutted Forest Road 336 near Libby Flats and some other four-wheel-drive-only routes. Several roads become snowmobile routes in the winter, including most of Snowy Range Scenic Byway west of the ski resort.

Camping

In addition to a large designated campground at the Vedauwoo exit off Interstate 80, Vedauwoo Road has designated free campsites marked by a post and offer dispersed camping along other surrounding roads. Brooklyn Lake is one of several designated campgrounds along the Snowy Range Scenic Byway where dispersed campsites are harder to find. Between Casper and Cheyenne, Laramie Peak dominates the prairie landscape and if you hike to its summit you can overlook hundreds of miles of the historic Oregon Trail. Although much of this section of forest has been affected by wildfires, there is still plenty of natural beauty and out of the way places to pitch a tent along its labyrinthine road system.

Wilderness Areas

Encampment River Wilderness

Huston Park Wilderness

Platte River Wilderness (also in Routt National Forest)

Savage Run Wilderness

Thunder Basin National Grassland (Wyoming)

Scotts Bluff National Monument (Nebraska)

Nearest National Park

Rocky Mountain

Conifer Tree Species

Engelmann spruce, Douglas-fir, subalpine fir, lodgepole pine, limber pine, ponderosa pine, Rocky Mountain juniper

Flowering Tree Species

quaking aspen, eastern cottonwood, balsam poplar, Rocky Mountain maple, curlleaf mountain mahogany, sagebrush

Explore More – Near Vedauwoo, a 60-foot-tall granite pyramid was built in 1882 to honor whom?

Know someone who loves the National Forests? Gift them our travel guidebook Out in the Woods so they can learn more about this and the 154 other National Forests.

Texas

Blackwell School National Historic Site

January 14, 2026 Raven About The Parks 10 Comments

Blackwell School National Historic Site

Texas

Managed by National Park Service

Established 2022

0.5 acre

Website: nps.gov/blsc

Overview

A three-room schoolhouse built for Marfa’s Hispanic children in 1909 is all that remains of a once larger campus (the Band Hall from 1927 is still attached). Blackwell School was named for a prominent early principal, and it closed in 1965 following legally mandated integration more than a decade after the Brown v. Board of Education decision. At its peak, the school had more than 600 students, with Hispanic students segregated, except on sports teams. After 1954, students were no longer allowed to speak Spanish on campus with a mock funeral held for the language and corporal punishment inflicted upon violators. Not all former students wanted to preserve this site where “separate but equal” education was practiced, but enough felt it was important to recall this history. The main building was saved from demolition by the nonprofit Blackwell School Alliance who helped the National Park Service (NPS) acquire the property from the Marfa Independent School District in 2024. The NPS has plans to reconstruct a belltower atop the adobe building.

Highlights

School building, playground

Must-Do Activity

You definitely want to arrive when an NPS employee is on site to allow you inside the building and to explain its history. There are artifacts and informational panels on display inside. There is even a coloring book available in both English and Spanish that explains the story of Blackwell School to children.

Best Trail

None

Photographic Opportunity

In the lot next to the school building is a playground, and there are plans to install outdoor interpretive signs and photos under the awning to provide information to visitors when the site is closed on weekdays.

Peak Season

Winter

Hours

Currently 12-4 on Saturdays and Sundays only

https://www.nps.gov/blsc/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Paved street parking is available at the site in Marfa.

Camping

There is an RV park in Marfa, or you can boondock at the Marfa Lights viewing area that has bathrooms. Big Bend National Park takes reservations for its campsites (with no hookups).

César E. Chávez National Monument (California)

Fort Davis National Historic Site (Texas)

Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)

Nearest National Park

Big Bend

Explore More – When was the first ever school opened in Marfa?

Wyoming

Thunder Basin National Grassland

January 7, 2026 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Thunder Basin National Grassland

Wyoming

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region

547,499 acres

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/mbrtb/recreation/thunder-basin-national-grassland-0

Overview

Thunder Basin is part of the Powder River Basin situated between the Big Horn Mountains and the Black Hills. Elevations in the National Grassland range from 3,600 to 5,200 feet in the transition zone between the Great Plains and sagebrush steppe. It was established in 1960 and is currently managed along with Routt and Medicine Bow National Forests. Its acreage is interspersed with private inholdings and areas run by the Bureau of Land Management.

Highlights

Weston Recreation Area, Soda Well Picnic Site, reservoirs

Must-Do Activity

Although Thunder Basin National Grassland is mostly undeveloped for tourists, Weston Recreation Area is located 30 miles north of Gillette off Highway 59 with at least 15 miles of Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) trails. Fishing for warm water species like smallmouth bass and bluegill is possible at the following reservoirs: East Iron Creek, Kellogg, Little Powder, Little Thunder, Turner, and Weston (where there is a vault toilet). There is a picnic shelter at Soda Well, site of the ghost town of Weston, Wyoming.

Best Trail

The East Upton Trailhead and Kellogg Trailhead are both located in the northeastern-most corner of the National Grassland about two miles north of Upton. Generally, it is possible to hike cross-country wearing sturdy boots to avoid hidden prickly pear and hedgehog cacti. Be sure to wear bright colors during the various hunting seasons.

Watchable Wildlife

On our March visit to Thunder Basin National Grassland, we saw pronghorn, elk, and mule deer out grazing on the prairie. Small rodents are prevalent, including white-tailed jackrabbits, cottontail rabbits, kangaroo rats, thirteen-lined ground squirrels, and black-tailed prairie dogs, a keystone species whose burrows create habitat for burrowing owls, prairie rattlesnakes, mountain plovers, and endangered black-footed ferrets. Predatory mammals found here include the swift fox, red fox, badger, and coyote. Sagebrush cover may support sage grouse, a species of management concern.

Photographic Opportunity

Early spring is a great time to visit to see large ungulates before they migrate to higher elevations and to hear the first mating calls of meadowlarks.

Peak Season

Spring

Fees

None

Road Conditions

The unpaved roads we drove were graded and accessible to passenger vehicles, but that is probably not the case when they are wet.

Camping

There are no developed campgrounds in this National Grassland, but dispersed camping is allowed on public land so use the app or get a good map to make sure you are not on the private land parcels interspersed throughout. The Forest Service website recommends camping along Forest Road 1246.

Black Hills National Forest (South Dakota)

Jewel Cave National Monument (South Dakota)

Nearest National Park

Wind Cave