Visit a National Park

National Park Service is waiving entrance fees, so visitors can enjoy all 392 national parks for free! This wonderful week will be April 17-25. PLan a trip with your preschool child to explore the national park in your area, or maybe take a trip to visit one in another state. Saturday, April 24, is National Junior Ranger Day and children can take part in kid-friendly activities and earn their very own junior ranger patch. While geared for children age six and up, no child will ever be turned away from participation. My son was four when he completed a Junior Ranger badge at Wright Brothers National memorial, and parents are always allowed to help their little ones.

Here is a list of locations that will be participating in the Junior Ranger Badge Program:

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site
Acadia National Park
Adams National Historical Park
Alcatraz Island
Alabates Flint Quarries National Monument
Anacostia Park
Andersonville National Historic Site
Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
Antietam National Battlefield
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
Arkansas Post National Memorial
Assateague Island National Seashore
Aztec Ruins National Monument
Bandelier National Monument
Baltimore-Washington Parkway
Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
Big Bend National Park
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Big Hole National Battlefield
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area
Big Thicket National Preserve
Biscayne National Park
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Bluestone National Scenic River
Boston National Historical Park
Booker T. Washington National Monument
Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site
Canaveral National Seashore
Cane River Creole National Historical Park
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Capulin Volcano National Monument
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site
Carlsbad Cavern National Park
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Catoctin Mountain Park
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Chamizal National Memorial
Channel Islands National Park
Charles Pinckney National Historic Site
Chesapeake & Ohio National Historical Park
Colorado National Monument
Congaree National Park
Coronado National Memorial
Cowpens National Battlefield
Cane River National Heritage Area
Craters of the Moon National Monument
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park
De Soto National Memorial
Death Valley National Park
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Denali National Park and Preserve
Devils Postpile National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument
Dry Tortugas National Park
Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve
Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site
Effigy Mounds National Monument
Eisenhower National Historic Site
Ellis Island
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
Everglades National Park
Federal Hall National Memorial
Fire Island National Seashore
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
Ford's Theatre National Historic Site
Fort Caroline National Memorial
Fort Donelson National Battlefield
Fort Frederica National Monument
Fort Laramie National Historic Site
Fort Larned National Historic Site
Fort Matanzas National Monument
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
Fort Necessity National Battlefield
Fort Pulaski National Monument
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
Fort Scott National Historic Site
Fort Stanwix National Monument
Fort Sumter National Monument
Frederick Law Olmstead National Historic Site
Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial NMP
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
Gateway National Recreation Area
George Washington Birthplace National Monument
Gettysburg National Military Park
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site
Great Basin National Park
Great Falls Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Greenbelt Park
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
Gulf Islands National Seashore
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
Hamilton Grange National Memorial
Hampton National Historic Site
Harry S. Truman National Historic Site
Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site
Homestead National Monument of America
Hot Springs National Park
Independence National Historical Park
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Isle Royale National Park
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
Jewel Cave National Monument
Jimmy Carter National Historic Site
John Day Fossil Beds
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site
John Muir National Historic Site
Joshua Tree National Park
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield
Keweenaw National Historical Park
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park - Seattle Unit
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site
Lake Meredith National Recreation Area
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Lincoln Boyhood National Monument
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
Longfellow National Historic Site
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Site
Mammoth Cave National Park
Manassas National Battlefield Park
Manzanar National Historic Site
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
Missouri National Recreational River
Monocacy National Battlefield
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Morristown National Historical Park
Muir Woods National Monument
Navajo National Monument
New River Gorge National River
Nez Perce National Historical Park
Ninety Six National Historic Site
North Cascades National Park
Obed Wild and Scenic River
Oregon Caves National Monument
Oxon Cove Park/Oxon Hill
Ozark National Scenic Riverways
Padre Island National Seashore
Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site
Petersburg National Battlefield
Petrified Forest National Park
Petroglyph National Monument
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Pinnacles National Monument
Pipe Spring National Monument
Prince William Forest Park
Point Reyes National Seashore
Rainbow Bridge National Monument
Redwood National Park
Richmond National Battlefield Park
Rock Creek Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
Russell Cave National Monument
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
San Juan National Historic Site
San Juan Island National Historical Park
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site
Scotts Bluff National Monument
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Shenandoah National Park
Sitka National Historical Park
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Steamtown National Historic Site
Stones River National Battlefield
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
Thomas Stone National Historic Site
Timpanogos Cave National Monument
Timucuan Ecological and Historic Reserve
Tonto National Monument
Tumacacori National Historical Park
Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site
Valley Forge National Historical Park
Vicksburg National Military Park
Voyageurs National Park
Walnut Canyon National Monument
Weir Farm National Historic Site
White House (President's Park)
White Sands National Monument
Whitman Mission National Historic Site
William Howard Taft National Historic Site
Wind Cave National Park
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Wright Brothers National Memorial
Wupatki National Monument
Yellowstone National Park
Yorktown Battlefield
Yosemite National Park

Be sure to call ahead and visit the National Parks Website, too.
www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm