Travel season is here. For an inexpensive but necessary retreat from work life, national parks are a great way to get away from it all and spend valuable time, not money, with the family.
Abundantly dotting the landscape, national parks are conveniently situated for as far or as briefly a family wishes to travel. Finances may be tight, but national parks are as American as baseball and accommodating for any bank account.
While some may initially dismiss a trip to a national park because they are not adventurous, the variety of opportunities will fit not only the thrill-seekers but also those desiring a leisurely vacation. Many parks incorporate options of daring risk and relaxing activities all at one site.
Along with just under 500 miles of breathtaking views from the roadway on the Blue Ridge Parkway through the Virginia and North Carolina Appalachian range, travelers can stretch their legs on numerous trails while viewing one of the most ecologically varied climates on earth.
For those wanting a vacation with a little more exertion, Canyonlands National Park features rock-climbing on Island in the Sky, backpacking in the Needles and Maze areas, boating on the Colorado and Green Rivers, camping, horseback riding, and auto touring of the park.
National parks also exhibit wonderful presentations of culture. The prevalence of culture in national parks is just as diverse as the activities available for visitors to explore.
At Great Smoky Mountains National Park, visitors learn the difficulties of living in an area dense with vegetation. The park has over 80 historic structures include barns, schools, mills, homes, and churches preserved in the park’s boundaries. Historical gardening and agricultural practices as well as the usage of water-powered turbine machinery (rather than a water wheel) inside the gristmill are all demonstrated at the Mountain Farm Museum and Mingus Mill.
For history enthusiasts, national parks are bountiful resources of American history. Valley Forge National Historic Park and Gettysburg National Military Park, both in Pennsylvania, illustrate extraordinary chronicles of American history featuring Revolutionary War and Civil War sites.
Along with history, travelers are entertained with reenactments, discovering just how it felt to be amidst a battle.
In some circumstances, the effort to establish a national park becomes a historical account in and of itself. A battle occurred with the lumber industry to establish Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Local ranchers’ issues brought about quarrels on founding Yellowstone National Park as well as a number of other national parks that faced a difficult path in becoming a national park.
With 392 sites in the national parks system, there are plenty of options to experience an unforgettable vacation. To locate a specific national park, or all national parks in a state, visit the National Park Service website. The site also lists activities, weather conditions, temporary closures, and special programs offered at national parks. While fees may differ from park to park, visitors are usually charged $3 to $25 per vehicle. If national park aficionados plan to visit numerous sites in a year’s time, an American the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands pass can be purchased for $80.
Families can take advantage of national parks’ waiver of fees for a variety of days in 2011. The dates of fee waivers include:
- National Park Week –April 16 through 24
- First day of summer –June 21
- National Public Lands Day –September 24
- Veteran’s Day Weekend –November 11 through 13
If overnight camping is planned as well as additional other activities, but fees for those pursuits even on national park fee waiver days may occur.
The concept of setting aside land for either aesthetic value, conservation of habitat, preventing development, cultural elements, or historical importance is a one-of-a-kind American concept. Wallace Stegner, a writer and historian, notes that the creation of national parks was “the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, and absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.” The idea and foresight to designate specific portions of land for the people to visit and own is an invention unique to America.
Many cultures around the globe struggle today to preserve the past as the present continues to occupy more and more space. Acknowledging intrinsic value beforehand, Americans are conserving before there is a demand to alter irreplaceable sites. American promises of equality, preservation, democracy, and determination are all encapsulated in the national parks system.
Sources:
“America’s Best Idea Today.“ National Park Service U.S. Department of Agriculture
http://www.nps.gov/americasbestidea/
“Blue Ridge Parkway.” National Park Service U.S. Department of Agriculture, http://www.nps.gov/blri/index.htm
“Canyonlands National Park.” National Park Service U.S. Department of Agriculture,
http://www.nps.gov/cany/index.htm
“Gettysburg National Military Park.” National Park Service U.S. Department of Agriculture
http://www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm
“Great Smoky Mountains National Park.” National Park Service U.S. Department of
Agriculture, http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm
“Mesa Verde National Park.” National Park Service U.S. Department of Agriculture
http://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm
“Valley Forge National Historical Park.” National Park Service U.S. Department of Agriculture, http://www.nps.gov/vafo/index.htm