National Park Week – April 16-24th 2016

Every spring the National Park Service and the National Park Service Foundation invite Americans to celebrate our nation’s most treasured places.  April 16-24th each of the 411 National Park Service units commemorates National Park Week.  The 2016 celebration is even more exciting as it’s also the National Park Service centennial year.  Throughout National Park Week, Park Chasers will be sharing special stories, photos, and ideas for you to get out and find your park this year.

What’s the most important thing you should know about National Park Week?

You can visit ANY of America’s National Parks for free during National Park Week –  April 16-24th. 

That’s right.  Entrance fees across the park service will be waved for the next 9 days to give every American a chance to visit a park and enjoy our public spaces.  Need some more convincing on why you should visit a park this week?  Check out this PSA from the National Park Service.

Beyond free admission, the National Park Service has some special events planned for National Park Week:

• April 16th –  National Junior Ranger Day – Introduce a young person to the park service, earn a junior ranger badge and become a Centennial Junior Ranger.
• April 22nd – Earth Day –  The National Park Service will celebrate with hundreds of volunteer service projects.  Find a place to donate your time and talents to the planet.
• April 23rd – National Park Instameet – Designated places around the parks have been set up for visitors to meet at a specific time to take photos and short videos to post on Instagram (and other social media) with the same hashtag: #FindYourParkInstaMeet, #FindYourPark, #EncuentraTuParque, #NPS100
• April 24th – Park Rx Day – Find out all of the ways that National Parks and spending time outdoors and active can be good for your health. The last day of National Parks Week is all about finding your park and boosting your physical and mental well being.