Travelers headed to Yosemite National Park this spring are encountering something the park had largely managed to avoid since the pandemic days: unrestricted peak-season traffic. After five years of enforcing various reservation systems designed to regulate vehicle access during the park’s busiest months, Yosemite has nixed its entry requirements for 2026—a decision that’s already led to instances of overcrowding at the popular park.

According to a statement released by the NPS earlier this year, the move was data-driven: “The decision follows a comprehensive evaluation of traffic patterns, parking availability, and visitor use during the 2025 season,” the NPS said. “Park analysis found that most weekdays maintained available parking, stable traffic flow, and visitation levels within the park’s operational capacity.”

Additional major US national parks, like Glacier, Arches, and Mount Rainer, have similarly dropped their reservation requirements for 2026. With the peak summer travel season just around the corner, the parks are now being put to the test. Here’s what to know.

Will the parks be more crowded as a result?

Over the first weekend of May, Yosemite park officials and visitors reported entrance station backups of up to 90 minutes.

Juan Pablo Jim. / 500px

US national parks continue to see high visitation levels following the pandemic-era surge in domestic travel. Timed-entry supporters argue that reservations help stabilize traffic flow, reduce environmental strain, and improve predictability during peak periods. Opponents say that such systems limit spontaneous access and create barriers for travelers who cannot plan months in advance or navigate complex booking windows.

At Yosemite, the shift is already reshaping how travelers experience one of the country’s most iconic national park destinations. Over the first weekend of May, park officials and visitors reported entrance station backups of up to 90 minutes with parking inside Yosemite Valley filling up before noon. Visitors arriving just after 11:00 a.m. were directed into overflow areas or forced to take lengthy loops through the valley floor as they search for parking spots, SFgate reported.

Yosemite draws several million visitors annually, with peak traffic kicking off in the spring and lasting through early fall. Without required reservations, it’s easier for travelers to enter without prior planning—but if you want to avoid crowds during peak hours and weekends, it’ll require a little more forethought.

Because the park’s infrastructure has not yet changed to match fluctuating visitation models, parking capacity and shuttle systems are still fixed—meaning that by late morning on high-demand days, mobility inside the valley may become increasingly constrained.

Britain has long been a haven for hikers, amblers, and fans of a brisk stroll in the open air. From the open expanses of the Lake District to the rugged terrain of the Scottish Highlands via Wales’s peaks, there is no shortage of places to work up a sweat, al fresco, across the UK.

As of summer 2026, travelers eager to stretch their legs will be able to embark on quite the adventure, thanks to the opening of the longest managed coastal path in the world.

While work on the King Charles III England Coast Path National Trail has been more than 15 years in the making, some of the final stretches of the route are currently being constructed or restored, with the aim of opening to the public ahead of sunnier times.

Summer view of the white cliffs of Dover and English Channel in Dover, Kent, England

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The coastal path is split into eight sections, the first beginning at the edge of the Scottish border and zig-zagging along the North East’s coastline, through the seabird colonies of Bempton, by the chalk cliffs of Flamborough Head and through North Yorkshire fishing villages and seaside towns that come alive in summer, such as Whitby and Scarborough.

From here, the path bends along the Lincolnshire coast before flowing into East Anglia and then the South East, from Woolwich on the Thames Estuary along some of the prettiest beaches in Kent and through buzzy Brighton towards the south.

Beyond this, the sixth stretch grants walkers access to the South West’s Channel coast before swinging round at England’s most southerly point onto Cornwall’s Atlantic Coast. As the King Charles III England Coast Path National Trail doesn’t include Wales, the final section of the route covers the northwest between Wales and Scotland’s borders.

Farm, mountains, and sea on the Lleyn Peninsula, North Wales

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Death Valley, California—the hottest and driest place in North America—is rarely a place you associate with flowers. Its vast salt flats, jagged canyons, and sweeping sand dunes seem merely designed to test human endurance. Yet this spring, after an unusually rainy 2025, the desert is showing a side of itself few expect: colorful, vibrant, and breathtakingly alive

Swathes of Death Valley are now carpeted with golden desert gold, violet sand verbena, brown-eyed primrose, and bursts of grape soda lupine. The US National Park Service (NPS) calls it “the best blooming event the site has seen since 2016.” (And indeed, this fine magazine covered the event a decade ago.) Low-elevation blooms are already in full display through mid- to late March, while higher elevations will follow in April, stretching the desert’s seasonal awakening into early summer.

The trigger? Record rainfall. This past autumn, 2.41 inches of rain fell across the valley, soaking dormant seeds and washing away their protective coatings. quiet’s steady showers gave those seeds the moisture needed to root, sprout, and bloom before the desert heat returned. Most of Death Valley’s wildflowers are annuals, or ephemerals, meaning they live fast and die young. They survive the desert’s extreme conditions by lying dormant as seeds for years, then bursting into life when conditions allow.

According to NPS, you can walk through Badwater Basin, where the desert gold forms a golden carpet against the stark white salt flats. Sand verbena spreads in patches of deep violet, while clusters of brown-eyed primrose dot sandy washes. Grape soda lupine adds flashes of pink and magenta along ridgelines near Zabriskie Point. Even the park entrance sign is surrounded by a bed of color, a stark contrast to the barren expanses that usually greet visitors. The blooms also attract a flurry of desert pollinators. Bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds are drawn to the abundance, taking advantage of a resource that is otherwise scarce. For a brief window, the desert is abuzz with activity, a living counterpoint to its usual quiet.

NPS advises visitors to respect the fragile landscape: As tempting as it may be, do not pick flowers; park fully off road shoulders; and watch for deep sand or uneven edges. Some flowers can irritate the skin, so observing them without touching is safest. Spring is a high-traffic season, so expect limited parking and crowds at popular viewpoints.

As visitors descend on Death Valley this spring, the National Park advises visitors to respect the fragile landscape.

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Like the moon’s shadow sweeping across the globe during a total solar eclipse, astronomy-focused tourism is taking the world by storm. And in 2026, there are plenty of celestial reasons to travel. You’ve likely already heard of the August 2026 total solar eclipse, which is undoubtedly the year’s marquee event, but you can also travel for everything from rocket launches to meteor showers. These are the astronomy events that can turn trips into once-in-a-lifetime experiences—and where to go to see them at their best.

Artemis II Launch: ~February 5, 2026

Okay, this one isn’t quite an astronomy event, but fans of the night sky might want to check it out nonetheless. NASA plans to take one step closer to returning to the moon in 2026 with the launch of Artemis II, the first crewed launch of the Artemis program, which will take astronauts on a lunar flyby. It’s scheduled to take place at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center as soon as February 5, although that date is subject to change.

Where to travel: Florida’s Space Coast, near the Kennedy Space Center, where the launch becomes a communal event shared on beaches, causeways, and waterfront parks. (Named one of our best places to go in the US in 2025.)

Hot tip: Build in extra days. Launch schedules shift frequently due to weather or technical concerns—and they can be aborted down to the last second. But the Space Coast rewards those who are patient for launches with bioluminescent kayaking, wildlife refuges, and old-school Florida beach towns.

Annular Solar Eclipse: February 17, 2026

This is an eclipse for the intrepid, as it will only be viewable from Antarctica. Like a total solar eclipse, an annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes in front of the sun—but in this case, it doesn’t fully cover it. The result is a “ring of fire” around the black sphere of the moon.

Where to travel: Antarctica. The path of annularity cuts across the southernmost continent, making this eclipse accessible primarily via expedition cruise. The downside: most ships travel to the Antarctica Peninsula, from which only a partial solar eclipse is visible. You can also catch a partial eclipse in parts of southern Africa.

Hot tip: If you want to experience the full annular solar eclipse rather than just a partial one, you’ll likely have to charter your own vessel to sail to East Antarctica—and that is by no means a budget-friendly option.

Total Lunar Eclipse: March 3, 2026

In a total lunar eclipse, the Earth moves between the sun and the moon, its shadow crossing the moon’s surface and turning it coppery red. It’ll be fairly easy to see—lunar eclipses are visible anywhere from the night side of the Earth during the event, so long as there are clear skies. While you might not need to travel far for this total lunar eclipse, astrophotographers might want to position themselves somewhere especially scenic to get the perfect shot.

Aurora chasers, it’s time to charge up your cameras, don your hats and gloves, and get ready for a long night looking up at the sky. Last night, the best northern lights display of the year dazzled across the continental United States—reaching as far south as Mexico—and it could continue tonight.

The northern lights occur when charged particles from the sun impact the Earth and react with our magnetic field. Those particles can burst forth from the sun via various events, including coronal mass ejections (CMEs), or eruptions of plasma and magnetic fields that often occur alongside solar flares. Since November 9, five major X-class solar flares—the most powerful type of solar flare—erupted from the sun, including the largest one of the year at X5.1 intensity. Two associated CME hit the Earth last night, producing extraordinary auroras across the US. Now, there’s one more on the way.

When such emissions are inbound, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) issues geomagnetic storm watches on a scale of G1 to G5. For these recent solar events, it issued a G2 geomagnetic storm watch for Tuesday, November 11, and a G4 watch for Wednesday, November 12. Today, SWPC extended the G4 watch to Thursday, November 13. Keep in mind that SWPC uses Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is hours ahead of US time zones. In the US, the northern lights are expected to peak the night of November 11 and November 12. Below, everything aurora-hunters need to know to catch the dazzling display.

This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date.

Where can you see the northern lights in the US?

On November 11, viewers in the US were able to see the northern lights as far south as Florida and Texas. If you’re hoping to see the northern lights tonight, the best thing to do is go to the darkest place you can find with clear views to the north after sunset. (That said, the northern lights were visible in heavily polluted cities last night, including New York.) The farther south you are, the lower the northern lights will be on the horizon. In extremely southern locations, you might only see a red glow—that’s because the aurora appears red at high altitudes, with greens coming in closer to the Earth’s surface (and purples and blues below that). Additionally, a weak display might not be visible to the naked eye, but it might show up on a camera—hold up your phone to the night sky, and you might be surprised.

Aurora chasers, it’s time to charge up your cameras, don your hats and gloves, and get ready for a long night looking up at the sky. The year’s best northern lights display could happen this week, starting as early as November 11—and you might be able to see it across the continental United States.

The northern lights occur when charged particles from the sun impact the Earth and react with our magnetic field. Those particles can burst forth from the sun via various events, including coronal mass ejections (CMEs), or eruptions of plasma and magnetic fields that often occur alongside solar flares. Since November 9, five major X-class solar flares—the most powerful type of solar flare—erupted from the sun, including the largest one of the year at X5.1 intensity. Now, Earth is bracing for the impact of three associated CMEs.

When such emissions are inbound, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) issues geomagnetic storm watches on a scale of G1 to G5. For these recent solar events, it has issued a G2 geomagnetic storm watch for Tuesday, November 11, a G4 watch for Wednesday, November 12, and a G3 watch for Thursday, November 13. Keep in mind that SWPC uses Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is hours ahead of US time zones. In the US, the northern lights are expected to peak the night of November 11 and November 12. Here’s everything aurora-hunters need to know.

Where can you see the northern lights in the US?

If you’re hoping to see the northern lights this week, the best thing to do is go to the darkest place you can find with clear views to the north after sunset. The farther south you are, the lower the northern lights will be on the horizon. Additionally, a weak display might not be visible to the naked eye, but it might show up on a camera—hold up your phone to the night sky, and you might be surprised.

“During a G4 geomagnetic storm, we may see the auroral ovals expand to lower latitudes and places in the central US may see naked-eye auroral displays throughout the night,” aurora photographer and space weather Ph.D student Vincent Ledvina wrote on X. “The US-Mexico border latitude could even see red glows on-camera during big flareups called substorms.”

Some of the best places in the contiguous US to see the northern lights (beyond Alaska) include Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota, and Glacier National Park in Montana. Even if the auroras decide not to show, officially designated Dark Sky Places like Big Bend National Park in Texas and Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida promise prime stargazing and outdoor adventure regardless.

When will the northern lights be visible?

As always, when it comes to the northern lights, some expectation setting is in order. SWPC’s watch is simply a forecast for geomagnetic activity, so there’s a chance the northern lights will underperform.

If three lodges are two too many, head south to Moukalaba-DouDou National Park, where Nyanga Lodge, which opened in early 2025, enjoys sweet isolation as the sole luxury safari property in what locals refer to as the “great apes national park.” Nyanga’s offerings for 2026 include outdoor dining experiences from a new treetop terrace to beach dinners, all the better to spy one of the park’s many primate species or marine spectacles like migrating humpback whales and nesting sea turtles. With its surrounding waters also rich in game fish like tarpon, Nyanga will additionally launch the first full season of its exclusive international catch-and-release sport fishery in 2026.

For those seeking an even wilder experience, the early 2026 opening of Sette Cama Eco Camp at the remote southern end of Loango National Park promises to be a game changer. The first property in Machaba Safaris’ Machaba Wild portfolio, this comfortable base camp will focus on adventures that favor immersion over indulgence. With activities like jungle treks (tracking chimpanzees, western lowland gorillas, forest elephants, and red river hogs), longer coastal trails (the best way to see the same jungle creatures on the beach as well as surfing hippos), and boat cruises and kayaking trips (ideal for spotting dwarf crocodiles, incredible bird life, and the shyer West African manatees), it’s all about active engagement with Gabon’s extraordinary environments. Perhaps the ultimate and most intimate version of jungle immersion, Lowveld Trails Co. will launch its first full-season of multinight primitive walking trails in mid-late summer 2026, using Sette Cama Eco Camp as its base.

While Gabon’s wonders are both unique and abundant, tourism infrastructure remains rudimentary at best, and great wildlife sightings are not always easy. With Anderson Expeditions, a pioneer in conservation-forward tourism in Gabon, resuming its tailored itineraries in 2026, private guides will help guests navigate the primeval forests and crystalline streams. —Lee Middleton

Ngara, Nairobi, Kenya

Go for: an urban enclave offering a bold, walkable slice of Nairobi’s food, fashion, and art scenes

The Westfjords

The Westfjords region in northwestern Iceland offers one of the most dramatic settings for the eclipse, between its jagged cliffs, breathtaking fjords, and dazzling waterfalls. Totality will last just over two minutes at most here. Because of the remote nature of the Westfjords, planning your trip well ahead of time is key, as accommodations are limited to small hotels, inns, and guesthouses. In fact, most are already booked up, so renting a campervan might be the best option at this point—but those are going to be in high demand, too.

The Snæfellsnes Peninsula

Just south of the Westfjords, the Snæfellsnes Peninsula has all of Iceland’s natural highlights—volcanoes, glaciers, waterfalls, cliffs—packed into a small area. During the total solar eclipse, viewers here will experience around two minutes of totality. Like the Westfjords, accommodations are limited; most hotels and inns are largely booked up already. Travelers can keep an eye out for cancellations or look into camping options.

The Reykjanes Peninsula

This southern peninsula along Iceland’s West Coast is home to the country’s famous Blue Lagoon, as well as its major international airport, Keflavík. It’s also the site of the recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland. During the eclipse, parts of the peninsula will experience up to one minute of totality. Though more populated than both the Westfjords and Snæfellsnes, there still aren’t very many accommodations here. While we love the Retreat at the Blue Lagoon and the Silica Hotel, they’re already booked up for the eclipse—though there’s always a chance that last-minute cancellations will open rooms up.

Reykjavík

Iceland’s trendy capital city will plunge into darkness during the total solar eclipse for about one minute—if you’re looking for a convenient place to see the show, Reykjavík might be your answer. Despite having the majority of the country’s hotel rooms, the city is largely booked up for the eclipse already. Some smaller accommodations, such as the Loft HI Hostel right downtown, still have limited availability, so act fast.

Spain

In Spain, the path of totality will cross over most of the northern half of the country. The eclipse will occur around sunset here, which means you need wide-open views to the west, not just directly above you—something that’s important to keep that in mind when choosing a viewing destination. Below are some of the best places in Spain to see the 2026 total solar eclipse:

Here’s how the government shutdown—and the administration’s decision to keep public lands open—could impact national parks and upcoming trips.

Why are advocates calling for park closures?

To put it simply, leaving public lands—including national parks—open during the government shutdown is dangerous to both visitors and park resources, says Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks. “We don’t leave museums open without curators, or airports without air traffic controllers, and we should not leave our national parks open without National Park Service employees,” she tells Condé Nast Traveler.

Which national parks are staying open?

The language in the DOI’s Park Service contingency plan indicates that open air elements of national parks, such as roads, trails, outdoor memorials, and viewpoints, will stay open and accessible to visitors. Meanwhile, facilities like visitor centers, caves, indoor museums, and some restroom facilities will be closed.

“Our understanding is that anything that would normally have closed last night, where they would have closed the gate or closed a door… those portions of parks are staying closed,” says Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, a membership group that represents park professionals. “Everything else is going to stay open.”

The federal government’s contingency plan allows for parks to utilize donations and appropriated state funds to keep national parks staffed and open, though it is unclear which sites will have the resources to do so. Both Utah and Colorado legislators have mentioned that they will, if necessary, use state money to fund major national parks so that their respective economies and gateway communities are minimally impacted.

If you’re a traveler with an upcoming national park booking, such as a camping permit or entry reservations, Recreation.gov has posted a vague disclaimer that it might not be able to take reservations for future dates “depending on agency operations,” noting that existing reservations could be canceled with or without an email update. The website suggests contacting local park offices for specific details on reservations, but with the NPS communications team furloughed, it’s unclear what, if any, communications will get through.

The Faroe Islands is one of our Best Places to Go in 2025. Find our full guide here.

When I picked up the keys to my rental car in the Faroe Islands, the agent slid me a contract unlike any I’d seen. No clauses about mileage, no small print on insurance. Instead, it was more of an oath—one that said I was ready to “follow the car’s mysterious path, refrain from rebelling against the GPS overlord, and enjoy the adventure—even if I don’t know where I’m going.”

That’s the idea behind the Faroe Islands’ new “self-navigating” car tours, where travelers relinquish control to a spontaneous itinerary of off-the-beaten-path locales, curated via Google Maps. There are dozens of different routes, which can be kicked off from wherever you choose to start your trip, and will take you to destinations across all seven islands that can be reached by bridges and undersea tunnels. Though the tourism board has set aside vehicles specifically for the tours—rentable through 62°N (a company at the airport)—anyone with a smart phone and wheels can access them.

The new initiative is designed to spread travelers more evenly across the remote archipelago, located in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Scotland. In recent years, the scenic volcanic islands have become increasingly popular among travelers—and their Instagram accounts. In 2023, more than 130,000 foreign tourists visited the Faroe Islands, outnumbering the roughly 54,000 locals. Wary of their home becoming another casualty of overtourism, the government has worked for years to prevent the islands from becoming overrun, including by closing the country each spring for “voluntourism” trail work and by implementing a nightly tourism tax, beginning October 2025.

The self-navigating itinerary included a stop in Fuglafjørður, a fishing community folded into a fjord along Eysturoy’s northeast coast.

Pavel Saprykin/Getty

The art of surprise is deeply embedded in this new program—if two people start a self-navigating route from the same place at the same time, they’ll be given different routes. I began my trip in the capital of Tórshavn, which was my home base for days of exploration. That first morning, after scanning a QR code on my car’s dashboard, the GPS sent me to Kirkjubøur, a tiny seaside settlement that was once the religious and cultural heart of Streymoy island. Today it’s known for its trio of medieval treasures, including the ruins of St. Magnus Cathedral, a 900-year-old wooden farmhouse still inhabited by the same family, and the white-washed Olav’s Church, which continues to host services overlooking the sea. For the 30 minutes I milled around, it was just me (though as I was leaving, a vanload of other tourists pulled up).