Flying
Flying is an official activity category in the National Park Service directory. Parks tag their programs, trails, and experiences with this label so visitors can find relevant opportunities. The NPS directory lists flying at 17 parks and sites nationwide. Compare destinations below, filter to national parks only, and open any park page for trails, alerts, campgrounds, and trip planning.
17 parks and sites (NPS)
Featured parks for flying
Upcoming events
Upcoming programs and events at parks in this collection (from the NPS Events API).
History Exhibit | South Rim Village | The Amazing Kolb Brothers - Pioneer Photographers - free
Step into the adventurous world of the Kolb Brothers at the “Amazing Kolb Brothers Exhibit” inside historic Kolb Studio — a dramatic house-turned-museum clinging to the edge of the canyon in Grand Canyon Village. Examine antique cameras used by the pioneering photographers, view paintings inspired by Grand Canyon landscapes, and watch the brothers’ groundbreaking 1912 motion picture travelogue documenting their river journey down the Colorado River through Grand Canyon. Saved from demolition in the 1960s, Kolb Studio remains one of the park’s most recognizable landmarks. Today, it serves as a museum, art gallery, bookstore, and gathering place for visitors near the start of the Bright Angel Trail. Operated by the park’s nonprofit partner, Grand Canyon Conservancy , the studio offers books, artwork, gifts, hiking essentials, park information, and the “Amazing Kolb Brothers Exhibit,” celebrating the lives and adventures of two brothers who helped shape Grand Canyon history. This summer, visitors will also have a rare chance to go behind the scenes as Grand Canyon Conservancy Field Institute guides lead special tours of the historic house and photo studio. Stay tuned for tour details.
Geology Talk | Ranger Talk | Yavapai Geology Museum - free
Grand Canyon Geology Talk Ranger Program Enhance your afternoon with quick insights into the geologic story of Grand Canyon at our "Geology Talk" ranger program - presented daily at 3 pm. Meet in front of Yavapai Geology Museum. Learn how this immense canyon formed and the science behind the landscape. The program is 30 minutes long and is accessible. Grand Canyon is one-mile deep, up to 18 miles wide, 277 river miles long, and displays more than 20 layers of rock The layers tell stories of oceans, deserts, mountains, and swamps that were once here, brought into existence, then swept away over the vast expanse of time. Grand Canyon is a geologically young landscape being sculpted from very old rocks. Knowing some of the stories encoded in the rock layers enriches your understanding of our planet and enhances your experience at Grand Canyon. The program is free of charge. Children must be accompanied by an adult. The Geology Talk is subject to cancellation, or may be moved indoors due to inclement weather or when lightning danger is present.
Guided Rim Walk - Ranger Program | South Rim Village | Meet at Bright Angel Trailhead - free
9 am Daily: Guided Rim Walk —Meet at Bright Angel Trailhead Learn about Grand Canyon's natural world on a one-hour guided walk on a paved pathway along the canyon rim. Topics vary and may include: animals and plants adapting to changing seasons, man's impact on nature, how nature inspires writers and poets, rare and endangered species, or Indigenous people's use of plants and animals. Program duration: 60 minutes. Presented daily. Perfect for Junior Rangers! The program is free of charge. Children must be accompanied by an adult. This program is subject to cancellation due to inclement weather or when lightning danger is present.
Sled Dog Demonstration
Denali's most popular ranger program, featuring Alaskan huskies! Visit the historic Sled Dog Kennels to meet and learn about Denali's canine rangers. Some seating is available for the demonstration, and there is plenty of standing room. No parking is available at the kennels, so please plan on using the Sled Dog Demonstration Shuttle or walking the two miles from the Denali Visitor Center to the kennels via the Roadside Hiking Trail.
Sled Dog Demonstration
Denali's most popular ranger program, featuring Alaskan huskies! Visit the historic Sled Dog Kennels to meet and learn about Denali's canine rangers. Some seating is available for the demonstration, and there is plenty of standing room. No parking is available at the kennels, so please plan on using the Sled Dog Demonstration Shuttle or walking the two miles from the Denali Visitor Center to the kennels via the Roadside Hiking Trail.
Critter Chat | Ranger Talk | Verkamp's Visitor Center (free)
Grand Canyon Critter Chat Program Enjoy this family-friendly talk to learn more about the amazing animals that call Grand Canyon home - presented daily at 2 pm. Meet in front of Verkamp's Visitor Center. The program is 30 minutes long and is accessible. The program is free of charge. Children must be accompanied by an adult. The Critter Chat is subject to cancellation due to inclement weather or when lightning danger is present.
Glacier Bay Film Showing in the Lodge Theater
Join us in the Glacier Bay Lodge Theater to enjoy a film about Glacier Bay! The selected film will vary: Forces of Change tells the complex and dynamic story of Glacier Bay, and Beneath the Reflections (2025) dives into the underwater world of the Bay. Available to play upon request , ask the park ranger on duty between 11:30 am and 5:00 pm.
Guided Walk: Forest Loop Trail
Walk with a ranger to track the “footprints” left by a glacier and discover hidden stories of Glacier Bay’s forests and shore. Walk will take about 90 minutes, one mile walk, easy. A self-guiding walk is available at any time using the NPS App. Note: If you are departing Bartlett Cove for a flight after the walk ends at 3 pm and have a tight turnaround, inform the ranger before the walk starts and they will work to accommodate your timing.
Ranger Evening Program
Join a park ranger for daily presentations in Bartlett Cove! Hear from a National Park Service Ranger at the Glacier Bay Lodge Theater (upstairs) for a deep dive into what makes Glacier Bay special. Programs begin at 6 pm, typically lasting about 30 minutes. Ranger will depart at 7:00 pm after the program, although the Glacier Bay Lodge front desk remains open 6 am - 11 pm. Program topics vary nightly: See weekly flyer posted at the lodge or on the Glacier Bay Event Calendar webpage.
Morning Bird Walk
Witness the return of Denali’s summer resident birds alongside an Alaska Geographic educator during this morning bird walk. Walks take place on a gravel and compact dirt trail. Bird enthusiasts of all ages and experience levels welcome. Meet at the Mountain Vista Parking Lot. Parking is limited; riding the Savage River Shuttle is encouraged. The shuttle departs the Denali Visitor Center at 8:00 am and arrives at Mountain Vista by 8:30 am.
Open House at Xunaa Shuká Hít, the Huna Tribal House
Discover the beauty and significance of this building, Xunaa Shuká Hít (Huna Ancestors' House), a collaborative effort between the National Park Service and Hoonah Indian Association. *Visitor hours may be altered to accommodate special events and Tribal/NPS uses. Special tribal programming or traditional demonstrations may be available on Sundays from 1-4 pm. Check the Glacier Bay Calendar for updates! (Scan QR code at top)
All parks (17)
Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve
Given its remote location and challenging weather conditions, Aniakchak is one of the most wild and least visited places in the National Park System. This landscape is a vibrant reminder of Alaska's location in the volcanically active "Ring of Fire," as it is home to an impressive six mile (10 km) wide, 2,500 ft (762 m) deep caldera formed during a massive volcanic eruption 3,500 years ago.
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve lies at the continental crossroad that greatly influenced the distribution of life in the Western Hemisphere during the Pleistocene Epoch. It is a vital landscape for Indigenous communities who depend on the land just as their ancestors did for many generations. It is a wild and ecologically healthy landscape unlike any other.
Cape Krusenstern National Monument
A bridge to the past and a land for the future, Cape Krusenstern National Monument protects approximately 560,000 acres of diverse Arctic coastal, and upland ecosystems. Inhabited by the Iñupiaq people since time-immemorial, over 5,000 years of sequential human use is documented in the 114 successive beach ridges. Rich connections to the land and waters are preserved through subsistence practices.
Capitol Hill Parks
The Capitol Hill Parks include several park areas east of the U.S. Capitol. Included in this group are Folger, Lincoln, Stanton, and Marion Parks, the Eastern Market and Potomac Avenue Metro stations, and several smaller land parcels such as Seward Square, Twining Square, the Maryland Avenue Triangles, the Pennsylvania Avenue Medians, and 59 inner-city triangles and squares.
Death Valley National Park
In this below-sea-level basin, steady drought and record summer heat make Death Valley a land of extremes. Yet, each extreme has a striking contrast. Towering peaks are frosted with winter snow. Rare rainstorms bring vast fields of wildflowers. Lush oases harbor tiny fish and refuge for wildlife and humans. Despite its morbid name, a great diversity of life thrives in Death Valley.
Denali National Park & Preserve
Denali is six million acres of wild land, bisected by one ribbon of road. Travelers along it see the relatively low-elevation taiga forest give way to high alpine tundra and snowy mountains, culminating in North America's tallest peak, 20,310' Mount McKinley. Wild animals large and small roam un-fenced lands, living as they have for ages. Solitude, tranquility and wilderness await.
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
Covering 3.3 million acres of rugged mountains, dynamic glaciers, temperate rainforest, wild coastlines and deep sheltered fjords, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is known as Homeland to the Huna and Yakutat Lingít, and is a highlight of Alaska's Inside Passage. From sea to summit, Glacier Bay offers limitless opportunities for adventure and inspiration.
Grand Canyon National Park
Entirely within the state of Arizona, the park encompasses 278 miles (447 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. Located on the ancestral homelands of 11 present day Tribal Communities, Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world—a mile deep canyon unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors from both north and south rims.
Isle Royale National Park
Explore a rugged, isolated island far from our connected communities. Isle Royale offers adventures for backpackers, hikers, boaters, paddlers, and divers. Cross Lake Superior and make a commitment: Become a part of this island, and let it become a part of you. Find peace and refuge in island wilderness – because Isle Royale, in turn, finds refuge in us. Help Isle Royale stay wild.
Katmai National Park & Preserve
A landscape is alive underneath our feet, filled with creatures that remind us what it is to be wild. Katmai was established in 1918 to protect the volcanically devastated region surrounding Novarupta and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Today, Katmai National Park and Preserve also protects 9,000 years of human history and important habitat for salmon and thousands of brown bears.
Kenai Fjords National Park
At the edge of the Kenai Peninsula lies a land where the ice age lingers. Nearly 40 glaciers flow from the Harding Icefield, Kenai Fjords' crowning feature. Wildlife thrives in icy waters and lush forests along the fjords once carved by the vast expanse of ice. Today, shrinking glaciers bear witness to the effects of our changing climate.
Kobuk Valley National Park
Caribou, sand dunes, the Kobuk River, Onion Portage - just some of the facets of Kobuk Valley National Park. Thousands of caribou migrate through, their tracks crisscrossing sculpted dunes. The Kobuk River is an ancient and current corridor for people and wildlife. For 9000 years, people came to Onion Portage to harvest caribou as they swam the river. Even today, that rich tradition continues.
Showing 1–12 of 17 parks