Ways to Celebrate: National Park Week

From April 18 through 26, celebrate some of America’s most beautiful natural attractions and travel destinations during National Park Week. During opening weekend, April 18 and 19, every national park in the US is offering free admission, which can normally range from $3 to $25. Additional events are being held throughout the week at parks nationwide, including family-friendly programs and volunteer opportunities on Earth Day. Here are 16 ideas to inspire your national park adventure:

1. Adventures on the Gorge

If whitewater rafting is on your bucket list, National Park Week is the perfect time to check it off with Adventures on the Gorge in West Virginia. From April 18 to 26, Adventures on the Gorge is offering visitors a NPW special that includes a whitewater rafting trip on the Lower New River, two nights of lodging and three meals per person. Rates range from just $99 for a campsite to $279 for those looking to splurge on a four-bedroom deluxe cabin with a private hot tub. And if the raging rapids didn’t satisfy your appetite for adventure, the resort is also offering a special price of $79 for its TreeTops Zip Line Canopy Tour that week.

2. San Juan Island National Historical Park

On April 25, San Juan Island National Historic Park in Washington will give visitors the rare chance to work alongside scientists during its second annual BioBlitz. A BioBlitz is a 24-hour period during which teams of volunteers led by an expert scientist find, identify and photograph as many species as possible. The information collected helps us understand different habitats and learn more about what lives in the park. No scientific background is necessary to participate, and beyond counting duties the day will also include guided botony, bird and art walks. Registration is available on the National Parks Service’s website here.

3. Cape Cod National Seashore

On the Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts, rangers have an array of family-friendly activities planned for each day. One option that kids will love includes using realistic, handmade masks to explore how birds evolved into different shapes and behaviors to adapt to their environment. Guided explorations of the beach, where you might spot animals, are also available, along with tours of the Seashore’s wildland fire facility where visitors can touch fire trucks and learn how to use some of the equipment firefighters use.

4. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is celebrating NPW with a series of guided hikes where visitors can explore the park’s national beauty. On April 18, officially welcome spring with a Wildflower Hike. Volunteers who are interested in helping protect the spring wildflowers will be provided with equipment to work followed by a ranger-led walk at the Heron Rookery. The next day, on April 19, two more ranger-led hike will take visitors to the top of the dune for one of the most picturesque views of Lake Michigan or on the Cowles Bog Trail to check out Geocache sites. On April 22, Earth Day, the hike takes place in the evening offering visitors the chance to watch the sunset on the beach.

5. Congaree National Park

Congaree National Park in South Carolina is known for its astonishing biodiversity, and during National Park Week admission and special activities are free to visitors. On April 18, take part in a Nature Discover Hike with a volunteer naturalist who will help you look and listen for animals in the forest. If you have kids in tow, they’ll love Junior Ranger Day where they’ll have the chance to join a ranger and learn about plants and animals found in Congaree to earn a patch or badge. A birding excursion will happen later in the week on April 25 (don’t forget your binoculars) followed by a Tree Trek through the old-growth forest.

6. Sequoia National Park

The breathtaking Sequoia National Park in California is offering visitors the chance to help with planting projects in the nursery. For the program tuition cost of $295, you can spend your weekend preparing plants to be used on a variety of critical revegetation and habitat restoration projects. The rate also includes nature and photography walks, hikes along the Kaweah River, meals and evening fun around the campfire.

7. Mammoth Cave National Park

Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky is celebrating National Park Week with free passage cave tours April 18 and 19. Mammoth Cave is the world’s longest cave system, with over 400 miles of explored cave seen so far. Although the main attraction is the underground labyrinth, spring is also a perfect time to visit Mammoth Cave as the nearby forest is bursting with color and wildlife is becoming more active. Reservations are strongly recommended for cave tours, which are popular among visitors of all ages and fill up fast.

8. Arches National Park

A red rock wonderland, Arches National Park in Utah boasts more than 2,000 natural stone arches in addition to hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive fins and giant balanced rocks. On April 18, the park is hosting a “sketch crawl,” an artsy twist on the pub crawl. A sketch crawl is where people go from park location to location and sketch the beauty that is around them. All ages and levels are welcome, and the crawl will start at Three Gossips, Sheep Rock and Courthouse Towers, followed by Park Avenue and concluding at Balanced Rock. Participants can join for the whole day, or show up at one of the scheduled locations. Katrina Lund, 2015 Community Artist in the Parks, will be there to offer drawing tips and demos. While the park will offer a limited number of art supplies, it suggests that visitors with their own art supplies bring them. Water, sunscreen and a hat are also suggested.

9. #FindYourParkInstaMeet

National Park Week is a great time to put your Instagram photography skills to the test, and several parks like Grand Teton National Park (WY), Everglades National Park (FL) and Golden Gate National Recreation Area (CA) are participating in the #FindYourParkInstaMeet. During the “Insta Meet” People will gather in a designated place from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. EDT on April 19 in the park to take photos and short videos to post on Instagram (and other social media) with the same hashtag.

10. National Junior Ranger Day

Kids can learn about national parks, wildlife and ranger duties on April 18, National Junior Ranger Day. A slew of parks are participating and offering junior ranger activities that day, including Ocmulgee National Monument (GA), Eisenhower National Historic Site (PA), Grant- Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site (MT), George Washington Birthplace National Monument (VA), Olympic National Park (WA), Biscayne National Park (FL), Chamizal National Memorial (TX), and Great Smoky Mountains National Park (TN).

11. John Muir Birthday Celebration at John Muir National Historic Site

On April 18, celebrate the 177th birthday of John Muir, a famous naturalist and early advocate of wilderness preservation, at his namesake national historic site in California. The festivities will include family-oriented activities, food, live music and environmental displays. NPS Ranger Frank Helling will recount some of Muir’s many wilderness adventures, and visitors can also enjoy self-guided tours of Muir’s historic Italianate Victorian home and bid in two silent auctions.

12. Mammoth Cave National Park Wildflower Day

Early risers can enjoy spring in full bloom on April 18 at Mammoth Cave National Park. Outside of the park’s extensive cave system, there are 1,300 species of plants to discover, including a plethora of wildflowers. On annual Wildflower Day, spot Jacob’s Ladder, wild iris, Jack-in-the-pulpit, anemone, hepatica, twin leaf, phlox, larkspur and celandine poppies. The adventure begins at 8:45 a.m. and lasts until 4:00 p.m.

13. Stargazing Parties

Often far from civilization and skyscrapers, national parks offer excellent stargazing. Three of the best places to marvel at the night sky are Great Basin National Park (NV), Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (MI), and Rock Creek Park (DC). All three will host astronomy programs for visitors on April 18.

 

14. Minute Man National Historical Park

Minute Man National Historic Park brings the Revolutionary War to life in Massachusetts. The well-preserved opening battleground will commemorate the 239^th anniversary of the start of the war from April 18 through 20^th with musket firing, drill and battle demonstrations, speeches, parades and more.

 

15. Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area

If you have a kayak or canoe, don’t miss out on a leisurely paddle down the Chattahoochee River in Georgia on April 25. The down-river journey will take visitors past Woodland American Indian village sites, the location where Sherman’s troops outflanked the Confederate Army, suburban homes and dramatic forests. The excursion includes four mild class 1.5 rapids, which are suitable for beginners. Rangers will also lead everyone through flat floodplains and steep ridges rising to more than 1,000 feet. Created by the geologic action of the Brevard Fault, the river is habitat to an amazing array of wildlife, wildflowers and ferns. Keep your eyes peeled for great blue herons, Kingfishers, hawks and the burrows of beavers and muskrats.

 

16. Lincoln Funeral Train

Throughout the week, the NPS will remember the 150^th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s funeral with programs in each of the major cities that held a funeral for Lincoln, from Washington, D.C. to Springfield, IL. The Lincoln Funeral Train events will include a commemoration and offer the chance to learn about the events surrounding Lincoln’s assassination, his vision for America and his hopes of moving the nation from civil war to civil rights – practically from the man himself. That’s right, a Lincoln impersonator will be there to tell the story.