My family and I truly enjoy visiting parks. I’m not talking about playgrounds but rather local, state and national parks. We enjoy picnicking, hiking (on easy trails), taking in the fresh air and enjoying the beauty that is all around us. I especially love to take pictures of nature and the landscape.
Did you know that on August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act creating the National Park Service (NPS), a new federal bureau in the Department of the Interior responsible for protecting the 35 national parks and monuments then managed by the department and those yet to be established (now there are 408 national parks!).
I didn’t know that. That means next year the NPS will be celebrating 100 years. But that doesn’t mean the celebration can’t start a bit earlier.
To celebrate the upcoming centennial of NPS in 2016, the National Park Foundation (NPF) launched their Find Your Park campaign to encourage everyone to get up, get out there and #FindYourPark – no matter your interest.
To help get you interested in checking out the national parks, here is a list of 99 ways you could celebrate NPS’ 99th birthday on August 25, 2015 and get ready for NPS’ big 100th birthday next year. Founders’ Day also marks fee free day to all national parks.
99 Ways to Find Your Park (courtesy of NPS).
http://www.nps.gov/subjects/centennial/nps99.htm
- Go climbing
- Write poetry
- Be an urban hiker
- Visit a National Heritage Area
- Dance
- Learn about climate change
- Discover a culture new to you
- Experience silence
- Walk through a doorway of a historic house
- Find inspiration in the story of a civil rights leader
- Go on a ranger-led tour #rangerspointingatthings
- Hug a tree
- Make a memory
- Earn a Jr. Ranger badge
- Relax on the banks of a scenic river
- Celebrate innovation
- Find life in a desert
- Get inspired by a First Lady
- Stand on a mountaintop
- Bring a kid to a park
- Paddle a water trail
- Take a photo that matches a historic one #retrogram
- Try something new
- Channel your inner Bill Nye—become a citizen scientist
- Walk a historic main street
- Find your park in Spanish #encuentratuparque
- Explore a cave
- Go green
- Brush up your national park trivia skills
- Scout a park, boys and girls!
- Make art in a park
- Celebrate Native American heritage
- Come sail away
- Take a picnic and dine al fresco
- Be bear aware
- Hit the road
- Enlighten yourself at a historic lighthouse
- Go biking
- Explore Asian American and Pacific Islander culture in America
- Feel the sand between your toes
- Share your story
- Learn about endangered species
- Join us
- Follow NPS on social media
- Follow the footsteps of a woman who made history
- Get in the know about H2O
- Bee pollinator friendly
- Get VIP status
- Catch a wave
- Immerse yourself in a living history program
- Hit record
- Get prehistoric
- Improve your health—get a park Rx
- Use your free active military pass
- Get reel—Visit a park featured in your favorite movie
- Join a trail clean-up
- See the sea
- Discover a traditional tribal cultural practice
- Let Elmo and Murray be your guides
- Mail a postcard
- Discover history around you
- Make new friends
- Raft down a river
- Pay your respects at a national cemetery
- Pick a POTUS
- Take a mini-cruise
- Plan ahead and prepare
- Walk nature’s treadmill
- Pose for a family photo in a park
- Recognize women who made history
- Reflect on our most difficult stories
- Stamp your park passport
- Ride on a historic carousel
- Run
- See history from a different perspective
- Renew your spirit
- See how NPS helps transform your community
- Go fish
- See the starry, starry night
- Make a splash
- Share a #tbt park photo
- Discover the beauty of our nation’s other public lands
- Sleep outside
- Spread the love—thank a park volunteer
- Plan the best field trip ever
- Visit our international sisters
- Trash Your Trash
- Find a monument and decode history
- Travel the Underground Railroad
- Use the buddy system!
- Visit for free on our 99th birthday
- Wander an American battlefield
- Watch wildlife
- Take a deep breath
- Go wild: Experience wilderness
- Use a national park lesson plan
- Play
- Take a sunrise selfie
- Get ready to celebrate with us in 2016!
There are a lot of great ideas, even if you don’t get a chance to visit a National Park this summer.
Do you like to visit parks? What is your favorite thing to do in a park?
Kimberly
*I was not compensated for this post. I posted this for the enjoyment of my site readers. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
Diana says
It’s so hard watching your little ones grow up! You guys look to be having a great time. Wish I was there and not working 🙂 I need a vacation!