Thrifty nature lovers, you're in luck.The National Park Service, celebrating its 100th birthday this year, is holding another Free Entrance Day this weekend, April 22 and 23. There will be no cost to enter any of the 117 national parks and sites that charge a fee.The weekend caps National Park Week, but it won't be the last entry-free days of the year. The same deal is offered August 25 (National Park Service birthday), September 30 (National Public Lands Day) and November 11-12 (Veterans Day weekend).Click here for a list of the parks participating, and have a look below for some of the best parks to visit.GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARKThere may not be a more awe-inspiring sight in the U.S. than standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Up to 18 miles wide, 1-mile deep and 277 river miles long, the canyon offers a wealth of activities up, down and around its walls.MUIR WOODS NATIONAL MONUMENTNamed for the famed naturalist John Muir, this park just north of San Francisco is filled with towering old growth coast redwood trees. The picutresque forest is a hikers' paradise.HAWAI'I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARKIt'll take some time and effort to get there (and the flight might overrun your savings on the entrance fee), but the power of nature is on display like nowhere else in the country at this park in the Aloha State. The site preserves two shield volcanoes: the active Kilauea and the massive Mauna Loa.FORT MCHENRY NATIONAL MONUMENT & HISTORICAL SITEYou know the song, now see the fort. Francis Scott Key was inspired to write "The Star-Spangled Banner" after witnessing the flag over Fort McHenry after the Battle of Baltimore in 1814. A visit to the fort today is a chance to touch an important piece of our history.ACADIA NATIONAL PARKThe rugged Maine coast hosts the country's first National Park in the east. Located mostly on Mount Desert Island, the pristine New England landscape includes the highest point on the U.S. Atlantic coast.SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARKA narrow park in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains section of the Appalachian Mountains, Shenandoah is a haven for hikers, campers and motorists looking to take a sight-seeing trip along Skyline Drive. It's not far from major populations centers, either, with Washington D.C. just 75 miles away.YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARKAnother California park, the Yosemite valley is home to incredible views of the Sierra Nevada mountains and more. Perhaps the most striking spot in the Half Dome, a distinct granite formation rising nearly 5,000 feet high.YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARKThis is the big one. The world's first national park remains an American treasure. Yellowstone in Wyoming is nature at its finest, featuring a range of wildlife to beautiful mountains and lakes. The geology takes it to another level, with hot spring and geysers (hello, Old Faithful) creating spectacular scenes -- all on top of a massive supervolcano.DENALI NATIONAL PARKThe tallest mountain in North America is the centerpiece of a fittingly grand park. At more than six million acres, the Alaskan wilderness hosts climbers, skiers and sportsmen of all kinds. Glaciers, tundra, forests and, of course, a mighty mountain make up the epic landscape. And if it's free, it's worth a look.
Thrifty nature lovers, you're in luck.
The National Park Service, celebrating its 100th birthday this year, is holding another Free Entrance Day this weekend, April 22 and 23. There will be no cost to enter any of the 117 national parks and sites that charge a fee.
The weekend caps National Park Week, but it won't be the last entry-free days of the year. The same deal is offered August 25 (National Park Service birthday), September 30 (National Public Lands Day) and November 11-12 (Veterans Day weekend).
for a list of the parks participating, and have a look below for some of the best parks to visit.
There may not be a more awe-inspiring sight in the U.S. than standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Up to 18 miles wide, 1-mile deep and 277 river miles long, the canyon offers a wealth of activities up, down and around its walls.
Named for the famed naturalist John Muir, this park just north of San Francisco is filled with towering old growth coast redwood trees. The picutresque forest is a hikers' paradise.
It'll take some time and effort to get there (and the flight might overrun your savings on the entrance fee), but the power of nature is on display like nowhere else in the country at this park in the Aloha State. The site preserves two shield volcanoes: the active Kilauea and the massive Mauna Loa.
You know the song, now see the fort. Francis Scott Key was inspired to write "The Star-Spangled Banner" after witnessing the flag over Fort McHenry after the Battle of Baltimore in 1814. A visit to the fort today is a chance to touch an important piece of our history.
The rugged Maine coast hosts the country's first National Park in the east. Located mostly on Mount Desert Island, the pristine New England landscape includes the highest point on the U.S. Atlantic coast.
A narrow park in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains section of the Appalachian Mountains, Shenandoah is a haven for hikers, campers and motorists looking to take a sight-seeing trip along Skyline Drive. It's not far from major populations centers, either, with Washington D.C. just 75 miles away.
Another California park, the Yosemite valley is home to incredible views of the Sierra Nevada mountains and more. Perhaps the most striking spot in the Half Dome, a distinct granite formation rising nearly 5,000 feet high.
This is the big one. The world's first national park remains an American treasure. Yellowstone in Wyoming is nature at its finest, featuring a range of wildlife to beautiful mountains and lakes. The geology takes it to another level, with hot spring and geysers (hello, Old Faithful) creating spectacular scenes -- all on top of a massive supervolcano.
The tallest mountain in North America is the centerpiece of a fittingly grand park. At more than six million acres, the Alaskan wilderness hosts climbers, skiers and sportsmen of all kinds. Glaciers, tundra, forests and, of course, a mighty mountain make up the epic landscape. And if it's free, it's worth a look.
