Northeast Ohio Outdoors

Last Free National Park Weekend

By Lou Yuhasz on August 11th, 2009

Free Admission, Special Events, Photo Contest and More!

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – The National Park Service’s third entrance fee free weekend of the summer is August 15-16.  All 391 national parks across the nation will offer free admission to all visitors.

“America’s national parks have always been popular vacation spots,” said Acting National Park Service Director Dan Wenk. “The fee free weekends were launched in June as a way to provide opportunities for everyone to visit national parks in these economically challenging times. Whether you can stay for just a few hours or the whole weekend, we hope you’ll take advantage of the free admission and come out and experience your national parks.”

To plan a park visit or check out promotions offered this weekend by park partners who operate tours, hotels, restaurants, and gift shops look online at http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm.

Visitation to national parks is up more than three percent from this time last year.  The national parks have hosted almost 200 million visitors so far this year.

This weekend and all month-long, special events in national parks include festivals, historical encampments, concerts, star gazing gatherings, bike tours, nature walks, and a coral reef recovery project. For a list of family fun activities visit http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/parks2009/index.htm.

If you take some great photos of your visit to a national park, think about entering the annual Share the Experience Photo Contest. Through December 31, 2009, amateurs can submit up to three photographs of scenes from national parks or other federal lands. Prizes include Olympus digital cameras, trips to federal recreation areas, and Federal Recreation Lands Passes. The winning image will be featured on the 2011 Annual Federal Recreation Pass. Details are available at www.sharetheexperience.org.

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