A new dawn on a new day at Acadia National Park in Maine. From the middle of October through early March, Acadia’s Cadillac Mountain is the first place where the sun appears each day in the continental United States. The wonders don’t stop after sunrise, though. Visitors can marvel at the fall colors and explore the forests, ponds, meadows and coastline on 27 miles of historic motor roads, 158 miles of hiking trails and 45 miles of carriage roads. You’ll never want to leave. Photo by Roy Goldsberry (www.sharetheexperience.org).

Just a moment of calm and peace for your social media feeds.  

Enjoy this virtual escape to Glacier National Park in Montana. Photo by National Park Service.

Trying to play peekaboo with wildlife? You otter know better. While they are well suited to life in the cold waters of the North Pacific with thick, water resistant fur and flipper-like hind feet, a sea otter’s forelimbs are used mostly for foraging and grooming. That means their little hands are highly skilled. Opening clams and crushing crabs keeps them fed. Hunted to the edge of extinction by the early 1900s, sea otters populations are on the road to recovery. Photo from Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge by Lisa Hupp, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

From the Seminole people of the Everglades to the Athabascans who gave Denali its name, Native Americans have important connections to public lands across the country. To celebrate National Native American Heritage Month, we’re featuring parks, refuges and historic sites that help us appreciate these nations, their history, perspectives, cultures and contributions. Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming – known by names like “Bear Lodge” and “Bear’s Tipi” and sacred to Northern Plains Tribes – is a powerful place to experience the oral tradition of origin stories and learn about the relationships between this rocky sentinel and people from thousands of years ago to the present day. Photo by Brian Truono (www.sharetheexperience.org).  

Learn more on our blog: www.doi.gov/blog/10-public-lands-powerful-native-american-connections

If you’re looking for a last minute Halloween costume idea, you could always try dressing up like a jumping spider. With four eyes on the front of its head and four eyes on the back – along with long pincers – it’s scary enough to give your friends a fright. To really bring the outfit to life, shoot lines of silk around and don’t forget to complete your courtship dances with lots of leg shaking and some buzzing sounds. All set? Better get to it. Eight is a lot of legs to sew. Photo of a jumping spider found in Beltsville, Maryland by Elizabeth Panner, U.S. Geological Survey.

This bison is enjoying a cool fall morning at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. Although it looks calm, the best description of a bison’s temperament is unpredictable. They usually appear peaceful, unconcerned, even lazy, yet they may attack anything, often without warning or apparent reason. To a casual observer, a grazing bison appears slow and clumsy, but they can outrun and out-maneuver all but the fleetest horses. They can move at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour and cover long distances at a lumbering gallop. So, be safe and watch them from a distance. Photo by Duane Weber, National Park Service.

Not all the trees are changing color. With highs in the 80s expected to persist for quite a while, you won’t think it’s fall at Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuges. With terrific fishing and the chance to see tiny key deer, we doubt you’ll be disappointed with the blue water, green plants and white sand. But if you really need to see bright yellow and orange, the sunrises and sunsets could help you out. Enjoy! Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

It’s Bat Week - a time to celebrate the role of bats in nature and all these amazing creatures do for us. From providing essential pest control to pollinating our plants, bats are the unsung heroes of the night. Without bats, say goodbye to bananas, avocados, mangoes and agave (the base ingredient for tequila). Each night, bats can eat their body weight or more in insects, helping protect crops from pests. So, please don’t disturb them when they’re napping. Photo of a bat at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky by National Park Service.

At Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, autumn brings changing colors, the exciting return of fall migratory birds like sandhill cranes and northern harriers and welcomed cooler temperatures. Just south of Albuquerque, Valle de Oro has transformed a dairy farm into a vibrant wildlife refuge. As the Southwest’s first urban national wildlife refuge, it holds the stunning backdrop of the Sandia Mountains and is an oasis for people and wildlife. Long-term plans aspire to make a mosaic of native Middle Rio Grande Valley habitats and continue to bring the area to life. A visit here, and you’re sure to find a few moments of peace, opportunities to learn more and an inspiring community with a lot of heart. Photo of sandhill cranes with the Sandia Mountains in the background by Anthony Temer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Texas might not be on your list of places to see amazing fall colors, but McKittrick Canyon in Guadalupe Mountains National Park is one of the best spots in the state to enjoy watching the leaves shift from lush green to spectacular shades of yellow and orange. If that can’t convince you to visit, the park also has the four highest peaks in Texas, an ancient fossil reef, desert, dunes, canyons and remarkable wildlife. With so much to explore under a gorgeous blue sky, breathing in the fresh air, you’ll never want your walk in the woods to end. Photo by National Park Service.