America's National Parks

"Who will gainsay that the parks contain the highest potentialities of national pride, national contentment, and national health? A visit inspires love of country; begets contentment; engenders pride of possession; contains the antidote for national restlessness. It teaches love of nature, of trees and flowers, the rippling brooks, the crystal lakes, the snow-clad mountains peaks, the wild life encountered everywhere amid native surroundings. He is a better citizen with a keener appreciation of the privilege of living here who has toured the national parks."

Stephen Tyng Mather
First Director of the National Park Service
 1917 to 1929

Over the years, I have enjoyed visiting some of our national parks.  We have 8 of them here in California, and I have visited 5 of those.  I have also visited both of the national parks in Hawaii.  My favorite of the parks I have visited is probably Yellowstone, just because it is so different.  But I also love the Grand Canyon and the parks in Utah that we visited.  The national parks are a great way to get away from the city, and to enjoy nature.  Yes, they are sometimes crowded, especially in the summer months.  But even then, there are still areas of the parks where you can get away from the crowds and explore nature.  Besides national parks, there are also national memorials (such as Mt. Rushmore), National Historic Parks (Jean Lafitte in Louisiana), National Cemeteries (Arlington), National Military Parks (Gettysburg), and national monuments (such as Pt. Loma and Cabrillo here in San Diego).  They are all protected and maintained by the US government.

Sequoia National Park, California

The United States has 58 protected areas known as national parks, which are operated by the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior. National parks must be established by an act of Congress. The first national park, Yellowstone, was signed into law by President Grant in 1872, followed by Sequoia and Yosemite in 1890. The National Park Service’s duty is "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."  National parks usually have a variety of natural resources over large areas.  Many of them had been previously protected as National Monuments by the President, before becoming upgraded by Congress.

Twenty-seven states have national parks.  There are also national parks in American Samoa and the United States Virgin Islands.  Alaska and California have the most, each with eight, followed by Utah with five and Colorado with four. The largest national park is Wrangell–St. Elias in Alaska and the smallest is Hot Springs, Arkansas.  The total area protected by national parks is approximately 51.9 million acres.  The most-visited national park is Great Smoky Mountains, with over nine million visitors in 2011, followed by the Grand Canyon, with over four million.   The least visited is the remote Lake Clark in Alaska.   Fourteen national parks are designated World Heritage Sites.  The complete list of national parks can be found at the following website:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_parks_of_the_United_States


In 1986 the national parks started its passport program.  You can get a passport book at any of the national parks or by ordering it online.  The passport book is also a guidebook and it is an easy way to learn about and explore all of our national park sites.  It also includes maps, illustrations and photographs.  Spaces in each region are designated for you to collect rubber stamp cancellations at each national park site you visit. The cancellations, similar to those received in an international passport, record the name of the park and the date you visited.   There is also a commemorative stamp series which can be purchased and placed in the booklet.  The photos used on the stamps are taken by park employees and volunteers and are selected through an annual photo contest.

Denali National Park, Alaska

There are fees to enter our national parks, of course.  The fees vary from park to park.  If you plan on visiting several parks in one year then I suggest you purchase an annual pass.  It will save you money.  A pass is your ticket to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites. Each pass covers entrance fees at national parks and national wildlife refuges as well as standard amenity fees at national forests and grasslands, and at lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation. A pass covers entrance and standard amenity fees for a driver and all passengers in a personal vehicle at per vehicle fee areas (or up to four adults at sites that charge per person). Children age 15 or under are admitted free.
The following passes make up the series:

Annual Pass -  $80 annual pass - Available to everyone.  Non-transferable.

Free Annual Pass for U.S. Military -  Available to U.S. military members and dependents in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard and also, Reserve and National Guard members.
Must be obtained in person at a Federal recreation site by showing a Common Access Card

Falls in Yellowstone NP, Wyoming

Senior Pass -  $10 Lifetime pass - For U.S. citizens or permanent residents age 62 or over.  May be obtained in person at a federal recreation site or through the mail.  The cost of obtaining a Senior Pass through the mail is twenty dollars ($20). Ten ($10) for the Senior Pass and ten ($10) for processing the application. Applicants must provide documentation of age and residency or citizenship.

Access Pass - There are also free passes available for U.S. citizens with permanent disabilities.  Documentation of disability is required.

Pets are permitted in most national parks, however, they have limited access to the parks.  In general they are not allowed on most trails.  So, if you are taking your pet with you, be aware that you will be limited on what you can do in the park.  You never want to leave your animals alone in a car, that is dangerous for the animal, especially in warm weather.  But also, because most of our national parks are in areas where there are wild animals, and a dog is considered food to those animals.  Bears will tear cars apart to get food from a car, they would probably do the same if they saw a dog in a car.  You can drive around most parks with an animal in the car, and stop at lookout points with them, but in some parks you can't really see anything until you hike a trail.  We took our dog to Yellowstone and we had to take turns staying with the dog while the other one walked out to where the geysers were.
 

Yosemite National Park, California

So now that you know a little about the national park system, why not go out and explore America’s national parks.  Experience your America, get away from the city and into the wilderness, or learn about our history.  My husband and I visited several of our national parks just this year, and they were beautiful and a great way to get away from our everyday lives.

In future posts I plan to highlight different national parks and talk about them and what there is to see.  It will be a new destination series - Destination - America's National Parks, and I will have a link to those parks on the side column, similiar to my regular Destination Series Link.