In 1991, then-President George W. Bush proclaimed a week in August as National Park Week as a way to spotlight the more than 400 national parks in the United States. Today, it’s celebrated in April to coincide with Earth Day. “National Park Week is an annual celebration of America’s national parks — from iconic vistas to significant historical sites,” states the National Park Foundation on its website.
This year, National Park Week runs from Saturday, April 20 to Sunday, April 28, 2024. This is when “national parks throughout the country will provide special programs, events, and digital experiences for visitors.”
The National Park Foundation urges visitors to “take this week to discover a national park, immerse yourself in the resource, and find where your personal story lies within it.” To kick off the event and promote national park tourism, the National Park System is waiving all entrance fees on the first day of National Park Week, April 20, 2024.
National Park Week Theme Days
Each day of National Park Week has its own theme aimed at educating and empowering visitors about the history, culture, and future of the park system. Here are each day’s theme:
- Saturday, April 20: Discovery (free admission to all national parks)
- Sunday, April 21: Volunteers
- Monday, April 22: Earth Day
- Tuesday, April 23: Innovation
- Wednesday, April 24: Workforce Wednesday
- Thursday,, April 25: Youth Engagement
- Friday, April 26: Community Connections
- Saturday, April 27: Junior Ranger Day
- Sunday, April 28: Arts in Park
Each of the nine theme days focuses on a different aspect of the National Park system. It starts with Discovery, urging visitors to discover a new park by waiving all entrance fees. The Volunteer, Workforce Wednesday, and Youth Engagement days all aim to educate the public on volunteer and employment opportunities within the park system.
Currently, there are 20,000 employees and more than 279,000 volunteers working at the parks across the country. The Earth Day celebration aims to promote the parks’ conservation efforts and inspire guests to increase conservation efforts at home. The Innovation and Community Connections days will highlight new projects happening now at parks across the country and how parks benefit nearby communities.
The Junior Ranger Day is always a favorite among families. Kids can partake in special activities to earn their very own Junior Ranger Badge! The last day, Arts in Parks, encourages visitors to find beauty and art within the park and educate them about preserving natural art.
About the National Park System
Yellowstone National Park became the first national park in 1872 by an act signed by President Ulysses S. Grant. Then, in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson created the National Park System. Since then, the park system has grown to include more than 400 parks across the country. To be eligible to become a national park, an area of land must have cultural, historic, or recreational significance.
Today, the National Park System is under the guidance of the Department of Interior; more specifically under the department’s Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks. National park tourism has steadily risen over the past few decades, with more than 325 million visitors across all the parks in 2023.
The largest national park is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Reserve in Alaska. It sits on 13.2 million acres, covers parts of four mountain ranges, and “it’s larger than Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Switzerland combined,” according to the National Park Service. The park also has a vast wildlife population, glaciers, and volcanic activity. A vast majority of the land is untouched.
Death Valley National Park is one of the largest national parks in the contiguous United States. Sitting on 3.4 million acres, Death Valley is also the hottest, driest, and lowest place in the U.S. Yellowstone National Park is 2.2 million acres and is home to popular tourist attraction Old Faithful, bison, and geothermal features.
Next largest on the list is Everglades National Park which encompasses 1.5 million acres in Florida and is the largest tropical wilderness in the U.S. At 1.2 million acres. One of the most popular attractions in Arizona, the Grand Canyon National Park is the next largest national park in the lower 48 states. It’s home to the Grand Canyon, which in some parts stretches to 15 miles wide and a mile deep and has significant natural rock features.
The smallest national park in the United States is Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At only 0.02 acres, the memorial is where Kosciuszko lived and pays homage to his heroic participation in the American Revolution.
