If you need a Monday morning reminder that you can handle whatever the week throws at you, then you need a different “Monday.” How about a Saturday? The National Park Service is offering you a “once a year” opportunity to reset your week—and what a glorious one it will be. This Saturday starts National Park Week, “a nine-day celebration of everything ‘parks.’” Making it better than any “Monday,” the special “week” starts off with free admission at any of the 400+ parks.
National Park Week is happening April 20 to April 28 this year. Entrance fees are waived on April 20, 2024, to kick off the celebration and to encourage everyone to enjoy their national parks in person. National Park Service parks, programs, and partners will host events and activities all week! Follow park week on social media and join the fun all week using #NationalParkWeek.
2024 Theme Days
Each day of National Park Week has a special theme to showcase many ways to experience, learn, or get involved with national parks and what you can do outside of park boundaries.
- Saturday, April 20: Discovery. What will you discover? A new place, a new interesting fact, a new activity… To kick off Park Week and encourage you make that new discovery, entrance fees are waived on April 20!
- Sunday, April 21: Volunteers. Use your time and talents as a volunteer in your national parks. Find opportunities to volunteer for a single event or long-term position.
- Monday, April 22: Earth Day. Join the global celebration encouraging education and stewardship of the planet’s natural resources. Many parks are hosting volunteer events. You can also find ways to practice conservation at home.
- Tuesday, April 23: Innovation. History of our nation’s innovation is preserved in national parks. Also learn about the innovative projects happening in parks or through their programs today.
- Wednesday, April 24: Workforce Wednesday. Meet their incredible workforce of employees, interns, fellows, volunteers, contractors, partners, and more. Consider joining their team!
- Thursday, April 25: Youth Engagement. Calling the rising generation of stewards! Learn about the opportunities for youth and young adults to get involved and see what your peers are up to.
- Friday, April 26: Community Connections. Learn about the important work their programs and partners are doing in communities across the country both within and outside of the park boundaries.
- Saturday, April 27: Junior Ranger Day. For kids (and kids at heart), become a Junior Ranger through in-person or online activities to learn about special places or topics. You may even earn a Junior Ranger badge!
- Sunday, April 28: Arts in Parks. Home of many arts past and present, find your muse creating arts within parks. Also learn about preserving and practicing arts in your communities through the work of their programs and partners
Did you know there are more than 400 national parks? They come in different shapes, sizes, and naming designations (not all are named “National Park”!) and may be a lot closer to home than you think. Entrance fees are waived the first day of National Park Week to encourage people to come out to enjoy their national parks.
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Thank you, Russ and Tina! 🙂 Hmm, … no entrance fee on Saturday, April 20?!? We lived within a half-mile of Mt. Vernon for about a quarter of a century and they had no entrance fee on Presidents Day. It was wise to stear a clear berth from Mt. Vernon that day because of tbe chaos, crowds, and confusion. Every national park remotely near a large population may well be the same Saturday. Perhaps it is better to pay an admission fee another day and avoid the crowds of “free day.” Of course, if crowds energize one, then here is a great opportunity to get revved up! 🙂 Thanks again and safe travels! 🙂
While it ends today, this week was National Volunteer Week. National Volunteer Week honors the individuals who dedicate themselves to taking action and solving problems in their communities. Volunteering is, for those interested, an amazing experience and fun to do, while also helping out the National Park Service (NPS). Many parks could not operate, or only operate in a limited manner, without the help of volunteers. If you are interested, go to https://www.volunteer.gov/s/ . And, some volunteer opportunities are one-day events!
Correction: For the NPS, National Volunteer Week is this week, 4/21-4/27. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/celebrate-national-volunteer-week-2024.htm