Story Comments

This summer my family visited Yellowstone and stayed in the park for $120.00 a night in a frontier cabin .The cabin was nice and clean but basic no tv or internet.This was nice cause we got away from normal routine and enjoyed life.You can spend as much as you want on a trip or save money as we did.The only thing I wish we had done is carry more food with us because their food in the resort was not up to standards(cold and overpriced).

My family loves to visit national parks, especially the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Gatlinburg, TN. Unfortunately, wear and tear are the least of the worries there. Blatant vandalism is the biggest problem. There are many historical churches, cabins, barns, and other structures in the park (way to many to have a ranger in each one all the time) and it seems that many visitors feel the need to carve their names in the wood for posterity. This is absolutely disgraceful; I would just love to catch someone in the act and notify park rangers! We have also encountered feces and condoms in some of the barns(ewwwwww). Then there are the visitors who disregard posted driving rules, putting other guests in danger. It just goes on and on. I'd like to see more appreciation and respect for our national parks; the rangers work very hard to maintain these historic locations for us and we own them our cooperation to guarantee that future generations will have them available.

skiracer.16 comments certainly say a great deal about why most folks visit National Parks in the first place. I agree with everything he says.
As far as costs to visit, where else can you get such a Great Value for the money spent. Disney Land?
Re: Volunteer's knowledge of "their parks" many return year after year and many know much more than the Seasonal Rangers that work side by side with them. Most volunteer's also recognize that the Park belongs to all US citizens, not to the volunteer personally. My wife and I work as Seasonal Rangers and volunteers and have worked at National Parks and National Monuments for 14 yrs.
Enough said!

The whole point of the National Parks is for everyone to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of our sourounding world. In order to maintain that beauty, yes, we will have to pay fees, but i've been in many Natl'n parks and all are worth the cost. To look out and see the natural wonders of the world is one of the most amazing feelings one will come across. There can never be too many Natn't Parks, that's like saying there can never been too many trees. Just not possible. The lodges are there so that you can enjoy the beauty of nature even more by staing in the park and being able to experience the amazaingness for a greater amount of time. There are not there so that you can sit inside and watch tv, or check your email constantly. If thats what your doing at a park, why are you even there at all? Get our and take in the sourounding beauty!