Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (2024)

How much do you really know about units of the National Park System? Indeed, there are so many facts and interesting tidbits. You might, however, know more than you realize. Just check out this latest National Parks Traveler quiz and trivia piece. Maybe you’ll even learn a few new things.

Contributing photographer and writer Rebecca Latson has spent the past 11 years with the National Parks Traveler, writing about tips and techniques for getting the best national park photos – no matter what camera you use. In her final article for the Traveler before it goes dark on December 31, 2023, Rebecca recaps some of those tips and techniques.

How many times have you viewed someone’s national park images and one shot in particular pulled you into the composition? This shot invited you in. This is the power of an intimate composition. Traveler contributing photographer Rebecca Latson explains the photographic elements of this type of composition.

Beginning next month you'll be able to buy one annual pass that gains you entrance into Crater Lake National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lava Beds National Monument, and Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.

Are you ready to test your national parks knowledge with the Traveler’s latest quiz and trivia piece?

A fatal traffic accident on Highway 299 sparked a wildland fire and precipitated a closure and evacuation of the eastern side of Whiskeytown NRA.

Come Friday morning, hikers, campers, mountain bikers, trail runners, and horseback riders will be able to access several areas of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in California that had been closed since the Carr Fire of 2018.

Waterfalls soothe us with their sounds, inspire our imaginations by their very presence, and, even refresh us, on occasion, with their cool spray. From the Pacific Northwest to the Eastern Seaboard, these cascades if water – named and unnamed – populate the National Park System. See how much you know about national park waterfalls, and maybe learn a little something, too.

Not all park forests are alike. Some forests thrive in moist, even waterlogged environments, while others flourish in much drier climates. Some forests remain green year-round while others burst with color in the fall. Some forests stand as stark testaments to the ravages of wildfires while other forests provide environments for trees to grow to mind-boggling heights and widths. All these forests and their trees flesh out the story of a national park visit and the Traveler’s contributing photographer Rebecca Latson provides example images, tips, and techniques to help you capture the forest story of your own park trip.