April has always been a good time to get outside and enjoy nature. If the pure enjoyment of being surrounded by wilderness and wildlife isn’t enough to get you to de-couch, perhaps the fact that it’s National Park Week will give you that extra push. We live in a time when just about everything has its own week (or day or month) – you’ve got Farm Safety Week, Spinal Health Week, Emergency Preparedness Week, National Sun Awareness Week…the list stretches on endlessly.

So – when you hear that it’s National Park Week, you might be inclined to push this information to the dark recesses of your mind along with World Meteorological Day and Poetry Month, thinking to yourself, “I’m already aware of the national parks, I don’t need to celebrate them for a week.” But – if we told you that during National Park Week, from April 21st (Volunteer Day) through April 29th, admission to every single one of the US parks run by the National Park Service is completely free, perhaps we might change your mind. What better place could there be to spend Earth Day (April 22nd) than staring out over some of the most incredible and varied landscapes in the world?

We assume that many of our American readers are already holders of the $80 America the Beautiful interagency pass which gets you in free to all the federally run lands across the country. It’s an awesome deal, especially if you find yourself visiting some of the pricier parks like Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce Canyon where admission ranges from $20 to $25 for private vehicles. If you don’t own one of these handy passes though, this week is a great time to head over to your nearest (or farthest) national park and do some exploring. If you’ve got kids – or maybe you are one yourself, if only at heart – the National Park Service has got a special Junior Ranger Day on the 28th.

With 84 million acres to explore, it shouldn’t be hard to find something to do in a national park this week. Each of the 397 parks run by the National Park Service are participating – this includes the national monuments too! Which parks are at the peak of beauty in April? A few of our favorites are:

Can’t make it this week? Don’t worry – Get Outdoors Day is June 9th and the National Park Service is offering free admission then too. Maybe we should jump on this commemorative day bandwagon – how about an International Be Wild Day?