Visit Your Outer Banks Parks During National Park Week April 15-23

Posted By Matt Artz on April 14, 2017

National Park Week is April 15 to 23, an annual national celebration of people, parks, trails, heritage areas, national trails and rivers, seashores, historic sites, beautiful landscapes, and so many more remarkable places, including three parks here on the Outer Banks.

The National Park Service encourages everyone to find their own connection to the vast network of public lands and places that protect and preserve our natural and cultural history.

National Park Service Outer Banks Group Superintendent Dave Hallac welcomes visitors and members of the local communities to visit the Outer Banks Group National Park Service sites during National Park Week. Entrance to Wright Brothers National Memorial will be free on the weekends of National Park week on April 15 and 16 and April 22 and 23. Entrance to Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is free year-round.

The nation celebrated the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service in 2016. This year, 2017, offers an opportunity for visitors to continue to engage with their national parks to discover stories and sites that that link to their past and their passions, and to learn about the pasts and passions of others. And if you have a friend who has never visited a national park site, bring them along too!

Be sure to check out www.nps.gov/npweek. There you can share your national park photos, videos, and tips. While you’re there, learn how you can Find Your Park and help support your national parks all year round.

National Junior Ranger Day is April 15. Each national park site on the Outer Banks offers a Junior Ranger program for visiting youth. Check in at a park visitor center for a Junior Ranger booklet. If you can’t visit a national park on National Junior Ranger Day, you can still become a web ranger by visiting www.nps.gov/webrangers.

For a fun and free way to learn more about the National Park Service during National Park Week, you can take an on-line 30-40 minute activity, Introduction to the National Park Service: The History of the NPS, available at www.provalenslearning.com. Completion of this course can provide teachers with 0.2 Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits.