344 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



exploited by the railroads, and to which even the folders 

 issued by the National Park Service have given slight 

 attention, which are worth emphasizing. It has been the 

 good fortune of the writer during the past twenty years 

 to visit nearly all of the national parks and monuments, 

 in many cases repeatedly, and to secure a very ex- 

 tensive series of original photographs illustrating, not 

 merely scenes along the ordinary routes of travel, but 

 many subjects quite aside from those routes. The ques- 

 tion is often asked, "What is the best method of touring 

 the national parks?" That depends largely upon the 

 tourist and also upon the particular park visited. In 

 general, however, it may be said that one will gain the 

 greatest amount of satisfaction, in visiting any park, by 

 going entirely independent of any party or time sched- 

 ule. Wherever possible, a walking trip is to be recom- 

 mended in preference to traveling by automobile or on 

 horseback. This will allow the tourist opportunity not 

 only to enjoy to the full all the more conspicuous features 

 of the park, but will enable him to make numerous side 

 trips to localities off the beaten line of travel, and many 

 times he will find these side trips peculiarly rewarding. 



In Yellowstone Park, owing to the long distances which 

 intervene between the major points of interest, walking 

 through the park is not to be advised except for those 



GRAiND TETON, YELLOWSTONE PARK 



A view of this majestic mountain range from Jenny Lake. Its 

 altitude is 13,747 feet. 



Right here it should be said that a large share of the 

 credit for this notable advance is due personally to the 

 Director of the National Park Service, Hon. Stephen T. 

 Mather, who has not only given to it his best thought 

 and constant energy, but has many times drawn heavily 

 upon his private funds to meet financial needs for which 

 Congress had made insufficient appropriation. 



Number of 

 Appropriations Visitors 



1916 1921 1916 1920 



Yellowstone Park $8,500 $350,000 35,849 79,777 



Sequoia Park 15,550 86,000 10,780 31,508 



Yosemrte Park 75,000 300,000 33,390 68,906 



Mt. Rainier Park 30,000 150,000 23,989 56,491 



Crater Lake Park 8,000 25,300 12,265 20,135 



Rocky Mountain Park 8,000 65,000 51,000 240,966 



Grand Canyon Park 100,000 66,500 



Glacier Park 75,ooo 195,000 12,839 22,449 



Private automobiles enter- 

 ing the parks 29,358 128,074 



Total number of visitors 

 to all the parks 356,097 919,504 



Readers of American Forestry it goes without saying 

 are well informed upon all these matters. But there 

 are many features of national parks which have not been 



Photograph by Herbert W. Gleason 



A FIELD OF AVALANCHE LILIES 



In many places in Mt. Rainier Park these beautiful flower 

 clothed fields are seen where avalanches havo swept the ground 

 free of trees and given grass and flowers a chance to grow, 



