Everglades National Park in Florida is a subtle place where earth, water and sky blend in a low green landscape – where mere inches of elevation produce distinct changes in vegetation and a great wealth of birds and other unique wildlife find refuge. One of the most environmentally significant regions in the world, this special park can also impress with its sublime beauty. Sunset photo courtesy of Aryeh Nirenberg.

Whooo is that? A baby Mexican spotted owl at Zion National Park in Utah! National parks aren’t just for people to enjoy – they also preserve important habitat for wildlife like the Mexican spotted owl, found in Zion’s slot canyons. It’s one of the largest owls in North America and is listed as a threatened species by both the U.S. and Mexican governments. Protecting parks helps ensure these owls have a home for years to come. Photo by Sarah Stio, National Park Service.

Stretching from the Rio Grande to the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park in Texas includes massive canyons, vast desert expanses, forested mountains and an ever-changing river. Explore one of the last remaining  wild corners of the United States where scenic vistas, historic sites and border culture can be found. Remember all national parks are waiving entrance fees August 25-28 to celebrate the National Park Service’s 100th birthday!

Photo by Kirsten Thompson (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

A brilliant summer sun rises over Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, shining golden light through the limbs of an old burl oak and burning away the morning fog. The refuge runs for almost 70 miles along the Minnesota River, providing visitors a unique opportunity to enjoy wildlife observation and recreation in the shadows of skyscrapers, grain elevators and towering trees. Photo by Erik Fremstad (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

Sometimes there are just no words to describe the beauty of Glacier National Park’s high alpine meadows. Video from Glacier’s Boulder Pass Trail by Ranger Amanda, National Park Service. 

Join us August 25 at the Glacier Instameet to celebrate the National Park Service’s 100th birthday. We’ll meet at Apgar Village at 6 pm – we hope to see you then!

Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is the second largest wilderness area in #Arizona. A campaign by the Arizona Boy Scouts helped establish the refuge in 1939 to protect desert bighorn sheep and other wildlife. The refuge’s name – Kofa – comes from an acronym for one of the area’s most notable mines, the King of Arizona gold mine. Photo of mountains, palo verde & brittlebush by Brian Powell (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

Have you ever seen lightning make such crazy shapes? This bolt looks like a Tyrannosaurus rex getting ready to chomp a formation at Blue Mesa in Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park. Monsoons usher in summer lightning, so explore safely and be sure to check the weather. Photo by Hallie Larsen, National Park Service.

Under the sunshine of an Alaska summer, glacial runoff flows over rocks and swells streams and rivers across the state. The waters allow salmon to make their annual spawning runs, which in turn feed the bears and eagles of Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. This pristine wilderness is a nature lover’s paradise. Photo by Zachary Spira-Bauer (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

The Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness is a rolling landscape of badlands in New Mexico, which offers some of the most unusual scenery found in the Southwest. Time, water and wind have etched a fantasy world of strange rock formations made of layered sandstone, shale, mudstone, coal and silt. The weathering of the sandstone forms hoodoos – carved rock in the form of pinnacles, spires, cap rocks and other unusual forms like these “cracked eggs” recently captured by photographer Matt Beckmann under a purple sunset. Photo courtesy of Matt Beckmann.

Summer in the PNW? Yes, please! And there’s no better place to explore than North Cascades National Park in Washington. The park is part of more than 2 million acres of wilderness, including nearby Mount Baker Wilderness (pictured here). Enjoy the solitude, peace and challenge that hiking in this beautiful park and surrounding wildernesses offer. Remember to walk lightly in all wilderness areas, so that many generations more may discover this place too. Photo courtesy of Dene Miles.