The distant mountains, as seen here from the Continental Divide, are the Absaroka Mountains which border the eastern side of Yellowstone National Park.
Photo: National Park Service
Mysteries of Sonoran Desert life are slowly revealed and abundantly displayed at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. This International Biosphere Reserve, is an ecorich collection of plants and animals that have adapted to living throughout this surprisingly diverse geological landscape. Scenic drives, wilderness hikes and camping can lead to unravelling the mysteries that await your discovery.
Photo: National Park Service
Nearly nine million people visit Gateway National Recreation Area as their “gateway” to a national park experience in the New York metropolitan area. The park’s 26,000 acres extend across two states (New York and New Jersey) and three boroughs of New York City: Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens. From beaches to salt marshes to military and aviation history, Gateway is your gateway to fun.
This photo was taken by Mark A. Costa two weeks before Hurricane Sandy of Horseshoe Cove at Sandy Hook.
The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Refuge is located along the central coast of California, in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. Bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and farmland to the east, the refuge encompasses one of the largest coastal dune systems remaining in California.
The refuge was established to protect breeding habitat for the endangered California least tern and the threatened western snowy plover. The refuge also provides habitat for other endangered species, including the California tiger salamander (recently listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act), California red-legged frog, Morro blue butterfly, shoulder band dune snail, and 16 rare or endangered plant species.
Photo: USFWS/Shive
Visit Arches National Park in Utah and discover a landscape of contrasting colors, landforms and textures unlike any other in the world. The park has over 2,000 natural stone arches, in addition to hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive fins and giant balanced rocks. This red rock wonderland will amaze you with its formations, refresh you with its trails, and inspire you with its sunsets.
Courthouse Towers are pictured above.
Photo: National Park Service
The Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument covers about 375,000 acres of BLM-administered public land in central Montana. These lands hold a spectacular array of plant life, wildlife, unique geological features, endless recreational opportunities and significant historical and cultural values. The rugged landscape has retained much of its unspoiled character over the centuries and, as a result, offers outstanding opportunities for solitude and dispersed recreation.
Photo: Bureau of Land Management
Explore a dynamic wilderness dotted with hot springs, ancient lava flows, and the largest maar lakes in the world at Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. Ramble across tundra seeking muskox, caribou, and signs of ice age life. The Bering Land Bridge provided a pathway for plants, animals, and people to cross from old world to new. Today local residents use this land just as their ancestors have for generations.
Photo: National Park Service
Is it getting cold where you are? There is still plenty of warm weather down at the Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The refuge is located in the lower Florida Keys and currently consists of approximately 9,200 acres of land that includes pine rockland forests, tropical hardwood hammocks, freshwater wetlands, salt marsh wetlands, and mangrove forests. These natural communities are critical habitat for hundreds of endemic and migratory species including 17 federally-listed species such as Key deer, lower Keys marsh rabbit, and silver rice rat.
Photo: Chad Anderson
Still stuffed from Thanksgiving? Why not work some of it off on our public lands? Most people live within driving distance of a National Park, Wildlife Refuge, or other public lands. Here’s a great shot from Arches National Park earlier this week.
For more information on public lands near you, visit www.recreation.gov today.
Photo: National Park Service
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