Tag Archives: Native American

Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee

Natchez Trace Parkway

October 22, 2025 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Natchez Trace Parkway

Mississippi-Alabama-Tennessee

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1938

52,302 acres

Website: nps.gov/natr

Overview

The Natonal Park Service (NPS) administers the Natchez Trace Parkway, a two-lane All-American Road that extends 444 miles from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. The trace started as a game trail that was utilized as an American Indian footpath. Some of the mound builder sites protected here were inhabited when Hernando de Soto led the first Europeans into this area in 1540. The Natchez Trace was heavily used in the 1800s by “Kaintuck” flatboatmen returning from New Orleans who left the Mississippi River from Natchez, Mississippi and continued on foot north to Kentucky and beyond. Today you can still follow portions of the sunken trail worn down by travelers for centuries. The parkway began as a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) project during the Great Depression and the final two segments were completed in 2005.

Highlights

Rocky Springs, Owens Creek Waterfall, Emerald Mound, Mount Locust, Chickasaw Village, Meriwether Lewis Monument and Gravesite, Cypress Swamp Walk, Witch Dance Horse Trail, Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

Near Tupelo, the Parkway Visitor Center at Milepost 266 is a must-do stop to learn the history of the trace, and it also serves as the NPS contact station for tiny Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site and Tupelo National Battlefield. There are numerous roadside informational pullouts and trailheads along the route, so use the NPS app or pick up an official “unigrid” map. You can easily spend days exploring, but at a minimum we recommend you check out Emerald Mound, Mount Locust, Cypress Swamp, and Meriwether Lewis Monument and Grave Site.

Best Trail

Our favorite trail is the Cypress Swamp Walk at Milepost 122, where a boardwalk crosses a scenic tupelo-baldcypress swamp. The Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail (click here for our blog post) does not follow the entire 444-mile parkway, but exists in five segments totaling 67 miles in length. There are also 15 miles of equestrian trails at Witch Dance (Milepost 233.2) in Tombigbee National Forest.

Photographic Opportunity

Not far from Natchez National Historical Park, Emerald Mound (a short detour at Milepost 10.3) is the second-largest American Indian ceremonial mound in the U.S. It stands 35 feet tall and 770 by 435 feet at its base.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://nps.gov/natr/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

The entire 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway is paved from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee with commercial traffic prohibited and a maximum speed limit of 50 miles per hour. There is a detour from Milepost 181 to 204 due to ongoing construction. Watch for bicycles and white-tailed deer on the road.

Camping

There are three free NPS campgrounds (at Milepost 54, 193.1, and 385.9) along the route, as well as those in sites like Mississippi’s Tishomingo State Park. The three NPS campgrounds have water and bathrooms (but no RV hookups), plus there are also five bike-only campsites along the route. Jeff Busby Campground closed in June 2025 for repairs.

Related Sites

Natchez National Historical Park (Mississippi)

Tupelo National Battlefield (Mississippi)

Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site (Mississippi)

Vicksburg National Military Park (Mississippi)

Nearest National Park

Hot Springs

Explore More – When were Ackia Battleground National Monument and Meriwether Lewis National Monument disbanded and added to the Natchez Trace Parkway?

California

Los Padres National Forest

October 8, 2025 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Los Padres National Forest

California

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

1,963,836 acres (1,762,767 federal/ 201,069 other)

Website: http://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/lospadres

Overview

Los Padres National Forest stretches more than 200 miles from Monterrey south beyond Santa Barbara. It contains most of Big Sur, a name that conjures images of craggy cliffs dropping precipitously into white-capped ocean waves. This sparsely inhabited stretch of coastline is known as much for its historic bohemians as its coast redwood trees. It is home to multiple rare tree species with limited native ranges, especially those that can tolerate serpentine soils. As the only National Forest in California that touches the Pacific Ocean, a road trip down scenic Highway 1 should be on everyone’s bucket list, including stops at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Bixby Creek Bridge, Hearst Castle State Park, and the elephant seal rookery at Piedras Blancas. We have hiked many trails here since Scott taught for three years at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo.

Highlights

Big Sur, Sykes Hot Springs, Salmon Creek Falls, Jade Cove, Cuesta Ridge Botanical Area, Figueroa Mountain, Mt. Pinos, Knapp’s Castle, Seven Falls, Sespe Hot Springs

Must-Do Activity

Los Padres National Forest is 48% designated Wilderness, so the recommended activity is to hike into those natural areas. The Matilija Wilderness is in the Santa Ynez Mountains that loom above the coastal city of Santa Barbara, home to a university, art museum, and historic Presidio built in 1782. If you go to hike to the ruins of Knapp’s Castle in the National Forest, also make a quick stop at Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park, which contains colorful pictographs dating back to the 1600s. Another popular U.S. Forest Service trailhead located closer to town goes either to Inspiration Point or Seven Falls, the latter a better choice on foggy days, which are common on the coast.

Best Trail

There are 323 miles of incredible hiking trails throughout Los Padres National Forest, including a few that access hot springs. Our favorite trails are in the Santa Lucia Mountains that tower above Big Sur. One pinnacle accessible by trail is Cone Peak at 5,155 feet in elevation. The access road is typically closed in the winter, but when it is open the trail is only 2.3 miles to the summit with a vertical gain of 1,400 feet. Do not expect any shade since multiple fires have burned most of the mountain, although there are still a few surviving examples of the rare Santa Lucia fir tree. Although some areas are no longer vegetated, the plentiful sunshine above the fog belt means there are often incredible displays of wildflowers along the trail early in summer, including lupine, sticky monkeyflower, and yucca.

Watchable Wildlife

There is a wide range of wildlife found here from sea level up to 8,847 feet in elevation, and the most famous is the reintroduced California condor that nests in the Sespe Condor Sanctuary. Other birds include barn owls, great horned owls, red-tailed hawks, bald eagles, California quail, and California scrub jays. Coyotes, black bears, bobcats, mountain lions, black-tailed deer, bighorn sheep, and raccoons are common large mammals. Species of concern include the foothill yellow-legged frog and California mountain kingsnake. Look for California newts and banana slugs in the moist understory of coast redwood forests.

Photographic Opportunity

Even if you are not spending the night at Kirk Creek Campground, you can park and walk down the trail to the south that goes past redwood trees to the beach where there is a sea arch and tidepools.

Peak Season

Fall and winter

Fees

$5 per vehicle Adventure Pass (or America the Beautiful pass) required at most trailheads

Road Conditions

There are some steep unpaved roads in Los Padres National Forest, which can be impassable in wet or snowy conditions. Portions of the unpaved Tassajara Road to Chews Ridge are narrow and steep, requiring a four-wheel-drive vehicle to reach Tassajara Hot Springs.

Camping

A night spent listening to the ocean waves breaking far below the U.S. Forest Service’s clifftop Kirk Creek Campground is enchanting, which is why it made it on our list of Top 10 Campgrounds in National Forests. There are 11 campgrounds in total, and a free campfire permit is required if you use a camp stove (which can be obtained online). Sespe Hot Springs is a popular ten-mile one-way backpacking destination.

Wilderness Areas

Chumash Wilderness

Dick Smith Wilderness

Garcia Wilderness

Machesna Mountain Wilderness

Matilija Wilderness

San Rafael Wilderness

Santa Lucia Wilderness

Sespe Wilderness

Silver Peak Wilderness

Ventana Wilderness

Related Sites

Angeles National Forest (California)

Muir Woods National Monument (California)

Point Reyes National Seashore (California)

Channel Islands National Park (California)

Nearest National Park

Pinnacles

Scott’s mother and aunt in the redwood forest

Conifer Tree Species

coast redwood, Monterey pine, Coulter pine, gray pine, Jeffrey pine, ponderosa pine, limber pine, bigcone Douglas-fir, Sargent cypress, Monterey cypress, white fir, Santa Lucia fir

Flowering Tree Species

coast live oak, California black oak, tanoak, western redbud, Pacific madrone, manzanita

Explore More – What is the name of the nomadic group that lived in Big Sur dating back 5,500 years ago?

Alaska

Kobuk Valley National Park

July 23, 2025 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Kobuk Valley National Park

Alaska

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1978 National Monument, 1980 National Park

1,714,578 acres

Website: nps.gov/kova

Overview

In northwest Alaska, an area roughly the size of Delaware is set aside to protect an 85-mile stretch of the Kobuk River. Kobuk Valley National Park also includes the Waring Mountains to the south and the Baird Mountains that border Noatak National Preserve. Hunters have been coming for at least 12,500 years to Onion Portage where caribou gather to cross the river. In the 1960s, archeologist J. Louis Giddings built a cabin and cache so he could excavate a two-acre plot. He and his assistants dug through 30 artifact-bearing layers that provided evidence of nine cultural periods from the Akmak Complex to the Arctic Woodland Eskimo.

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.

Highlights

Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, Onion Portage Archeological District

Must-Do Activity

The Northwest Arctic Heritage Center in Kotzebue is located 75 river miles from the western edge of the park. Riverside ranger stations operate in the summer at Kallarichuk in the west and Onion Portage in the east. A flightseeing tour of the park typically lands on the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, which are the remnant of a dune field that once covered as much as 200,000 acres after the Pleistocene glaciation. Float trips take at least a week on the wide Kobuk River or the rougher Salmon River, which is designated a Wild and Scenic River. The Kobuk River starts within a narrow canyon with Class V rapids inside Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, but soon flattens out and becomes a braided channel, like many rivers in Alaska.

Best Trail

There are no established trails in the park, but it is easy to wander through the sand dunes and soft enough to go barefoot.

Photographic Opportunity

The Great Kobuk Sand Dunes are a geological anomaly sitting north of the Arctic Circle, once studied by NASA as an analog for polar dunes on Mars.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://nps.gov/kova/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

There are no roads into Kobuk Valley National Park, so most visitors arrive by small airplane, which can cost around $5,000 to charter for the day. If you are leaving from Fairbanks, we recommend flying with Sven from Aviation Expeditions who will do a combination trip that also lands in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

Camping

Backcountry camping is allowed throughout the park, but is not permitted on the 81,000 acres of Native Corporation lands that are typically situated along the rivers.

Related Sites

Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (Alaska)

Noatak National Preserve (Alaska)

Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska)

This was the last of the 63 National Parks for Scott to visit in person

Explore More – What is the current estimated size of the Western Arctic caribou herd that crosses the Kobuk River at Onion Portage?

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Colorado

Comanche National Grassland

March 21, 2025 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Comanche National Grassland

Colorado

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

Established 1960

467,373 acres (443,081 federal/ 24,292 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/psicc

Overview

Near the Oklahoma border in southeast Colorado, Comanche National Grassland is comprised of two areas of shortgrass prairie co-managed with Pike and San Isabel National Forests and Cimarron National Grassland (in nearby Kansas). The Timpas Unit is in the watershed of the Purgatoire (or Picket Wire) River, while the more southern Carrizo Unit is mostly centered around Carrizo Creek, a tributary of the Cimarron River. There is a long history of human use of the canyons here, with petroglyphs dating back as far back as 8,000 years. Before giving the National Grassland its name, the Comanche pushed the Apache out of this area in the 1700s and their circular tipi rings can still be found. A branch of the Santa Fe National Historic Trail runs through the northern Timpas Unit with interpretive sites at Sierra Vista Overlook and Timpas Picnic Area (including a three-mile trail following the wagon tracks between the two).

Highlights

Picture Canyon, Crack Cave, Picket Wire Canyon, Dolores Mission, Rourke Ranch, Carrizo Canyon, Vogel Canyon, Santa Fe National Historic Trail

Must-Do Activity

Petroglyphs can be seen on trails near Vogel Canyon and Carrizo Canyon Picnic Areas, with the most famous found in Picture Canyon. It is about 16 miles of unpaved roads to access Picture Canyon from Highway 287, and there are vault toilets and picnic tables at the site. From there, the U.S. Forest Service traditionally leads a hike on Arch Rock Trail to Crack Cave on both the spring and fall equinox, when at dawn the sun’s rays illuminate a specific petroglyph that is usually behind a locked gate that blocks a narrow opening in the sandstone. A similar petroglyph with deeply-carved lines can be seen in an opening above a blue-tinted pictograph about a quarter-mile down the trail. Rock climbing is also a draw here, with a few permanent anchors in the sandstone behind the picnic tables.

Best Trail

It is a 17-mile drive down unpaved roads to Picket Wire Canyon, where a long trail leads to dinosaur tracks (19 miles out-and-back) and Rourke Ranch National Historic District (25 miles) that dates back to 1871. There are approximately 1,900 tracks left by Apatosaurs and Allosaurs over 150-million years ago. Along the way, look for petroglyphs, a model of a dinosaur fossil, and the ruins of Dolores Mission (see Photographic Opportunity).

Watchable Wildlife

Elevations range from 3,900 to 6,200 feet atop Fallas Mesa with ponderosa pine, pinyon pine, juniper, Gambel oak, and cottonwoods trees found in moister areas. Yucca and cacti are common in the prairie, as are desert-dwelling creatures like roadrunners and tarantulas (we saw one crossing the road). Hunters come here for mule deer, elk, pronghorn, and wild turkey in season. The National Grassland contains a lek for lesser prairie chickens, but it is typically closed during mating season due to their endangered status. About 328 bird species have been identified here, including many eastern birds at the extent of their range.

Photographic Opportunity

On the way to the dinosaur track site in Picket Wire Canyon, hikers pass Dolores Mission with a cemetery and the ruins of a small Catholic church dating back to 1898.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Fees

None

Road Conditions

We have almost gotten stuck twice on the long dirt roads in Comanche National Grassland, once in deep mud following a spring thunderstorm and another time on thick ice following a spring blizzard.

Camping

It is free to disperse camp almost anywhere not on private lands in Comanche National Grassland, with the exception of the parking lots at the following canyons: Picture, Carrizo, Vogel, and Picket Wire.

Related Sites

Cimarron National Grassland (Kansas)

Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site (Colorado)

Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site (Colorado)

Nearest National Park

Great Sand Dunes

Explore More – The markings in Crack Cave are theorized by some people to spell out what word in Ogam (an ancient Celtic alphabet)?

Utah

Rainbow Bridge National Monument

January 29, 2025 Raven About The Parks 5 Comments

Rainbow Bridge National Monument

Utah

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1910

160 acres

Website: nps.gov/rabr

Overview

The statistics on Rainbow Bridge are impressive: it spans 275 feet with a height of 290 feet (compare that to the 151-foot-tall Statue of Liberty), and the sandstone at its top is 42 feet thick and 33 feet wide. Before geologists started lumping together natural bridges and arches, it was considered the largest natural bridge in the world formed by water running underneath it. The Navajo and other tribes consider Rainbow Bridge sacred and request that nobody walks beneath its span. When Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1963, many archaeological sites were submerged beneath Lake Powell and at the reservoir’s peak volume this sacred site has had water reach to its base. The National Park Service (NPS) manages Rainbow Bridge National Monument as part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area that straddles the Utah-Arizona border.

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments. It is now available for sale on Amazon.com.

Highlights

Boat ride, Rainbow Bridge

Must-Do Activity

The NPS runs Carl Hayden Visitor Center in Page, Arizona, which is a good place to plan a visit to Rainbow Bridge or purchase tickets for a Glen Canyon Dam tour. If you do not want to attempt to navigate 50 miles one-way in your own boat (rentals available), there are all-day commercial boat trips into Bridge Canyon. Depending on the water level, the hike from the boat dock to the first overlook of the natural bridge is around one-mile one-way and is not wheelchair accessible. Photos do not do Rainbow Bridge justice, and you must see it for yourself to truly appreciate the size of this entry on our Top 10 NPS Sites for Natural Bridges/Arches.

Best Trail

There is always a hike from the boat dock to the overlook, but if you are in good shape continue on the trail around to the left to see the other side of Rainbow Bridge. With proper permits from the Navajo Nation in Window Rock, Arizona, it is possible to backpack into the site on either a 14-mile or 17-mile trail.

Photographic Opportunity

Obviously, Rainbow Bridge is the star attraction here. Navajo legends tell how one of the Hero Twins was saved from drowning when his father Jo’hanaa’éí (the Sun) sent a rainbow, later turned to stone to symbolize a father’s love. Another story says a measuring worm turned itself to stone to save both Hero Twins.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://nps.gov/rabr/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

There is a $30 per vehicle entrance fee at the two marinas in Page (America the Beautiful passes accepted), in addition to charges for guided boat tours.

Road Conditions

The roads are paved to the marinas in Page, Arizona. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is famous for its backcountry 4×4 roads (like Hole-in-the-Rock Road) and flash floods, so check with a park ranger before attempting anything unpaved. A fee is charged to ferry across Lake Powell between Halls Crossing and Bullfrog Marina.

Camping

There are several developed campgrounds in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (mostly near marinas), but free primitive camping is also allowed along most dirt roads. A permit is required for backpack camping in the beautiful Coyote Gulch area off Hole-in-the-Rock Road.

Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)

Navajo National Monument (Arizona)