Gregory Korte

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — President Obama is taking his family on an end-of-the-school-year trip to two national parks next week to highlight the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.

The three-day weekend trip will take the first family to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico and Yosemite National Park in California.

Throughout his presidency, Obama has been an enthusiastic tourist in national parks, visiting iconic venues like Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, the Florida Everglades and the Blue Ridge Mountains — but also some lesser-known parks like Kenai Fjords in Alaska.

He's also taken executive action to conserve millions of acres of federal lands under the Antiquities Act, and established the "Every Kid in a Park" program to give free admission to fourth graders and their families.

"I want to make sure that the whole world is able to pass on to future generations the God-given beauty of this planet," Obama said in a Facebook video announcing next week's trip.

Yosemite is one of the oldest national parks, first protected by Congress in 1864. It's the fourth most visited national park, with about 4 million people visiting the park each year.

Carlsbad Caverns, located in the Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico, includes the fifth largest natural limestone chamber in the world.