Looking for a last-minute adventure? We’re waiving the entrance fees for all national parks, wildlife refuges and other public lands on Monday, January 16, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We hope to see you out there! Photo of Turret Arch Framed by North Window at Utah’s Arches National Park courtesy of Jacob W. Frank.

Part of the most remote island archipelago on Earth, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument supports a reef ecosystem with more than 7,000 marine species and is home to many species of coral, fish, birds and marine mammals. This includes the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, the endangered leatherback and hawksbill sea turtles. A Hawaiian monk seal naps on the beach with a rainbow on the horizon. Photo by Mark Sullivan, NOAA/HMSRP, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer.

Along the Mississippi River Flyway in Iowa, Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge provides important habitat for migratory birds. Floodplains and forests are used by many wildlife species including migratory songbirds, waterfowl, hawks and eagles, deer, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians. After a recent snowstorm, it’s also a stunning winter sight. Photo by Jessica Bolser, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Bring skis, snowshoes or sleds to enjoy snowy winters at Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California. From January through April, ranger-led snowshoe walks are a great way to explore this volcanic landscape. Over 75 percent of the park is designated as wilderness, offering unparalleled opportunities for solitude and adventure. Photo by National Park Service.

Moonlight brightens snowy dunes at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado. Experience the park after dark by stargazing, listening for owls along the foothills or going for a full moon walk on the dunes. Cold temperatures are the norm in winter, so bundle up with warm clothing and sturdy footwear for an unforgettable nighttime adventure. Photo by Patrick Myers, National Park Service.  

Happy New Year! Just like this gorgeous sunrise at Canyonlands National
Park in Utah, we hope your new year is filled with beauty and adventure.
Photo by Greg Sager (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

americasgreatoutdoors:

Mother Nature shows her power with this dramatic lightning storm over the Needles District at Canyonlands National Park in Utah. Photo from last summer courtesy of Claudia Castillo. ⚡

Ending the year with our most popular post on Tumblr in 2016: This dramatic shot of a lightning storm over Canyonlands National Park in Utah.

From all of us at the Interior Department, have a safe and happy new year. And here’s to amazing adventures and exploring America’s great outdoors in 2017!

You see some amazing things on America’s public lands, like this cute little bobcat hanging out within the snow-covered trees in eastern Oregon. Can you spot it? While common, bobcats are rarely seen. Sometimes called wildcats, bobcats are roughly twice as big as the average house cat. They have long legs, large paws, and tufted ears, and gets its name for its tail, which appears to be cut or “bobbed.” Photo by Kevin Eldredge, @mypubliclands.

Badlands National Park in South Dakota can seem like a formidable and forbidding landscape, but with proper planning and a sense of adventure, the park is a nature lover’s paradise year round. The spires, pinnacles and ravines, which frustrated earlier travelers, provide a visual “gateway to forever” with views that can stretch over 50 miles. Winter scenes, like this, are particularly impressive. Photo by Mike Pflaum, National Park Service.

Two spectacular western landscapes are now permanently protected as our nation’s newest national monuments – Bears Ears in Utah and Gold Butte in Nevada. Today, President Obama designated these monuments that preserve sacred land for Native American tribes, gorgeous red rock scenery, and important cultural sites such as rock art and ancient cliff dwellings. Bears Ears National Monument protects the history of hundreds of generations of native peoples who have lived in the surrounding sandstone canyons, desert mesas and meadow mountaintops – it’s also one of the densest and most significant cultural landscapes in the U.S. Gold Butte National Monument – a rugged desert adorned with dramatic red sandstone and twisting canyons – protects significant cultural resources, important geological formations, rare fossils and vital plant and wildlife habitat. https://on.doi.gov/monuments 

Photos by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management.