Catoctin Mountain Park

11/06/2026

Across the National Park System, memorials, monuments and historic landscapes preserve the stories of those who served and sacrificed. From the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and World War II Memorial to the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Pearl Harbor National Memorial and the newly dedicated Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial, these places invite us to reflect on the people behind the history.

Beyond the memorials, historic battlefields, military forts and other sites across the country help tell the stories of generations who served. On Veterans Day, take time to visit a place of remembrance, discover a story you didn't know, and honor those who served.

Explore places that commemorate America's military history: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/veterans-day.htm

Image: Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial Raptors in Flight. NPS/Brodsky

11/06/2026

11/05/2026

The histories, cultures, and living traditions of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islander communities are an important part of the stories told across our national parks.

Throughout the year, and during November’s Native American Heritage Month, explore the stories, places, and cultural heritage preserved and shared in national parks and communities across the country: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/native-american-heritage-month.htm

NPS Photo

11/04/2026

It’s leaf-peeping season. The trees have made an effort, so the least we can do is go outside and stare at them.

Leaf peeping is the ancient human tradition of traveling long distances to look at leaves, take photographs, and stand in the middle of roads while saying, “Oh, wow, look at that one.”

Nobody knows exactly when this became a major event, but the trees seem okay with the arrangement. So get out there and see what all the rustle is about.

NPS photos

11/04/2026

As Veterans Day approaches, take a moment to honor those who have served our country. One way to celebrate their service is by helping them discover the places and stories that make our nation's public lands special.

U.S. military veterans and Gold Star Families are eligible for a free America the Beautiful Military Lifetime Pass, providing free access to federal recreation lands where entrance or standard amenity fees are charged.

From the quiet beauty of a mountain trail to the stories preserved at historic sites, our public lands offer opportunities to explore, reflect, learn, and connect with the places that help tell America's story.

Learn how to get your pass and start planning your next adventure: https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/veterans-and-gold-star-families-free-access.htm

Image: Korean War Veterans Memorial at National Mall & Memorial Parks /NPS

11/02/2026

Hello darkness, my old friend. Now you start at 5:00 pm.

With daylight saving time behind us, the sun is clocking out a littler earlier. Just as before, if you’re heading to a national park, make sure and check park hours, trail conditions, weather forecasts, and sunset times.

Fun fact: admiring fall foliage is much more enjoyable when you’re not trying to navigate a trail in the dark while wondering which tree looks familiar.

NPS photo

11/02/2026

11/02/2026

🦋 Imagine flying thousands of miles to make it home for a family reunion. Monarch butterflies do it every year.

Every fall, two journeys come together. As millions of monarch butterflies travel south on one of nature's greatest migrations, families gather to honor loved ones during Day of the Dead or Día de los Mu***os.

For many communities, the arrival of the monarchs is more than a sign of the changing season. These butterflies are seen as messengers, symbolizing the return of loved ones in spirit and serving as a beautiful reminder of the enduring connections between generations.

Traveling thousands of miles across North America, they depend on healthy habitats, including in parks, to rest, feed, and continue their journey.

What animal makes you feel connected to your family or community?

Several parks across the country host cultural Day of the Dead programming, including San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, among others.

NPS Photo taken at Amistad National Recreation Area

11/02/2026

Día de los Mu***os, or Day of the Dead, is a centuries-old tradition that honors the lives of loved ones who have passed. Its roots stretch back to Indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica, where ancestors were remembered through ritual, art, and celebration. When the Spanish arrived in what is now Texas, these native customs merged with Catholic traditions like All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day; creating the vibrant holiday we know today.

At San Antonio Missions, you can see this cultural fusion come to life. From colorful altars adorned with marigolds and candles to music, food, and stories, the park reflects how Spanish and Indigenous traditions shaped communities along the San Antonio River.

Come explore mission descendant ofrendas/ Day of the Dead altars while they are still inside the Mission San Jose granary for a few more days!

NPS Photo/ Andrew Shirey

10/31/2026

This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Pumpkins* scream in the dead of night!

Happy Halloween!

*No pumpkins have been observed screaming in national parks. You may be hearing a coyote, bobcat, fox, owl, or that marmot looking for Alan…or was it Steve?

Image: Boo! Carved jack-o’-lantern with ranger hat at Hartwell Tavern at Minute Man National Historical Park

08/30/2026

National Park Week is ending, but the adventure does not stop here. We explored remarkable national parks within two hours of Washington, D.C. Together, they protect roaring rivers, mountain forests, historic farms, forts, battlefields, performing arts and monuments honoring democracy, freedom, service and sacrifice.

You could explore them all in two days, but it could take a lifetime to discover every trail, place and story. Return to finish the hike you started. Join a ranger-led program you missed. Share a memorial you love with a new friend. Volunteer to care for a park that inspired you.

These places preserve America’s story, strengthen our communities and belong to all of us. They also need all of us to help them thrive throughout the nation’s next 250 years.

Keep exploring. Keep learning. Keep protecting. https://ow.ly/zACF50ZFoXc

08/30/2026

National Park Week continues with Junior Ranger Day! Next on your tour is Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, where every junior ranger mission can stretch for 184.5 miles.

This National Junior Ranger Day explore, learn and protect the park as you trek along the historic towpath, see canal locks in action, cross iconic aqueducts on a model canal boat, and discover the stories of canal builders, workers, and communities that lived and worked along the canal's waters and the park staff and volunteers who protect it today. To participate, pick up a book at a visitor center or download a Junior Ranger activity book. Curiosity has no age limit, and grown-ups may report for Junior Ranger duty as well! Whether you’re biking or hiking, fishing or canoeing the C&O Canal has something for everyone. https://ow.ly/effa50ZFoC3

08/29/2026

National Park Week continues with Staff Saturday! Celebrate by visiting the National Mall and Memorial Parks and walk through America’s front yard.

Meet the people who keep America’s front yard beautiful and welcoming for millions of visitors! Watch the colors of sunrise dance across the Washington Monument, climb the Lincoln Memorial steps and read the powerful words carved into its walls. Reflect at memorials honoring veterans and visionary leaders, enjoy a picnic beneath the trees or discover something new during a ranger-led program. Return after sunset to see stone, bronze and the Tidal Basin shine against the night sky. Rangers, skilled craftspeople, historic preservation experts and maintenance crews care for more than 1,000 acres of treasured places. Come see their remarkable work and experience the National Mall and Memorial Parks for yourself. https://ow.ly/7O0g50ZFohn


NPS Photos

08/29/2026

National Park Week continues with Staff Saturday! Next on your tour is Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, where cicadas share the summer soundtrack with symphonies, singers and stars.

Rangers, maintenance employees, resource specialists, visitor-service teams and volunteers care for more than 100 acres while welcoming audiences for music, theater and dance. Before the curtain rises, hike the 2.5-mile Wolf Trap Trail through quiet woodlands and across Wolf Trap Run, or join a ranger-led activity. In 1966, arts champion Catherine Filene Shouse donated nearly 100 acres of her farm and funds for an outdoor amphitheater, creating a place where nature and the performing arts could flourish together. Her extraordinary gift became Wolf Trap, the only national park established specifically for the performing arts. Explore the landscape, experience a performance and give the people who keep this remarkable place safe, scenic and show-ready a standing ovation. https://ow.ly/ItT850ZFo6v



NPS Photos

08/28/2026

National Park Week continues with Freedom Friday! Next on your tour is Antietam National Battlefield, where farm fields became a battlefield and a battlefield changed the course of American freedom.

Walk the ground where America’s bloodiest single day opened the door to freedom. On Sept. 17, 1862, about 23,000 United States and Confederate soldiers were killed, wounded or reported missing during 12 hours of combat. The United States victory gave President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity he had awaited to announce the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Five days later, he issued it, expanding the United States war effort from preserving the nation to also striking directly at slavery and advancing freedom.

Come experience Antietam National Battlefield for yourself. Follow the driving tour, hike across historic farms and stand at Dunker Church, Bloody Lane and Burnside Bridge. Join a ranger program, explore the museum and pay tribute at the National Cemetery. Walk where history turned toward freedom and discover how one momentous day helped change the course of the nation. https://www.nps.gov/anti/planyourvisit/index.htm



NPS Photos

08/28/2026

National Park Week continues with Freedom Friday! Next on your tour is Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, where two rivers and some of America’s most powerful struggles for freedom meet.

Freedom was never guaranteed to happen. It was won through courage, sacrifice and the refusal to accept injustice.

Explore John Brown’s 1859 raid against slavery, Storer College’s education of formerly enslaved people and W.E.B. Du Bois’s leadership of the Niagara Movement, which gathered here in 1906 to demand full civil rights. Walk through Lower Town, enter John Brown’s Fort and climb toward sweeping views of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers.

At Harpers Ferry, people risked their lives, pursued knowledge and raised their voices to move America closer to its highest ideals. Come stand where they stood, hear the stories of those who sacrificed for freedom and carry their unfinished work toward a more perfect union. https://ow.ly/4J7c50ZFn8S

08/27/2026

National Park Week continues with Thankful Thursday! Next on your tour is Prince William Forest Park. Come trade traffic and towers for deep forests, rushing streams and historic cabins.

Explore a landscape shaped by a rich history of use by indigenous people, early colonial settlers, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the US military. Today, employees, resource specialists, volunteers and partners alike work together to ensure preservation and conservation for the more than 150 historic cabins, four campgrounds and 37 miles of trails. Hike, bike, camp, picnic, enjoy a program or test your navigation skills on the park’s 60-point orienteering course. Enter the park ready to explore and leave inspired to help this extraordinary forest flourish. https://ow.ly/fYXE50ZFn1o

08/27/2026

National Park Week continues with Thankful Thursday! Next on your tour is Monocacy National Battlefield, where quiet farms witnessed a battle that helped save Washington in 1864.

They lost the battle. But they bought Washington a precious day.

On July 9, 1864, a smaller Federal force stood in the path of Confederate troops advancing toward the nation’s capital. Although defeated at Monocacy, the soldiers resisted fiercely and delayed the Confederate advance long enough for reinforcements to reach Washington.

This Thankful Thursday, we honor the soldiers who fought and sacrificed here, and we thank the rangers, maintenance crews, volunteers and partners who preserve their stories and care for this hallowed ground today.

Come experience it for yourself. Follow the trails across historic fields and river crossings where soldiers fought, fell and changed the course of history. At Monocacy National Battlefield, a lost battle helped save the capital, and the courage shown here still speaks across generations. https://ow.ly/PwgN50ZFmrq



NPS Photos

08/27/2026

🐾 Watch Wildlife Wednesday: Become a B.A.R.K. Ranger! 🐾

Your dog may not technically be wildlife, but they certainly make life wilder, happier and full of adventure!

Many national parks invite four-legged visitors to become official B.A.R.K. Rangers by striving to keep four simple promises:

🐶 Bag your pet’s waste
🐶 Always use a leash
🐶 Respect wildlife
🐶 Know where you can go

Take your best furry friend to a nearby national park in the national capital region but check the park’s online calendar first to find upcoming B.A.R.K. Ranger events. Your pup could return home with happy memories, tired paws and some well-earned park-ranger swagger.

Because every good adventure deserves a happily wagging tail.



NPS Photos

08/26/2026

National Park Week continues with Watch Wildlife Wednesday! Next on your tour is Catoctin Mountain Park. Come visit a mountain landscape generations of Americans have worked continuously to conserve.

Climb through forests alive with deer, foxes, salamanders, and black bears toward rocky overlooks with sweeping mountain views. Catoctin Mountain’s 27 miles of trails range from pleasant nature walks to more challenging climbs toward Chimney Rock and Hog Rock.

The mountain also holds centuries of history. Native Americans quarried stone here to make tools, and a secluded presidential retreat has hosted decisions that shaped the nation and the world. Catoctin Mountain always has another marvelous detail to reveal.

Employees, volunteers, and resource specialists maintain these trails and protect the natural and cultural heritage of Catoctin Mountain Park. Observe quietly, stay on designated trails, and admire wildlife from a safe distance through your camera’s zoom lens. Humans love selfies but wildlife? Not so much. https://ow.ly/6gim50ZFm9K



NPS Photos