Go Sit On A Park Bench And Check Out These Free Goodies To Help You Celebrate National Park Week April 15-23

April 15 is the start of National Park Week in 2017 and a reminder to appreciate just what a privilege it is to sit on a park bench and behold the vast wonders of our national parks. In honor of this event, for two weekends you can visit a national park for free!

In fact, there is a whole treasure chest of goodies about our national parks that are available to the public. So, find a park bench or get out your hiking shoes and check out all of these free guides, maps, photos, videos and apps.

Free Admission to National Parks for two weekends – for National Park Week from April 15-16 to 22-23. We’re not talking about just Yosemite and Yellowstone, but 413 national parks across the country.

Here’s a list of free guides from the National Park Foundation that are a load of fun (link is below).

Free National Park Owner’s Guide – if you like visiting parks, you will love this free 151-page pdf on parks in every state. Remember, you own these parks, so visit them. This brochure is filled with colorful photos, detailed maps, travel tips and easy to digest information.

One of our favorite sections is called “What Not To Miss.” This section covering each state shows some of the interesting parks that might not have the high profile like the larger parks. For example, in Florida, sure there’s the massive Everglades National Park. But what about Biscayne National Park, which is 95% underwater, home to 500 species of fish, supports plants found nowhere else in the country and is the only underwater archaeological trail in the national park system?

Who has also heard of Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserver or Fort Matanzas National Monument? They are all in Florida and can be found in your Owner’s Guide, along with hidden gems for every state in the union

Free Guide To Recharging in the Parks – anybody who visits a park and takes the time to relax on a park bench or picnic table to soak up the greenery, fresh air and blue skies, has probably felt a mystical-type of experience after they left. Studies back up the mental benefits of spending time in a park.

The National Park Service gets this. Their free 26-page brochure shows areas where you can undergo a great, physical and mentally uplifting. Collaborating with Humana, the brochure offers tips on how to refresh your mind, body and spirit in a national park.

They include observations such as “Every short hike releases endorphins to lift your mood all day long after the hike is over.”

Or, “An adult cyclist typically has a level of fitness equivalent to someone 10 years younger and a life expectancy two years above the average.”

Download this brochure and charge up those personal batteries.

Free Guide to “Places Nobody Knows” – this 11-page brochure is a fun read and a fantastic resource for finding hidden alternatives to the popular national parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite and The Grand Canyon.

For example, do you live in New Jersey but still cherish your visit to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado a few years back? This guide suggests you will find a similarly rewarding experience by visiting Shenandoah National Park just 75 miles from Washington, DC. There you will find the inspiring Blue Ridge Mountains with 500 total miles of hiking trails, cascading waterfalls and an enormous hardwood forest.

Free Guide to “Urban Playgrounds” – speaking of alternative parks, the NPS also offers a free 29-page guide to exciting day trips from major cities. After all, 80% of Americans live in urban areas, but it doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy a walk in a park.

Take Las Vegas, for example. Drive just 20 miles out of town and you will soon be immersed in the Tule Springs National Park, thought to be the most extensive source of Ice Age fossils in the world. How’s that for stepping out of your normal day to day activities, hiking the great outdoors and traveling back in time?

Other guides include:

“I Heart Parks” – a guide to romantic-type getaways.

“Winter Wonderlands” – don’t just sit inside during the winter and brood. Here’s a helpful guide on places to go during the winter months to experience a pleasing time outside.

“National Parks By Rail” – now here’s a way to truly relax on a trip. This guide will show you have to leave the car at home and experience our fantastic parks by train.

“Gimme Shelter” – this is a free guide to staying overnight or for a prolonged stay at our national parks. And there are plenty of places to stay that don’t involve a tent, such as historic inns or comfortable cabins.

“Happy Trails” – love to hike? Here are 25 amazing trails that rangers claim are “unforgettable.”

“Parks for Play” – as any parent knows, children have a different agenda when they go on vacation. They don’t necessarily like to do the same things as their parents when they visit a park. Here is a guide written specifically with suggestions on how younger people can have fun in national parks.

Click here to find these free guides.

By the way, speaking of children, the National Park Service has a program where youngsters, age 5 to 13, can become a “Junior Ranger.” After taking an oath to serve the park service, just like a real ranger, they kids will receive an official patch and certificate. How cool is that for a kid? Or for a parent who wonders what their children can do at the park.

Free National Park Images and Videos – for whatever reason you cannot get out to a national park, don’t fret. You can still experience the splendors of our parks from your living room. Just go to this section and view an amazing array of photos and videos. Many of these photos are just ordinary snapshots of extraordinary locations, so you can see a park and all its benefits just like a visitor would see it.

Free Itineraries – don’t just venture to a single park, make the entire trip an adventure with multiple park sites. Here are some suggested themed itineraries such as Civil War, Florida Shipwrecks, Aviation, Lewis and Clark Expedition and “We Shall Overcome.”

Dig around the NPS website and the National Park Foundation website. There are plenty of other goodies.

For example, you can sort through more than 2,000 digital images from the National Park Service Historic Photographic Collection.

There’s also a store where you can buy cool park-related merchandise to support your parks and a section where you can make a donation.

Free Maps – here’s a fun site that is not affiliated with the National Park Service. This person put together nearly 1,500 free high-resolution maps that any hiker would love.

List of The Top 20 National Parks – here’s a list of the most popular parks in the US, based on 2016 visitor statistics. You might be surprised at some of them and will want to add them to your bucket list.

Free Map App – Chimani offers an amazing GPS-enhanced resource guide on national parks that you can easily download on your phone. You will find an incredible array of in-depth, helpful information on trails, amenities, weather, etc. It’s the must-have app for anyone who likes to explore our national parks with real-time info at their finger tips.

Guide to Less Traveled Trails – the GPS company TomTom has put together a collection of trails that are less crowded than the more popular ones, but just as exciting to traverse. Check them out.

In America, we really do enjoy a tremendous offering of parks with incredibly varied terrains ranging from deserts, hot springs, volcanoes, glaciers, rivers, lakes to mountain tops. The NPS covers more than 84 million acres with 417 sites. But we are not just talking about big canyons or giant lakes at the 59 national parks that most people recognize.

There are also 129 historical parks or sites, 87 national monuments, 25 battlefields or military parks, 19 preserves, 18 recreation areas, 10 seashores, four parkways, four lakeshores and two reserves.

To show you how precious these landscapes are, more than 300 million people visit our national parks every year.

The whole operation is managed by more than 20,000 employees. These are the folks that give the tours, empty those trash receptacles, maintain hiking trails, replace the occasional park bench, man the gift shops and all the myriad other items that have to be done to keep the park experience an enjoyable one. Luckily for us and for them, they get assistance from a dedicated team of 440,000 volunteers who donate about 8 million hours annually.

Sure, it takes quite a bit of taxpayer money to keep these parks in operation. But they also generate a substantial amount of revenue. Those visitor dollars are circulated at local hotels, restaurants, stores and gas stations and have a significant impact on the local, state and national economy.

“There are 417 national parks and each one has a story to tell,” said Acting National Park Service Director Michael Reynolds. “There are endless options during National Park Week to discover someplace or something out of the ordinary. Whether one seeks relaxation, exhilaration, or inspiration, there is something for everyone in a national park.”

As you can see, the National Park System is really a national treasure. For National Park Week take a moment to sit on a park bench or walk along a trail and just appreciate it all. For those two weekends, there won’t be any price, but it doesn’t really matter because all year the park experience is always priceless.