National Parks

Now that it's officially summer, Californians are running for the hills, mountains, deserts and oceans for a bit of vacation time. But if you're one of those people for whom vacation means obsessively checking Gmail on your BlackBerry, the time away can be maddening. That cottage in the mountains is charming enough until Day 3 without cellphone reception. So we did some homework for those of you considering excursions into the boonies this summer. We compared the coverage maps of the big four cellphone providers (available on their websites)

During the 1960s, when most African nature reserves were being established, lions tended to be born free. But today, freedom doesn't always serve them well. Fifty years ago, human population densities were low in the areas where lions roamed. But since then, the human population in that part of Africa has increased fourfold to fivefold, and demands on land have intensified. The prey that lions rely on has been reduced by poaching and habitat loss, which means that lions living in unfenced preserves roam out into farms and pastures, where they kill livestock - or humans.

A federal law taking effect Monday may alter the standard checklist for many Americans as they pack to visit their national parks: insect repellent, snacks, hiking boots . . . double-barreled shotgun. Visitors now can pack heat in any national park from Gates of the Arctic to Everglades, provided they comply with the firearms laws of the park's home state, according to the new law that was passed as an amendment to credit-card legislation. In some instances, they may carry concealed and loaded firearms, including at campsites in Yosemite Valley, along trails at Yellowstone and at the rim of the Grand Canyon.

Yellowstone, Yosemite and Sequoia were the first national parks, and Pinnacles in Central California the most recently designated one, though the land had been set aside as a national monument since 1908. National Park Week provides an incentive to go see "America's best idea" firsthand with free entry and free events on Earth Day and beyond. The deal: The 401 national parklands - parks, monuments, historic sites, etc. - will be fee-free for five days during National Park Week, which runs Saturday through April 28. Not all parks charge an entrance fee, but those that do will waive them.

After a long day of film classes, working at the Apple Store, rock climbing at the gym and finishing homework in the student union, Cal State Fullerton senior Andy Bussell heads home -- to a white Toyota Tacoma with a twin-size mattress in the truck bed, a camper shell for protection and black curtains for privacy. The 26-year-old has been living in his truck for nearly 19 months, skirting rules against sleeping in vehicles while otherwise living the life of a mainstream student.

Yellowstone, Yosemite and Sequoia were the first national parks, and Pinnacles in Central California the most recently designated one, though the land had been set aside as a national monument since 1908. National Park Week provides an incentive to go see "America's best idea" firsthand with free entry and free events on Earth Day and beyond. The deal: The 401 national parklands - parks, monuments, historic sites, etc. - will be fee-free for five days during National Park Week, which runs Saturday through April 28. Not all parks charge an entrance fee, but those that do will waive them.

Re "There for the ride," Business, June 16 A photo with the article shows re-created scenery that vaguely resembles Zion National Park. One Disney fan featured in the article said she might spend $5,000 on souvenirs during her visit to the new Cars Land at Disney California Adventure Park. You could spend a lot less money visiting one of the majestic state or national parks. I've enjoyed my visits to Disneyland, but for $5,000, let's pile in the car and go to the Grand Canyon.

A list, from Alcatraz Island to Yosemite National Park, with programs, fees and directions. Find out about historic and scenic sites as well as programs, fees and directions to California's national parks, monuments and recreation areas: Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Fort Mason, B201, San Francisco; (415) 561-4900 or (415) 981-7625 (tickets), http://www.nps.gov/alca or http://www.alcatrazcruises.com. Cabrillo National Monument, 1800 Cabrillo Memorial Drive, San Diego; (619)

You could say every week is Wolf Week in Yellowstone National Park , now that we’re 15 years into the controversial reintroduction of the animals to the park. But this winter, the people at the Yellowstone Assn. Institute would like to say a little more on the subject. So the nonprofit institute is offering “ Lamar Valley Wolf Week ” programs Dec. 13 through 17 and Dec. 20 through 24, then again March 7 through 11 and March 14 through 18. The programs, led by the institute’s naturalists and guest speakers, include field observation, classroom learning, hikes and snowshoeing expeditions.

Ken Burns makes amazing documentaries, but even more amazing is that the Oct. 15 fluff piece on national parks by Burns and Dayton Duncan, "Preserving national treasures," made it to print in The Times. The article can be summed up as such: National parks are wonderful, and thank you President Obama for saying that. Unfortunately, there's no meat, no proposals, just nostalgia. But "where's the beef" when our antiquated parks could use a real makeover? Burns and Duncan rightly pay homage to Yosemite, "the home of spectacular waterfalls, silent groves of ancient trees and an unequaled alpine wilderness.

The majestic landscape of Yosemite National Park - carved out of granite and shaped by powerful natural forces over the eons - is timeless and untouchable. Other attractions in the park … not so much. Some of Yosemite's much-loved amenities, including swimming pools, bike, horse and raft rentals, and an ice skating rink, would be jettisoned under a plan to restore the Merced River corridor to a more natural state. The Merced Wild and Scenic River Plan would reconfigure much of the Yosemite Valley by removing or relocating familiar concessions.

What better way to celebrate National Park Week than to visit a national park? Makes plans for that trip next week, when entrance to all national parks will be free, from Monday through  Friday. Many parks plan special programs, such as Death Valley National Park, which will mark National Junior Ranger Day with activities for children. As they like to say at the U.S. Interior Department: "With 401 national park units nationwide, every American is less than 100 miles from a national park experience.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday recommended designation of the San Gabriel River watershed and most of the San Gabriel Mountains as a national recreation area, making the popular playground eligible for additional law enforcement, interpretive signs, hiking trails, trash collection and other services. Salazar's long-awaited recommendation to Congress seeks to balance a crush of tourists with conservation. The designation would transform the 655,000-acre range, portions of the San Gabriel River and Rio Hondo corridors and Puente-Chino Hills into a unit of the National Park system co-managed by the National Park Service, federal officials said.

Political leaders and outdoors enthusiasts expressed dismay Thursday over new details about an Interior Department recommendation for changes in federal management of a popular region of the San Gabriel Mountains. "The proposal raises many questions, and I want answers from the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service as to why this hybrid came about," U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) said in an interview. The Interior Department announced Wednesday that it is recommending to Congress that the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service collaborate in the region, which includes a portion of the Angeles National Forest stretching from Sylmar to roughly five miles west of Interstate 15. Under the proposal, the region essentially would remain national forest land managed by the cash-strapped Forest Service.

A California teenager is lucky to be alive, officials say, after falling 25 feet down a scorchingly hot crack in the Earth's surface at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii . Rescuers were summoned shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday to a steam vent between the Kilauea Visitor Center and the Volcano House hotel , not far from the park's main entrance. The 15-year-old boy from San Rafael, who was not identified, fell into the crack while trying to leap over the protective railing that's intended to keep visitors away from the hole.

Extensive stands of Joshua Tree National Park's peculiar namesake plants are festooned with clumps of white and yellow flowers that are drawing tourists eager to take in the scenery before the bloom wilts in the harsh desert sun. “It's one of the most prolific blooms we've seen in recent years,” interpretive park ranger Bret Greenheck said. “The bloom peaked a week ago at lower elevations, but trees on higher groundare still producing flowers.” “Some biologists think Joshua Trees bloom like this in response to stressful conditions such as drought,” Greenheck said.

Better make those park reservations now. Ken Burns' "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," a six-part, 12-hour documentary celebrating the virtues of the country's nearly 400 federally protected spaces, sets up camp on PBS on Sept. 27 and stays through Oct. 2. The country's most famous documentarian, who spoke Saturday during the semiannual Television Critics Assn.

California national parks, monuments and sites A list, from Alcatraz Island to Yosemite National Park, with programs, fees and directions. Find out about historic and scenic sites as well as programs, fees and directions to California's national parks, monuments and recreation areas: Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Fort Mason, B201, San Francisco; (415) 561-4900 or (415) 981-7625 (tickets), http://www.nps.gov/alca or http://www.alcatrazcruises.com.

Trek through rugged mountains with creeks, gorges, wildlife and cultural sites by day and return to a comfortable cabin each night on three- and five-day walking tours in southern Australia (the state of South Australia) . The guided hikes explore Flinders Ranges National Park , about 280 miles north of Adelaide. Highlights include Wilpena Pound, a vast valley floor and natural rock formation; ancient art sites of the Adnyamathanha Aboriginal people; the 3,841-foot-high St. Mary Peak; and other scenic overlooks.

A popular canyon area of Joshua Tree National Park has been shut down because vandals have defaced the area with graffiti splashed across rocks and archeological sites, officials said Monday. Rattlesnake Canyon has been shut down temporarily as park officials assess the damage, which apparently has been encouraged by people on social media sites, according to officials. "The continued malicious desecration of the national park has now impacted archeological sites," park officials said in a statement.  Park rangers began noticing the scrawls in January.