Latest news with #UrbanNightSkyPlace
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Arizona national park named a top US travel destination — and it's not the Grand Canyon
Saguaro National Park near Tucson was named a hidden gem of the U.S. National Parks, according to a recent report. Vacation rentals marketplace HomeToGo analyzed which national parks across the country offer smaller crowds, stunning scenery and affordable stays for those looking to escape to lesser-known destinations to experience the beauty of the U.S. wilderness. 'According to our 2025 Travel Survey, almost half of U.S. travelers have their eyes set on the great outdoors, with 49% planning to visit national parks or wilderness areas this year,' Eleanor Moody, HomeToGo's travel expert, said in an news release. 'As many vacationers continue to show particular interest in off-the-beaten-path destinations, whether this is to escape the crowds or find more affordable options, we hope this guide helps travelers pinpoint their perfect park escape." Here's why Saguaro National Park is one of the top national parks to enjoy nature without crowds, as well as a roundup of the top 10 national parks from HomeToGo's ranking. Saguaro National Park showcases the Sonoran Desert in all its prickly, sunlit beauty with its more than 94,000 acres of land on the western and eastern edges of Tucson. The park helps protect the biodiversity of the Sonoran desert landscape, including unique desert species like roadrunners, Gila monsters, desert tortoises and the iconic saguaro cactus. The park offers scenic drives, short trails and breathtaking views of towering cactuses, arid valleys and rugged mountains. During certain times of the year, the desert blooms with vibrant colors, bringing the trails to life. On the road? An Arizona city was named among the most underrated US travel destinations Additionally, the park was recently certified as an Urban Night Sky Place by Dark-Sky International, making it the first National Park Service location in Arizona to achieve this certification. Urban Night Sky Place recognition is awarded to sites near or surrounded by large urban areas that actively promote an authentic nighttime experience amid artificial light. One of the best parts? This stunning destination can also be budget-friendly. According to HomeToGo, the median nightly price per person for a vacation cabin near the park is about $53. To help preserve this unique landscape, visitors are encouraged to follow park guidelines closely. "As outdoor enthusiasts hit the trails, we encourage park visitors to embrace the Leave No Trace principles - preserving these natural spaces and leaving the parks as they found them,' Moody said. The desert environment: this tiny mouse lives in Arizona and eats cactus. See what it looks like Here's a list of the 10 most beautiful — and affordable — national parks for a vacation this summer 2025 and the median price per night per person for a vacation rental stay in the area, according to HomeToGo. Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska: $59 Congaree National Park, South Carolina: $62 Saguaro National Park, Arizona: $53 Crater Lake National Park, Oregon: $75 Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota: $56 Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado: $56 Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado: $112 Arches National Park, Utah: $77 Lassen Volcanic National Park, California: $120 Capitol Reef National Park, Utah: $76 To figure out the top national parks for travel, HomeToGo looked at vacation rental data and travel interest from January 1 to March 15, 2025. They focused on trips planned between April 1 and Sept. 21, 2025. The data was taken from the site's own exclusive pricing and search demand data, in addition to 2024 visitor statistics from the National Parks Service´s Integrated Resource Management Applications portal. Only parks with reliable vacation rental price data were included. Each park was scored using three factors: Affordability: the average nightly cost per person for a vacation rental near the park. Crowd size: how many people visited the park in 2024. Popularity: how many people searched for that park on HomeToGo during the travel dates. Each factor was given a score between 5 and 10, with 10 being the best (for example, the cheapest park or the least visited one). The highest possible total score a park could earn was 30. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Looking for a beautiful summer escape? Try this Arizona national park
Boston Globe
17-04-2025
- Science
- Boston Globe
The Town and The City Festival in Lowell, Tucson's new Astro Trail, and a watch geared to runners
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Sign up for Tucson's new (and free) Astro Trail guide and use it to explore the area's stunning night sky preserves and other astronomical attractions, including the newly reopened Kitt Peak National Observatory (pictured here). Handout Advertisement THERE Explore Tucson's new Astro Trail Visit observatories, dark sky preserves, science centers, a planetarium, and numerous other space-related sites along greater Tucson's new Astro Trail. The Tucson area, which has the headquarters for Dark Sky International (formerly the International Dark Sky Association), has been known as a stargazer's haven ever since regional officials enacted light pollution ordinances in the 1970s. Sign up for the new free Astro Trail guide and use it to explore the area's stunning night sky views and astronomical attractions. Highlights include the Pima Air and Space Museum, which is one of the largest non-government-funded aviation and space museums in the world; the newly reopened Kitt Peak National Observatory, which is home to one of the largest arrays of optical and radio telescopes in the world; the Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium, which recently opened its new Universe of Science exhibit, focusing on the human brain, a monsoon storm, and deep space; and Saguaro National Park, one of only two national parks to receive an Urban Night Sky Place designation. Also see a sample of the Bennu asteroid at the Gem and Mineral Museum (one of only three public places where a piece of this asteroid can be viewed), visit the newly reopened and renovated Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory Visitor and Science Center, and enjoy immersive stargazing programs and astronomy camps through the Mount Lemmon Skycenter, which offers access to two of the largest public telescopes in the southwest. Sign up for the guide online and then receive a mobile passport (through a text link) that lists all exhibits, attractions, and astronomical-related destinations, and discounts to local restaurants and sites. Advertisement Amazfit's Cheetah Pro GPS watch is made for runners. Handout EVERYWHERE A watch geared to runners Whether you're running on routes near home or exploring a new destination — for fun or training — check out Amazfit's Cheetah Pro watch, which is made for runners. The lightweight watch has exceptional GPS technology that helps track your movements when running through forests or cities with tall buildings. Download color maps and routes from the Zepp app so you can accurately navigate new runs even in offline mode. Also store your favorite route and then track your improvement on that route over time. The watch tracks heart rate, stress, sleep, and oxygen saturation so you can train better and run smarter. It also offers AI-powered coaching that provides personalized training input to help you improve over time, and adjusts your workout schedule each week based on your progress (so you don't overtrain and to help you reach your race or training goals). Create templates on the watch for interval training and use those to easily guide you through workouts. Store songs on the Cheetah Pro so you can run with music. The Cheetah Pro has an ultra-bright, easy-to-read, and durable (Gorilla Glass 3) screen, a nylon strap, and a battery that lasts up to 14 days (but requires a proprietary plug to recharge). Choose from a selection of watch face themes and opt for a daily morning update that provides the current weather, your sleep data, and the watch's battery power. Currently $159.99. Advertisement KARI BODNARCHUK Kari Bodnarchuk can be reached at
