All posts tagged: National Parks

What to do if you encounter a bison

What to do if you encounter a bison

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletterđź’ˇ Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. It’s getting warmer, which means spending more time outside and hopefully exploring national parks. As we visit, it’s important to remember that these parks are their home and to behave as a guest. If visiting Yellowstone National Park’s iconic bison (Bison bison), Badlands National Park in South Dakota, Antelope State Park in Utah, or any other place where North America’s largest land mammals roam is on your spring and summer to-do list, here are some safety tips to keep in mind.  TOURIST APPROACH HUGE BISON IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK If you are driving: Stay at least 25 yards (roughly 75 feet away at all times. That is about the length of two school buses or enough distance where your thumb can fully cover up the bison when you close one eye. Never, ever approach the animal for a photo. Instead, use a camera with a good telephoto lens. Or as the National Park Service (NPS) puts it, “snapping a …

The 10 most popular US National Parks in 2025

The 10 most popular US National Parks in 2025

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletterđź’ˇ Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. From the geysers of Yellowstone to the glowing, golden waterfall of Yosemite, US national parks stun in their natural beauty. In 2025, the parks received 323 million recreation visits, according to new data release by the National Parks Service. The data includes visitors to National Parks, National Historic Sites, National Memorials, National Seashores, National Parkways, and other designated public lands. Last year, overall visits to national sites dipped slightly compared to 2024. But 26 locations experienced a record number of visits, including Sequoia National Park, Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, and Coronado National Memorial. For true National Parks (as defined by NPS), the Great Smoky Mountains took the top spot for most popular US National Park with 11.5 million visits in 2025. National Park 2025 Visitors, according to National Park Service Great Smoky Mountains 11.5 million visits Zion 5 million visits Yellowstone 4.8 million visits Grand Canyon 4.4 million visits Yosemite 4.3 million visits …

Yellowstone’s first grizzly bear of 2026 emerges from his den

Yellowstone’s first grizzly bear of 2026 emerges from his den

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletterđź’ˇ Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. This week, a sure sign of spring arrived in Yellowstone National Park. Biologists working in the northern part of the park reported their first grizzly bear sighting of the season on March 9.  The bear was observed scavenging on a bull bison carcass in the park’s back country. As bears begin to emerge from their dens, they will scour the area for food. They will frequently feed on the carcasses of elk and bison that died over the winter. Bears will be aggressive when feeding on carcasses, so as with any bear encounter, it is wise to keep your distance.  Yellowstone is home to two bear species: grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) and black bears (Ursus americanus). The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is actually one of only a few areas south of Canada where both bear species coexist.  Bears will wait out the winter in their dens in a state called torpor. Torpor is involuntary and largely triggered by lack …

Best superbloom since 2016 fills Death Valley with wildflowers

Best superbloom since 2016 fills Death Valley with wildflowers

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletterđź’ˇ Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. The driest place on Earth could soon be awash in wildflowers. Death Valley National Park in California is expected to have the best bloom year since 2016. According to the National Park Service, many of their sprouts have not even flowered yet, so the fleeting beauty is just beginning.  Currently, the bright yellow desert gold (Geraea Canescens)is one of the most prominent flowers, with others blooming as well. As far as a timeline, the low-elevation flowers will likely persist until mid-to-late-March. Higher elevation flowers will likely have blooms from April through June. Bloom locations are updated on the National Park Service site.  Desert gold can cover vast areas of Death Valley with yellow flowers, but there are occasional individuals that are different. This image is from the 2016 superbloom. Image: NPS / Alan Van Valkenburg. What is a superbloom? Despite recording some of the hottest temperatures on the planet, Death Valley will have occasional wildflower displays in the spring. …

World’s largest acidic geyser erupts for first time since 2020

World’s largest acidic geyser erupts for first time since 2020

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletterđź’ˇ Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. The world’s largest acidic geyser is erupting for the first time in six years. Yellowstone National Park’s Echinus Geyser is part of the very active Norris Geyser Basin in Wyoming. In early February, the geyser began spewing out acid and water up to 30 feet into the air. The new eruptions highlight the power of the hottest and most dynamic region of Yellowstone National Park. Acid geysers like Echinus are considered rare since acidic water is usually powerful enough to break down the rock that makes up a geyser’s plumbing system. However, Echinus’ acidic water composition comes from the mixing between acidic gases and neutral waters. This means that there is not enough acid in the water to eat away at the rock.   According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), this unusual water chemistry creates some interesting formations, compositions, and color. The red color that surrounds the geyser pool and the silica-covered spiny rocks come from iron, aluminum, …

A Lawsuit Seeks to Stop Trump’s Overhaul of a 100-Year-Old Public Golf Course in Washington

A Lawsuit Seeks to Stop Trump’s Overhaul of a 100-Year-Old Public Golf Course in Washington

Published by Sam Flores

Two golfers in Washington, D.C., sued the federal government on Friday to try to prevent the Trump administration from overhauling a more than 100-year-old public golf course, accusing the administration of violating environmental laws and polluting a park that is on the National Register of Historic Places. The suit is the latest in a series of legal battles challenging President Donald Trump’s extraordinary efforts to put his mark on public spaces in the nation’s capitol, including shuttering the Kennedy Center. At the end of last year, a group of preservationists filed a similar lawsuit seeking to prevent the administration from demolishing the East Wing of the White House in order to build a ballroom — a project slated to cost $400 million. Trump, who is an avid golfer himself, also plans on renovating a military golf course just outside of Washington that has been used by past presidents going back decades. The complaint filed against the Department of the Interior on Friday says that the Trump administration’s reconstruction of East Potomac Park — which includes …

Yosemite’s glowing, golden waterfall is flowing again

Yosemite’s glowing, golden waterfall is flowing again

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletterđź’ˇ Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. As if California’s Yosemite National Park wasn’t magical enough, its famous El Capitan rock formation is graced with an exhilarating phenomenon every February. The Horsetail Fall—a waterfall that falls across the formation’s eastern side—can take on an otherworldly gleam during the latter part of the month.  During those gorgeous moments, the water flow looks like a stream of gold hurtling down the rock face, and it’s hard to believe that it’s just nature doing its thing. If that sounds like a wonderful sight, you’re in luck. It’s that time of year again. “Yosemite National Park is preparing to welcome visitors for the 2026 Horsetail Fall viewing period, projected for February 10–26, when the setting sun can illuminate the waterfall on El Capitan with a fiery glow,” the park recently announced on social media.  The effect is rare and depends on a lucky intersection of events. It is limited to clear evenings, for example, and the waterfall needs to be …

Death Valley National Park needs help ID’ing joyriding vandals

Death Valley National Park needs help ID’ing joyriding vandals

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletterđź’ˇ Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Death Valley National Park officials are searching for a couple of brazen blockheads, and they could use your help finding them. Specifically, they’re looking for at least two people last spotted in Eureka Dunes. The region located about 120 miles east of Fresno, California features what are likely the tallest sand dunes in North America. “Most importantly, OFF ROAD VEHICLE TRAVEL IS NOT PERMITTED ON THE DUNES, or anywhere else in Death Valley National Park for that matter,” the park explains on its website. Unfortunately, the clearly stated rules didn’t stop these visitors in what appears to be a 2021 Toyota Tacoma from plowing through at least five miles of restricted land on December 17th, 2025. At least eight species of plants and insects are endemic to Eureka Dunes. Credit: NPS Many people mistakenly assume a place like Death Valley is just sand, scraggly bushes, and a few cacti. But although its scorching days and freezing nights certainly live …

Supreme Court Will Hear Appeal by Maker of Popular Roundup Weedkiller to Block Thousands of Lawsuits

Supreme Court Will Hear Appeal by Maker of Popular Roundup Weedkiller to Block Thousands of Lawsuits

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to hear an appeal from global agrochemical manufacturer Bayer to block thousands of state lawsuits alleging it failed to warn people that its popular weedkiller could cause cancer. The justices will consider whether the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of the Roundup weedkiller without a cancer warning should rule out the state court claims. The Trump administration has weighed in on Bayer’s behalf, reversing the Biden administration’s position and putting it at odds with some supporters of the Make America Healthy Again agenda who oppose giving the company the legal immunity it seeks. Some studies associate Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate, with cancer, although the EPA has said it is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans when used as directed. Bayer disputes the cancer claims but has set aside $16 billion to settle cases. At the same time, it has tried to persuade states to pass laws barring the lawsuits. Georgia and North Dakota have done so. The high court will take up a case from Missouri, …