Celebrate Our National Parks This Summer

Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Photo by Ed Austin/Herb Jones, National Park Service

ummer at last! Time to plan a fun family getaway… or a challenging physical adventure… or a stimulating spiritual journey. Or maybe you just want to leave it all behind and relax. No

matter how you hope to use your “me” time this summer, there’s a vacation destination to satisfy your every desire in one of our country’s 59 national parks, plus 333 national monuments and historic sites. The National Park Service has a presence in 49 of the 50 states (Delaware is the sole exception) Spread out over 29 states and territories, each one of the 59 parks is packed with history, wonder, wildlife, hiking trails, places to get lost, treasures to be found, and natural history to be discovered. Plus, the National Park Service is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year; many parks have special activities planned to mark this historic milestone. What better time to plan a visit? SB&F has put together this guide to help you do just that! .

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In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a bill making Yellowstone the first national park in the United States—and the world. Yosemite became a national park in 1890. President Theodore Roosevelt expanded the national park system, creating five more national parks and putting more than 100 million acres of forest under national protection. But it was Roosevelt’s successor, Woodrow Wilson, who placed the growing number of national parks, monuments, and refuges under the jurisdiction of a single agency. On August 25, 1916 he signed a bill creating the National Park Service. Today more than 400 parks, forests, refuges, and monuments fall under the supervision of the National Park Service.

If you’re interested in the fascinating history of our national parks, the six-part documentary from PBS called The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, a film by Ken Burns, is a must-see. As in his previous in-depth works, Burns deftly employs historic film footage and photographs to tell his story. But what sets The National Parks: America’s Best Idea apart is the lyrical use of original footage, more than in any other Burns film, shot in our national parks over a period of more than five years. The result is, in Burns’ own words, the most beautiful documentary he’s ever produced. Whether you’re planning a visit to a national park this summer or not, do yourself a favor and binge watch this twelve-hour series (available on Amazon.) You may also want to pick up the companion book of the same title, by Dayton Duncan.

Of course, once you’ve decided on a national park vacation, you still have 58 amazing options to choose from. Will it be a stroll among the world’s largest trees in California’s majestic Sequoia National Park? A chilly encounter with glaciers in Alaska’s frosty Kenai Fjords? A climb around North Carolina’s rambling Great Smoky Mountains? A reflective interlude on Michigan’s secluded Isle Royale? To help narrow your choices, visit the National Park Service’s Find Your Park website

(findyourpark.com.) Here, you’ll find helpful information about the 58 national parks, and all 400+ registered sites under the supervision of the National Park Service. The website provides advice on planning your trip and lists dates and locations of special centennial events.

Finally, several terrific books have been written about the wonders of our national parks. We’ve provided a list of some of them below, along with videos and websites. Check them out for more insight and photos of some of our nation’s greatest gifts to ourselves and the world, our national parks. Also see this list of useful books and documents from the National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/hisnps/NPSbooks.htm

Books

Brinkley, Douglas. The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America. New York: HarperCollins, 2009. Brinkley tells the story of Roosevelt's love for the outdoors and how it inspired him to create the mechanism by which 234 million acres of land were preserved for public use.

Duncan, Dayton, and Ken Burns. The National Parks: America's Best Idea: An Illustrated History. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.

The companion volume to the 6-part documentary series by filmmaker Ken Burns is notable for the beautiful photographs that enhance the authors recounting of the adventures, mythmaking, and intense political battles behind the evolution of the park system, and the enduring ideals that fostered its growth.

Heacox, Kim. The National Parks: An Illustrated History: 100 Years of American Splendor. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2015.

This volume is a lavish celebration of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. National Geographic The National Parks collects the very best of National Geographic's photographs, combined with an expertly told history:

Keiter, Robert B. To Conserve Unimpaired: The Evolution of the National Park Idea. Island Press, 2013.

When the national park system was first established in 1916, the goal "to conserve unimpaired" seemed straightforward. But Robert Keiter argues that parks have always served a

variety of competing purposes, from wildlife protection and scientific discovery to tourism and commercial development. He argues that parks must be managed more effectively to meet increasing demands in the face of climate, environmental, and demographic changes.

Muir, John. Our National Parks. New York: Cosimo Classics, 2006.

A key founder of the modern conservation movement, John Muir was a champion of the preservation of the unspoiled wilderness and of the careful guardianship of the environment. This 1901 work, a collection of essays first published in the Atlantic Monthly, is Muir's valentine to the national parks of the American West.

National Geographic. National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States, 8th Edition. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2016.

In time for the National Park's 100th birthday, this flagship, best-selling guide is fully revamped and updated with all new text, photographs, and design. National Geographic writers hit all 59 national parks—including Pinnacles, the newest—for intensive on-the-

ground research. 300 photos and 80 colorful maps complete the extraordinary package.

Oswald, Michael Joseph. Your Guide to the National Parks. Whitelaw, WI: Stone Road Press, 2012.

More than 530 color images, 140 easy-to-read maps, and 55 hiking tables can be found in this guide to the most scenic wilderness areas in our national parks. This useful provides step-by-step itineraries, kid-friendly activities, and all of the most popular ranger programs to help plan your family vacation.

Sellars, Richard West. Preserving Nature in the National Parks: A History. Yale University Press, 2008.

This book traces the epic clash of values between traditional scenery-and-tourism management and the emerging ecological concerns in the national parks. It spans the period from the creation of Yellowstone National Park in 1872 to near the present, analyzing the management of fires, predators, elk, bear, and other natural phenomena in parks

such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Great Smoky Mountains.

Videos

The National Parks: America's Best Idea: A Film by Ken Burns, PBS, 2009. 6 -disc boxed set.

Treasures of America’s National Parks, Questar, 2008. 6 -disc boxed set

Websites

• National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/index.htm

• National Park Foundation http://www.nationalparks.org/

• Find Your Park http://findyourpark.com/

• Explore the National Parks with Google Maps https://www.google.com/maps/streetview/#us-national-parks-and-historic-sites

• Science in Your National Parks http://www.nature.nps.gov/

Aerial view of Grand Canyon: Colorado River, Geikie Peak. Photo credit: Grand Canyon National Parks, CC BY 2.0