How big is the area you look after, and how do you get around it?Three valleys. Truck, boots, and a canoe in spring.
Is a ranger the same thing as a park warden?Same kind of work. Some countries say warden.
What brought you to this park in the first place?A summer on a trail crew. I stayed.
What do first-time visitors get wrong about the park?The size. It is bigger and slower than the map suggests.
What do people ask at the front gate all day?"Where is the bathroom?" Then "Where is the waterfall?"
What do you carry on your belt or in your pack every day?Radio, water, a map and a roll of marking tape.
What do you do when the park is closed for the season?Mend signs, count animals and plan next summer's walks.
What does a ranger do before the gates open?Drive the loop road and see what the night left behind.
What does a ranger do that nobody pictures?Paperwork and plumbing, more than you would guess.
What does the park sound like at night?Frogs first, then owls, then nothing at all.
What have you seen here that you will never forget?A fox teaching her kits to pounce in the snow.
What in the park has been here the longest?A boulder the ice left behind. The oak is the oldest living thing.
What is the best time of day to see the park?The hour after sunrise. Low light and empty paths.
What is the strangest thing a visitor has left behind?One ski boot. In August.
What is the wildest weather you have worked in?A hailstorm in July. I sheltered under the map board.
What is your favorite spot in the park that most visitors never find?A bench above the creek, ten minutes past the last sign.
Where do you take a friend who has one hour in the park?Up to the lookout, at dusk.
Which corner of the park looks different from your first year?The meadow has grown back where the old parking lot was.
Which hour of a ranger's day would you never give up?The first walk of the morning, before anyone else is out.
Who else works here that visitors rarely meet?The trail crew, a biologist and the person who fixes the pumps.
The animals 14
How can you tell an animal has been nearby without seeing it?Flattened grass, a chewed twig, a smell.
How do you count animals that hide?Tracks, trail cameras and a lot of patience.
What bird do you hear first in the morning?A robin, before it is properly light.
What do the animals do when the park fills with people?Most move uphill and wait for evening.
What do you do when an animal turns up where it should not be?Give it room and close that stretch of path for a while.
What is the rarest thing you have spotted here?An otter, once, at the beaver pond.
What tracks do you find most often on the trail?Deer, then raccoon, then somebody's dog.
Which animal causes the most trouble around the campground?Raccoons. They can open a cooler.
Which animal do visitors hope to see, and how often do they?The elk. About one visit in three.
Which animal have you watched grow up?A heron chick. Now it fishes below the bridge.
Which animal lives here that almost nobody notices?A salamander, under nearly every log.
Which animal sound do people mistake for something else?A fox's bark. It gets reported as a person shouting.
Which insect deserves more attention than it gets?The firefly. Come back in June and see why.
Which season is best for watching wildlife here?Early spring, before the leaves hide everything.
The trails 13
How do you decide where a new trail should go?Follow the dry ground and keep off the roots.
How do you keep a muddy path from getting wider?Lay stepping stones so people stay in the middle.
How old is the oldest path in the park?Older than the park. It was a cart track once.
What do you look for when you walk a trail to check it?Loose steps, leaning trees and missing signs.
What does a trail marker tell you besides the way?How far you have come and which path you are on.
What happens to a trail after a big storm?Trees come down across it. We clear them one by one.
What is at the end of the longest trail?A flat rock and a view of two valleys.
What is the most photographed spot on any trail?The wooden bridge. Everyone stops in the middle.
Which trail is the most walked, and which the least?The lake loop, by far. Almost nobody takes the north fork.
Which trail suits a family with small children?The boardwalk through the marsh. Flat, short, full of frogs.
Which trail would you walk on your day off?The ridge path. Steep at first, then flat for miles.
Who builds and mends the trails?A crew of six with hand tools and strong backs.
Why do some trails zigzag up a hill?Ours does because the straight way washed out in the rain.
A day in the park 13
How does a ranger's shift end?I walk the parking lot and count the cars still there.
How many miles do you walk on an ordinary day?Some days ten. Some days none, and I miss it.
What do you read before you head out in the morning?The forecast and the notes from the last ranger.
What do you write in the daily log?Weather, sightings, repairs and anything odd.
What does a quiet day in the park look like?Fog, three cars, and time to fix the fence.
What does a ranger talk about on a guided walk?What is growing, what lives here, and who was here before us.
What happens at the visitor center desk on a busy Saturday?Maps, directions, lost hats, and one very good question.
What is the first thing you ask a visitor who has lost the way?Where they were last sure. We start from there.
What is the nicest thing a visitor has done?A girl handed me a bag of litter she had picked up herself.
What job do you do that has nothing to do with nature?Unblock the sink at the picnic shelter.
When does the parking lot fill up fastest?The first warm Sunday of spring.
Where do you eat lunch on a working day?On the tailgate, facing the lake.
Who do you talk to on the radio?The front gate, the trail crew and whoever is on patrol.
Weather and seasons 13
How do the animals get ready for winter?The squirrels get busy and the chipmunks vanish.
How does a day of heavy rain change your plans?Walks move indoors and I check every culvert.
How does a dry summer change the park?The pond shrinks and the deer come down to it.
What comes back every year on almost the same date?The swallows, to the barn by the gate.
What do you do differently when a storm is forecast?Tie things down and check the low bridges.
What does fog do to a familiar trail?Makes it feel twice as long and half as wide.
What does the park look like after the first snow?Quiet. Every branch has a white line on it.
What happens in the park in winter that visitors miss?Tracks. Snow shows you who walked where.
What is the first sign of spring in the park?The creek gets loud.
When do the leaves turn, and where is the best place to watch?Early October here, from the overlook road.
Which flower do you wait for each year?The trillium by the east gate.
Which month has the best night sky?January. Cold, clear and dark by five.
Which season suits this park best?Fall. The crowds thin and the hills turn copper.
For a field trip 14
Can I take a rock or a flower home?Leave them, so the next class can find them too.
Do you ever get to sleep in a tent?Sometimes, on a long patrol. I like it.
Have you ever seen a bear?Not here. A porcupine, though, up close.
How do I become a park ranger?Spend time outside, learn the names of things and ask questions.
How do you know which way to go without a phone?A map, a compass and the marks on the trees.
What do animals eat in the winter?Here, bark, seeds and whatever they hid in the fall.
What is the best thing you ever found on a trail?A feather as long as my arm.
What is the biggest animal that lives here?The elk. You hear it long before you see it.
What is the oldest tree here?An oak that was already big when my grandmother was small.
What is your favorite animal in the park?The beaver. It never stops building.
What should I listen for on the walk?A woodpecker tapping. Count the taps.
Where do the animals go when it rains?Under thick branches, into burrows, or they just get wet.
Who cleans up the park?All of us. You can help by carrying your wrapper out.
Why do you wear that hat?It keeps off sun and rain, and people can spot me.
How it works
These questions to ask a park ranger fit any park: the spot most visitors miss, the job before the gates open, the sound at night. Five more groups cover animals, trails, a working day, seasons and a field trip.
Read the full guide
Good questions to ask a park ranger
The sheet opens on twelve of the twenty in Good ones to start with. On a guided walk, set the box under Print this list to what is in front of you: The animals, The trails or Weather and seasons.
Questions for a field trip
For a field trip holds fourteen in a child's words, such as what to listen for on the walk and where the animals go when it rains. The example answers describe an invented park, and on paper they go on a last page you can leave out.
Questions and answers
What is a good question to ask a park ranger?
One the map cannot answer: which spot do most visitors never find, what does the park sound like at night, which corner looks different from your first year.
What does a park ranger do?
A ranger protects and looks after a park. The duties vary from place to place: patrolling, watching wildlife, leading guided walks, staffing the visitor center, mending trails. In Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom the usual word is warden.
Do the questions fit a state park or a national park?
Either, and a city or county park too. No park is named, and each question asks about the ranger's own: its trails, its animals, its seasons. Skip any that do not fit, such as snow where none falls.