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Conor Knighton

5-time Emmy Award winner. National Park Nerd. Morning Person.

Conor Knighton

Conor Knighton is a national correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning—the country’s #1 Sunday morning news show—and the author of the New York Times Bestseller Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park.


Conor’s reports for CBS Sunday Morning have covered everything from the Scandinavian obsession with salty licorice to what it’s like to wake up on Wake Island, one of America’s most remote military bases. He’s the creator and producer of “On the Trail,” a series about the U.S. national parks, and “Island Hopping,” a series of segments set on islands across the world, from St. Pierre to the Seychelles.


Conor has won five Emmy Awards as part of the Sunday Morning team and a Los Angeles Area Emmy for his work on KCET's SoCal Connected. His feature reporting has also earned a National Headliner Award and an LA Press Club Award.


An avid traveler on and off the job, Conor has produced stories from India, Nicaragua, The United Arab Emirates, Czech Republic, Iceland, and Austria. He’s hosted and produced shows for AMC, Biography, EW Scripps, and Current TV, and his commentary has been featured on CNN, HLN, TV Guide, MTV, E!, and Oxygen.


A graduate of Yale University, Conor grew up in Charleston, West Virginia and currently resides in Seattle, WA. He remains especially fond of Tudor’s Biscuit World, pepperoni rolls, and Mountain Stage.

Conor Knighton

My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park


When Conor set off to explore America’s “best idea,” he worried the whole thing could end up being his worst idea. A broken engagement and a broken heart had left him longing for a change of scenery, but the plan he’d cooked up might have gone a bit overboard in that department. Over the course of a single year, Conor intended to visit every national park in the country, from Acadia to Zion. Spoiler alert: he did it! Filled with entertaining dispatches from some of the most scenic spots in the world, one of America’s most admired news hosts takes us on a  whirlwind tour through our parks, highlighting some of the unexpected stories, colorful characters, and profound lessons he unearthed along the way.

Featured Presentation

Photos: courtesy Conor Knighton

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Rick Steves Program 616: 

Zagreb; Natchez; Leave Only Footprints

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