Tag Archives: geology

California

Kings Canyon National Park

September 30, 2026 Raven About The Parks 8 Comments

Kings Canyon National Park

California

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1890 as General Grant National Park, 1940 as Kings Canyon National Park

461,847 acres

Website: nps.gov/seki

Overview

Jointly managed with Sequoia National Park since 1943, Kings Canyon does not often receive the individual accolades that it deserves. The separate Kings Canyon area was added in 1940 to keep this 8,200-foot-deep valley from being dammed. Much of the park is a mountain wilderness, which can be most easily seen from 7,520-foot Panoramic Point on the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway. Unlike Yosemite National Park, there is no road over the Sierra Nevada to access the east side.

Learn more about how to visit this National Park in the expanded second edition of our guidebook A Park to Yourself: Finding Solitude in America’s 63 National Parks.

A raven perched on a sign for Sequoia and Kings Canyon, with towering mountain peaks and a blue sky in the background.

Highlights

General Grant Tree, Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, Panoramic Point, Cedar Grove, Roaring River Falls, Zumwalt Meadow, Mist Falls, Redwood Canyon, John Muir Trail, Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

Kings Canyon Scenic Byway is a curvy road that offers plenty of great views as its winds from the General Grant Grove through Giant Sequoia National Monument to dead end at Cedar Grove. One must-do stop before you reach the park boundary is Grizzly Falls, which also has a picnic area. Another inside the National Park is Roaring River Falls, an easy half-mile walk down the River Trail near the end of the road. Between the two sections of the park along the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, the U.S Forest Service manages Boyden Cave and offers tours in the summer that include a visit to the Bat Grotto (see where it placed on the list of Top 10 Caves in National Forests).

Best Trail

Woods Creek Trail leaves from near Cedar Grove and is an eight-mile roundtrip hike back to beautiful Mist Falls. Permits are required to backpack along the John Muir Trail, one of the most scenic stretches of the 2,655-mile Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail.

Photographic Opportunity

The General Grant Tree is a giant sequoia currently measuring 268.1 feet tall and 29 feet in diameter, making it by volume the second largest single-stemmed tree on the planet after General Sherman in Sequoia National Park. [Disclaimer: Not sure this photo is actually of General Grant.]

A towering giant sequoia tree with a rough, reddish-brown trunk stands amidst a snowy landscape, surrounded by tall green coniferous trees under a blue sky.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

$35 per vehicle or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

Closed in the winter, the steep and curvy Kings Canyon Scenic Byway is a paved road that always makes us feel a little nauseous due to the elevation change. Not far upstream from hectic Cedar Grove Village, a smooth section of the South Fork Kings River is traced by a quiet one-way dirt road that meanders through the forest on the north bank.

Camping

The National Park Service runs several large campgrounds clustered around Grant Grove and Cedar Grove. Sequoia National Forest also offers several campgrounds between these two separate sections of the park, including a nice one along the shores of Hume Lake.

Related Sites

Yosemite National Park (California)

Giant Sequoia National Monument (California)

Inyo National Forest (California)

Sequoia National Park (California)

Explore More – How long is the popular Rae Lakes Loop backpacking route, which can also be accessed from the east through Inyo National Forest over Kearsarge Pass?

Cover of the book 'A Park to Yourself: Finding Solitude in America's 63 National Parks, Expanded 2nd Edition' by Scott Sink, PhD and Tiff Sink, MPH, featuring a narrow canyon with a person walking inside.

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

Wisconsin

Ice Age National Scenic Trail

September 23, 2026 Raven About The Parks 3 Comments

Ice Age National Scenic Trail

Wisconsin

Managed by National Park Service

Established 2023

1,200 miles

Website: nps.gov/iatr

Overview

We are currently in an ice age that has lasted 2.58 million years with climate fluctuations leading to melting during warmer interglacial periods, such as the one we are experiencing today. The Wisconsin Glaciation was the most recent in North America, which began roughly 100,000 BP (years Before Present) and reached its greatest extent 20,000 BP, and then repeatedly retreated and readvanced until finally ending 10,000 BP. As the ice melted, gorges were carved at the Dalles of the St. Croix River and the Wisconsin Dells. In 1958, conservationist Ray Zillmer conceived of the idea of an Ice Age National Park in Wisconsin, and after his death, Congressman Henry S. Reuss sponsored a bill establishing the multi-unit Ice Age National Scientific Reserve. In 1980, Ruess passed a bill creating the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, which was first thru-hiked the year prior by 20-year-old James J. Staudacher. In 2023, it officially became a National Park Service unit (along with North Country National Scenic Trail), although it is primarily managed by volunteers through the non-profit Ice Age Trail Alliance (www.iceagetrail.org).

Ice Age National Scenic Trail is covered in my newest travel guidebook American History 101, which will be released in November 2026.

Highlights

Interstate State Park, Chequamegon National Forest, Devil’s Lake State Park, Gibraltar Rock, Cross Plains State Park, Kettle Moraine, Potawatomi State Park

Must-Do Activity

The National Park Service has an administrative office in the 1,200-acre Glacial Passage Area that includes Cross Plains State Park and meltwater-carved Wilkie Gorge. Here visitors can get their Junior Ranger book (or print one at home) and passport stamps, which are also available at Devil’s Lake State Park, Interstate State Park, Chippewa Moraine State Recreation Area, Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest, and St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. In addition to enjoying forest scenery and wildlife sightings, a great part of hiking the trail is learning geology terminology like kame, drumlin, kettle moraine, pothole, esker, and glacial erratic.

Best Trail

The 1,200-mile trail is composed of over 100 segments from Interstate State Park on the St. Croix River east to Potawatomi State Park on the Door Peninsula. There are 675 miles of trail completed, connected by a series of road walks. The trail splits in two for a stretch north of Devil’s Lake State Park, with the eastern portion more developed currently.

Photographic Opportunity

In Devil’s Lake State Park, the famous Devil’s Doorway quartzite formation is accessed by a 2.1-mile loop trail that gains 488 feet of elevation cumulatively. The park also contains a bird effigy mound, like the ones seen in Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

$16 per vehicle ($13 for Wisconsin plates) at State Parks (and America the Beautiful passes are also accepted)

Road Conditions

Many portions of the trail involve road walking, so watch for pedestrians while driving.

Camping

Some parts of the trail allow camping anywhere, but others have designated sites so it is important for thru-hikers to plan carefully. Interstate and Devil’s Lake State Parks offer developed campgrounds (fee).

Related Sites

St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (Wisconsin-Minnesota)

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (Wisconsin)

Chequamegon National Forest (Wisconsin)

Nearest National Park

Isle Royale

Explore More – Why was a ten-mile connector built off the Ice Age Trail to reach Timms Hill?

Arizona

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

August 26, 2026 Raven About The Parks 4 Comments

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

Arizona

Managed by Bureau of Land Management

Established 2000

279,566 acres

Website: https://www.blm.gov/national-conservation-lands/arizona/vermilion-cliffs

Overview

The Vermilion Cliffs are a red sandstone escarpment that rises 3,000 feet above the plains north of Arizona’s Grand Canyon (and they especially glow vermilion at sunrise and sunset). This undeveloped geologic wonderland is a colorful mixture of sandstone, siltstone, limestone, and shale. The cliffs create thermals perfect for 20 species of raptors, including bald eagles, golden eagles, peregrine falcons, and endangered California condors that were first reintroduced here in 1996.

Highlights

Coyote Buttes North (The Wave), Maze Rock Art Site, White Pocket, Paria River Canyon

Must-Do Activity

There are several visitor centers to get information about the National Monument, including at Navajo Bridge on Highway 89A and the seasonal Paria Contact Station off Highway 89, as well as Bureau of Land Management (BLM) offices in Utah at Kanab, St. George, and Big Water. Guided tours are available to White Pocket (no permit required) if you do not want the challenge of driving the sandy roads.

Best Trail

It is a 1.4-mile roundtrip hike to the petroglyphs at the Maze Rock Art Site off House Rock Valley Road that may be more than 1,000 years old. Backpacking 38-mile-long Paria Canyon is a world-famous route that ends at Lees Ferry in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Permits are required to overnight, and most thru-hikers set out from White House Trailhead within Utah’s Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument to avoid the slot canyons on Wire Pass Trail or Buckskin Gulch Trail (which often has waist deep mud).

Photographic Opportunity

Coyote Buttes North (The Wave) is one of the most sought-after photography locations in the U.S., but most of us will never win that lottery. Here is a similarly beautiful sandstone formation in White Pocket, which is open to visit by anyone with a 4×4 that can get through miles of deep sand (or hire a guide to drive).

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://www.blm.gov/visit/kanab-visitor-center

Fees

No entrance fee, but a $9 online lottery entry and $7 permits for each person and dog apply for Coyote Buttes North (The Wave), they cost slightly less for Coyote Buttes South and Paria River Canyon

Road Conditions

House Rock Valley Road (BLM 700) runs 30 miles between Highways 89 and 89A to the south, crossing several washes, but it is passable with a passenger vehicle when dry. Most of the roads running east from House Rock Valley Road require four-wheel drive due to deep sand (including access to White Pocket).

Camping

Dispersed camping is allowed in most of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, and the BLM runs the free Stateline Campground (that is the official northern terminus of the Arizona National Scenic Trail) on the northern border and White House Campground (fee) in Utah.

Related Sites

Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument (Utah)

Kaibab National Forest (Arizona)

Pipe Spring National Monument (Arizona)

Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument (Arizona)

Nearest National Park

Grand Canyon

Explore More – The Vermilion Cliffs are called as Angkar Mukwanikant in what indigenous language?

List

Top 10 Caves in National Forests

August 12, 2026 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

The underground world is fun to explore, especially when you get to bring your own flashlights and go at your own pace. That is the only option in most National Forests, with a few notable exceptions for guided tours found on this list. It was the opposite case when I ranked the Top 10 Caves in National Parks back in 2019 (click here to see all our Top 10 Lists).

If you or someone you love are interested in visiting the 155 National Forests, our travel guidebook Out in the Woods makes a great gift!

10. Subway Cave in Lassen National Forest (California)

There are interpretive signs inside this lava tube, including one explaining lavacicles

9. Fulford Cave in White River National Forest (Colorado)

This one and Spring Cave are only accessible April 16 through August 14 and require registration

8. Lava River Cave in Coconino National Forest (Arizona)

This is the first lava tube I ever explored while I was a college student in Flagstaff

7. Mammoth Cave in Dixie National Forest (Utah)

Ice Cave is another option to visit in southwest Utah

6. El Capitan Pit in Tongass National Forest (Alaska)

Prince of Wales Island is mostly karst and includes this deepest pit in the U.S., plus Sophia’s Sinking Stream Cave and Meow Cave

5. Cave of Bells in Coronado National Forest (Arizona)

This cave has a lock on its entry gate, as does Onyx Cave, but are accessible with permission

4. Boyden Cavern in Sequoia National Forest (California)

Guided tours are offered in this show cave outside Kings Canyon National Park

3. Ape Cave in Gifford Pinchot National Forest (Washington)

Timed-entry permits ($2 per vehicle) are required to explore this long lava tube in Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, but not for Guler Ice Caves

2. Blanchard Springs Caverns in Ozark National Forest (Arkansas)

Limestone springs and caves are all over this region, including this show cave with guided tours

…and finally the #1 cave in a National Forest:

1. Minnetonka Cave in Caribou National Forest (Idaho)

Tickets for a guided tour are required to drive up the narrow road to the parking lot, plus check out nearby Paris Ice Cave

Honorable Mentions

Jot Dean Ice Cave in Shasta National Forest (California)

I stumbled upon this one while visiting Sáttítla Highlands National Monument, also home to lava tubes in Giant Crater

Resurgence Cave in Daniel Boone National Forest (Kentucky)

All caves around here are currently closed to protect bats, including the ones behind Moonshiners Arch

Wind Cave in Cache National Forest (Utah)

Not very dark on this cliffside, but it is a great spot for photographs

Wave Cave in Tonto National Forest (Arizona)

Another one that is more of an amphitheater than a cave, but famous for photos riding the wave

Darby Canyon Wind Cave in Targhee National Forest (Wyoming)

I had not heard of this cave just west of Grand Teton National Park

Sandia Cave in Cibola National Forest (New Mexico)

Located near Albuquerque, it features a unique metal spiral staircase to the entrance

Know someone who loves the National Forests? Gift them our travel guidebook Out in the Woods so they can learn more about all 155 National Forests.

Washington

Mt. Baker National Recreation Area

July 22, 2026 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Mt. Baker National Recreation Area

Washington

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region

Established 1984

8,473 acres

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/mbs/recreation/mt-baker-national-recreation-area

Overview

Part of Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Mt. Baker National Recreation Area was set aside to provide a place for snowmobile use on the 10,781-foot volcano’s south slope. Snowmobiling is restricted to certain areas outside the designated Wilderness and requires a minimum snow depth of two feet. Mt. Baker is an active stratovolcano that last had a major eruption 6,700 years ago, but experienced hydro-thermal explosions in 1840 and 1880 that led to dangerous lahars.

Highlights

Park Butte Lookout, Railroad Grade Trail, Scott Paul Trail, Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

North of Baker Lake, Park Butte Trailhead is the main access point for Mt. Baker National Recreation Area and has a large parking lot with vault toilets and trash cans. Park Butte Trail immediately enters groves of large western hemlock and Alaska yellow-cedar trees. Taking the split to the right for the Scott Paul Trail creates a 7.5-mile loop, which remains heavily snow covered into mid-June. In addition to snowmobiling, other activities include snowshoeing, skiing, picking huckleberries, and climbing to the summit of Mt. Baker on the Coleman Glacier and Easton Glacier routes. Horseback riding is allowed on Bell Pass, Elbow Lake, Park Butte, and Ridley Creek Trails.

Best Trail

Railroad Grade Trail splits off Park Butte Trail and quickly climbs up to a lateral glacial moraine that offers incredible views of Mt. Baker on clear days. It is used by mountain climbers making their way to the summit of the volcano.

Photographic Opportunity

It is 7.9 miles out-and-back with 2,093 feet of cumulative elevation gain to the Park Butte Lookout, a historic structure built in 1932 that is maintained by Skagit Alpine Club volunteers. It is technically just inside the boundary for Mt. Baker Wilderness.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

$5 day use (or America the Beautiful pass) at Park Butte Trailhead from May 1 through October 31, and a Washington State Sno-Park permit required the rest of the year.

Road Conditions

Park Butte Trailhead is accessed by taking the pothole-riddled Forest Service Roads 12 and 13 uphill for 8.9 miles. Access to Elbow Lake Trailhead and Ridley Creek Trailhead also require long dirt road drives.

Camping

There are a couple designated free hiker campsites at Park Butte Trailhead with limited options for dispersed car camping situated along the road up to it. Backpacking is popular in this area, especially inside the historic 1932 Park Butte Lookout, which is available on a first-come, first-served basis. There are flat tent pads built at Cathedral Camp, High Camp, Railroad Camp, and Mazama Park Horse Camp in the backcountry.

Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve (Washington)

Okanogan National Forest (Washington)

Mt. Baker National Forest (Washington)

Nearest National Park

North Cascades