Happy upcoming birthday to The National Park Service who will be celebrating its 110th anniversary on August 25th, 2026 by waiving entrance fees for all US citizens and residents.
On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act creating the National Park Service, a new federal bureau in the Department of the Interior responsible for protecting the 35 national parks and monuments then managed by the department and those yet to be established.Â
Today the National Park System of the United States comprises more than 400 areas covering more than 84 million acres in 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands.
The National Park Service still strives to meet its original stated goals as a “Guardian of our diverse cultural and recreational resources; environmental advocate; partner in community revitalization, world leader in the parks and preservation community; and pioneer in the drive to protect America’s open space.”
On August 25th join the more than 20,000 National Park Service employees in celebrating National Park Week and enjoy the parks for free. Happy birthday NPS!
National Parks 10 for 110 Recommendations:
Here are ten suggestions for celebrating our 110th birthday this year:
- Visit a national park. Entrance fees are waived for our birthday! Remember to check your park’s website to plan ahead.
- Post your national park celebration on social media using #NPSBirthday, #NPS110, and #NationalParkWeek.
- Download the NPS App and send your family and friends virtual postcards using your own favorite photos of parks.
- Go on a ranger program or talk to a ranger in a park.
- Hit a trail on foot, bike, or boat.
- Visit a monument, memorial, or hallowed ground to reflect.
- Earn a Junior Ranger badge.
- Join our team as a volunteer for an event or sign up for year round.
- Party past sundown to see the night sky.
- BYOBC. Bring Your Own Birthday Cake and have a picnic! Feed the rangers, not the wildlife.
