So you want to spend more time outdoors?

Whether you’re a local or a visitor, the US is home to 62 national parks. Yellowstone became the world’s first national park in 1872. And in the years that followed, numerous other areas became national parks and, as part of the Organic Act 1916, the US National Park Service (NPS) was created in 1916 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.”

NPS is now responsible for more than 400 separate areas making up about 85 million acres, including national parks, national preserves, monuments, recreation areas, seashores, lakeshores, historic parks and sites, parkways, scenic trails, and battlefields.

Within the system, 62 sites are designated as national parks. The selection criteria for national parks includes aspects like unique geological features or unusual ecosystems, recreational opportunities, and, of course, natural beauty.   READ MORE