By More Than Just Parks

SHOCKING NATIONAL PARK STORIES THAT LEFT A TRACE

National Parks History

FEEDING BEARS AT YELLOWSTONE

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For nearly a century, it was perfectly legal (and somewhat encouraged) to feed bears at Yellowstone. Hotel trash was splayed out for bears to feast on. Cars stopped to feed begging bears. The practice ended in the 1970s for the safety of bears and humans..

HANDKERCHIEF POOL: "AS famous as old faithful!"

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An early Yellowstone attraction encouraged guests to drop a handkerchief in the thermal pool, watch it get sucked down and spit back out. The other items dropped in left the spring dormant.

WALKER SISTERS OF THE SMOKIES

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When the Smokies became a national park, the Walker Sisters were allowed to stay in their home on the land. (They look happy about that, eh?) Since they could no longer farm, they made handmade goods and sold them to tourists in "Five Sisters Cove."

THE YEAR MAINE BURNED

THE YEAR MAINE BURNED

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1947 saw the worst fire in Maine's history, burning across the state, but taking out Millionaire's Row and 17,000 acres of Acadia National Park. The aspen and birch trees there now flourished in the absence of the evergreens. That's why the landscape looks different now than pre-1947.

YOSEMITE'S FIRST FIREFALL

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Once a well-kept secret between "friends," Yosemite's Horsetail Fall was discovered in 1973. Each February, when the water flows over El Capitan, and the setting sun hits it just right... MAGIC!

YOSEMITE'S FIRST FIREFALL

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What's particularly odd about this feature - though impressive on its own - is that just five years before, a longtime practice of dumping fiery embers over the edge of Glacier Point was stopped due to the damage tourists were doing to the meadows.

SMOKE IN THE CAVE

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Carlsbad Caverns National Park's elevator ride takes you 750 feet below the surface. When it opened, it had a lunchroom with hot food and cigar sales. It took severe decades to realize that heat and smoke wasn't "preserving" the cave. Food that doesn't need heat is still served.

SO Much more to tell..

We're just getting started. Check out the link below to learn more fascinating facts about your favorite national parks.