National Park Week begins Saturday, and that means free admission for you
National Park Week runs from April 16-24 (Note to NPS: That's more than a week), during which you can get free admission to the more than 500 parks in the system across the United States.
This is no ordinary celebration of the public parks that dot the country's landscape: Aug. 25, 2016, marks the National Park Service's centennial.
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In addition to free admission, the parks will have events to encourage visitors to appreciate what nature has to offer.
Saturday, April 16, is Junior Ranger Day, when activities will be geared toward the youngest visitors, and Friday, April 22, is Earth Day, when several parks will welcome volunteers to help clean up.
Even though U.S. national parks have seen record attendance in recent years, park officials are focused on attracting a younger, more diverse crowd.
If you're not sure where to go to take advantage of free park admission, the National Park Service already thought of that: Find Your Park, a website launched last year as part of the centennial initiative to increase youth attendance, will show you the parks in your area.
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