Getting one of the roughly 11,500 permits granted each year to backpack overnight in the Grand Canyon has become so competitive and "unfair" that managers at the national park have decided to change the system. Now those who want the coveted permits either show up in person or ...

Environmental groups are suing the federal Bureau of Land Management over its decision to allow a uranium mine to reopen north of the Grand Canyon. Canadian mining firm Denison Mines Corp. received the final state permit needed to move forward on its Arizona 1 Mine in September. The ...

A National Park Service study has ranked the Great Smoky Mountains as tops in visitor spending. The study estimates the Smokies' 9 million visitors in 2008 spent more than $800 million on lodging, fuel, food, gifts and amusements in the park's gateway communities, including Gatlinburg, Pigeon ...