Episode Details

This week in national park news:

Mount Rainier National Park has officially dropped its timed entry reservation system for 2026 — joining Yosemite, Arches, and Glacier in abandoning the pandemic-era crowd management experiment.

Meanwhile, one of Yellowstone’s most unusual geothermal features — Echinus Geyser — has suddenly begun erupting again after years of dormancy.

We also cover:

• A fatal incident near the Kīlauea caldera in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
• A controversial proposal to build new border barriers through Big Bend National Park
• One of the best wildflower blooms in Death Valley since 2016
• A strange act of vandalism at Big Sur’s famous Calla Lily Valley
• Possible campground closures in Washington state parks
• And the opening of a brand-new Texas state park for the first time in 24 years

00:00 Intro
00:46 Mount Rainier Drops Timed Entry
02:01 Hawaii Volcano Fatal Incident
02:57 Yellowstone Geyser Returns
04:47 Big Bend Border Wall Proposal
06:58 Death Valley Wildflower Bloom
08:14 Big Sur Flower Vandalism
09:46 Washington Campground Cuts
10:58 Texas Opens New State Park
12:05 Wrap Up