Tag Archives: tour

Puerto Rico

San Juan National Historic Site

May 10, 2023 Raven About The Parks 4 Comments

San Juan National Historic Site

Puerto Rico

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1949

75 acres

Website: nps.gov/saju

Overview

San Juan, Puerto Rico was established in 1509 as a military outpost by Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León and 30 years later construction began on the Castillo San Felipe del Morro to guard San Juan Bay. Starting in 1634, Castillo San Cristóbal was added to the east, eventually becoming the largest fortification built by Europeans in the Americas (covering 27 acres). The city was captured by the English in 1598, but quickly abandoned due to disease and lack of provisions. U.S. warships destroyed the fort’s lighthouse during the 1898 Spanish-American War, after which the U.S. seized Puerto Rico and Guam, gained protection over Cuba, and bought the Philippines. The U.S. military turned over the San Juan forts to the National Park Service in 1961, and 22 years later they were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Highlights

Castillo San Felipe del Morro (El Morro), Castillo San Cristóbal, Paseo del Morro

Must-Do Activity

It does not matter which fort you start with, but both are unique and worth exploring with plenty of interpretive signs found throughout. It is about a one-mile walk between the two forts on a sidewalk that follows the wall and bastions protecting the north side of Old San Juan (and providing a great overlook of the Cementerio Maria Magdalena de Pazzis). Most visitors arrive by cruise ship, so drivers are very aware of pedestrians, and the whole area has sidewalks and crosswalks.

Best Trail

The Paseo del Morro follows the shoreline outside the walls surrounding the western edge of Old San Juan, only accessible from Castillo San Felipe del Morro or further south through the San Juan Gate. Watch for friendly feral cats, huge orb-weaver spiders, and anole lizards along the paved route.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The forts’ sentry boxes (garitas) are the symbol of Old San Juan and all of Puerto Rico, which is why they were featured on the U.S. quarter-dollar coin chosen for the territory in 2009. It is also the reason we added this park to the list of Top 10 National Park Service License Plates.

Peak Season

Year round

Hours

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

Fees

$10 per person or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

Street parking is always full around the forts, but there is a parking deck with reasonable hourly rates. The free White Trolley runs between the two forts and the cruise ship piers.

Camping

There are no campgrounds in San Juan, but plenty of other accommodations. Camping on the island of Puerto Rico is permitted at Bosque Estatal de Cambalache, Bosque Estatal de Río Abajo, and Reserva Forestal de Carite.

Christiansted National Historic Site (U.S. Virgin Islands)

El Yunque National Forest (Puerto Rico)

Explore More – Who was the Irish-born engineer who designed Castillo San Cristóbal, because Spain and Ireland were both enemies of England?

Kentucky

Camp Nelson National Monument

February 8, 2023 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Camp Nelson National Monument

Kentucky

Managed by National Park Service

Established 2018

525 acres

Website: nps.gov/cane

Overview

Camp Nelson National Monument occupies 525 acres where a Civil War fort was located 20 miles south of Lexington. During the war, Kentucky was technically a Union state so the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 did not apply to the state’s slaves. Many local slaves were impressed by the U.S. Army to build the camp and their owners were compensated for the work. In May 1864, when freedom was offered to any black man to join the United States Colored Troops, thousands of escaped slaves brought their families (who were not granted freedom) to this supply depot, which led to numerous conflicts between refugees and Army officials.

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Highlights

Museum, film, Oliver Perry House, barracks, Fort Putnam, Fort Jones, Home for Colored Refugees Site

Must-Do Activity

Unlike many new National Monuments, this one was already developed as the Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park so it has a historical museum, hiking trails, and interpretive film (that made our Top 10 list for NPS films). The Oliver Perry House is the only original structure on site, although a barracks building and the earthworks of Fort Putnam have been reconstructed. A living history weekend is typically held during the summer in the park, which is adjacent to Camp Nelson National Cemetery (see photos below) where hundreds of Civil War soldiers are buried.

Best Trail

There are four miles of trails in Fort Nelson National Monument with numerous interpretive signs and flags placed to identify the former locations of the bakery, prison, stables, Quartermaster Office, and other structures. The Fort Jones/Overlook Trail accesses extensive stone revetment walls that provided defenses for the eastern side of Camp Nelson. There is little shade in this grassy landscape, so come prepared on hot summer afternoons.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Built in 1846, the Oliver Perry House (also called the White House) is the only remaining original structure on site, which served as officers’ quarters.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

There is no campground on site, but there are some nice ones found throughout the Kentucky state parks system and Daniel Boone National Forest (where we recommend Cave Run Lake).

Related Sites

Daniel Boone National Forest (Kentucky)

Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument (Kentucky)

Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)

Explore More – When was Army policy changed at Camp Nelson to allow the families of United States Colored Troops to have a mess hall, school, and housing?

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

Alaska

Katmai National Park and Preserve

September 27, 2022 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Katmai National Park and Preserve

Alaska

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1918 National Monument, 1980 National Park

3,674,529 acres

Website: nps.gov/katm

Overview

Katmai National Monument was created after the Novarupta Volcano erupted in 1912 (an event recorded in the skinny tree rings grown throughout Alaska that year). Ash fell in Seattle (1,500 miles away) and piled up to 700 feet deep in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. The valley is no longer smoking, but it is there are still 15 active volcanoes within the park’s boundaries. This remote park on the Alaska Peninsula has few roads and is only accessible by airplane (typically equipped with floats for water landings). Oh yeah, and there are lots of grizzly bears, or brown bears as they are called in coastal areas of Alaska.

Highlights

Brooks Falls, North Arm of Naynek Lake, Hallo Bay, Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Baked Mountain Huts, Savonoski Loop

Must-Do Activity

The grizzly/brown bears of Brooks Falls are celebrities due to the annual Fat Bear Week vote for the chunkiest bear on social media. Less famous are the bears that hang out around Hallo Bay on the coastline, eating grass and shellfish until the salmon arrive. Regardless of your destination, flights from road-accessible portions of Alaska (like Homer and Kenai) can be quite costly. Most of the approximately 50,000 annual visitors come only for a day trip, although there are three expensive lodges and a campground in the park.

Best Trail

Brooks Falls Trail connects the Lower River Bear Viewing Platform 1.2 miles to the Falls and Riffles Platforms at Brooks Falls. Near the visitor center, the short Cultural Site Trail visits a prehistoric camp and reconstructed dwelling.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Brooks Falls is a world-class destination for wildlife photographers from around the world, so you might want to bring along a camera with a good zoom lens if you pay to get there during the peak months of July and September. This photo is from Scott’s father (see more of his photos and paintings at Bruce Sink.com)

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

The National Park Service does not charge an entry fee, but it is very expensive to fly to Brooks Camp or Hallo Bay.

Road Conditions

There is a 23-mile long road that leads from Brooks Falls to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and a daily eight-hour ranger-guided bus tour is available in the summer. Backpackers can buy one-way tickets and explore the area, with the Baked Mountain Huts a popular destination 12 miles away across two difficult river crossings.

Camping

There are 60 sites at Brooks Camp Campground (reservations required prior to arrival), which is surrounded by an electric fence to keep bears out.

Related Sites

Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (Alaska)

Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska)

Snaggletooth was a famous bear at Hallo Bay back in 2005

Explore More – How many grizzly/brown bears are estimated to live within Katmai National Park and Preserve?

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Pennsylvania

Grey Towers National Historic Site

April 27, 2022 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Grey Towers National Historic Site

Pennsylvania

Managed by U.S. Forest Service

102 acres

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

Overview

The sole National Historic Site managed by the U.S. Forest Service, Grey Towers was the ancestral home of Gifford Pinchot, the agency’s first director and the twice-elected governor of Pennsylvania. Completed in 1886, the 43-room, L-shaped mansion was built to look like a French château. After Gifford’s father endowed the nation’s first graduate forestry program at Yale, their summer school was held on the property from 1901 to 1926.

Highlights

Mansion tour, Letter Box, Bait Box, Finger Bowl, Pinchot Timeline Trail

Must-Do Activity

We had just visited the three National Park Service sites in Hyde Park, New York before we stumbled upon this spot while driving to Steamtown National Historic Site, so we opted not to take another guided tour (fee) inside a mansion. It was a beautiful September day, so instead we enjoyed an hour walking around and photographing the property while stopping to read the numerous interpretive signs. Our favorite cottage was the Bait Box, a playhouse for Gifford’s son.

Best Trail

There are self-guided interpretive trails around the 102-acre property, including the Pinchot Timeline Trail and Forestry Trail.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The Finger Bowl was a unique outdoor dining area where chairs were pulled up to the edge of a pool that had bowls of food floating on its surface. It sits beneath a beautiful, wisteria-covered arbor.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

The grounds are open daily 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. from Memorial Day weekend through October and the gates are locked at 4:30 p.m. the rest of the year. Guided tours (fee) of the home and gardens start every hour on the hour starting at 11 a.m. Thursday through Monday in the summer.

Fees

There is no fee to walk the grounds, but it costs $8 per person to take the tour (50% off with America the Beautiful pass).

Road Conditions

The road to Grey Towers is paved and there is limited handicap parking located much closer to the house than the main parking lot.

Camping

See our blog post on Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area for a list of State Parks and State Forests with campgrounds in the area.

Related Sites

Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River (New York-Pennsylvania)

Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (Pennsylvania)

Steamtown National Historic Site (Pennsylvania)

Nearest National Park

Shenandoah (Virginia)

Explore More – Gifford’s father regretted the environmental damage done by which industry where he made his fortune?

Texas

Waco Mammoth National Monument

December 21, 2021 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Overview

Columbian mammoths grew up to 14 feet in height, much larger than woolly mammoths that reached about 10 feet. About 65,000 years ago, a nursery herd of Columbian mammoths died in a ravine here due to unknown causes, possibly a flood or drought. Then about 51,000 years ago, another three mammoths died at the same spot before the onset of a new glacial period. Many of the fossils have been left in situ within the Dig Shelter, but others are on display at Baylor University’s Mayborn Museum Complex.

Highlights

Dig Shelter tour, Eagle Trail

Must-Do Activity

Established in 2015, this National Monument was already developed for visitors by the city of Waco and Baylor University. As such, annual America the Beautiful passes provide no discount for the guided tour to the Dig Shelter where the 65,000-year-old Columbian mammoth and camel bones have been excavated. First discovered in 1978, this dig site has since had a building constructed around it, making it a pleasant place to visit year round.

Best Trail

From the paved Mammoth Trail, there is the short Deer Loop that connects to the longer Eagle Trail. Located south of Waco Mammoth National Monument, Cameron Park in Waco has trails along the Brazos and Bosque Rivers.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The Dig Shelter is only viewable on a guided tour (admission charged).