The National Park Service (NPS) announced National Park Week begins with an entrance fee-free day on April 19 and continues through April 27, with special events held throughout the week.
“Drum roll, please! Get ready to press play on an amazing visit to a national park,” NPS said in a release. “There’s a record collection of things to do and see during National Park Week from April 19 through 27. The week’s theme of ‘National Park Playlist’ celebrates musical connections to national parks and the American story.”
The week also includes an entrance fee-free day, National Junior Ranger Day, Earth Day and the 250th anniversary of the revolutionary “shot heard around the world.”
More than 430 national parks offer a wide variety of experiences that are sure to strike a chord with visitors. The NPS trip planning guide offers a symphony of tips. Each day of the week, NPS said it’s riffing off a musical theme to create a tour de force of the spectacular places around the country that can resonate with visitors.
Don’t fret, there’s something for everyone. Classic rock selections include Devils Tower, Mount Rushmore, Delicate Arch, Mammoth Cave, Half Dome, Florissant Fossil Beds, and Rainbow Bridge. Some of the heavy metal choices are Gateway Arch, Statue of Liberty, Golden Spike, Rivers of Steel, Lowell and Fort Scott.
R&B brings to mind parks where you can be in sync rhythmically with natural sounds, the paddle of a canoe or the pace of a hike, while exploring the endless blue hues of skies, oceans, glaciers and lakes in places such as Blue Ridge Parkway, Bluestone, Crater Lake, Glacier Bay, and Cape Lookout. Alternative options beckon people to discover hidden gems. Obscure hits await in national parks in every state. Tune in to a lesser-known national park or a new-to-you track of an old favorite.
Orchestrate a visit to hear live music at New Orleans Jazz, a classical concert at Colorado, music on the bayou at Jean Lafitte, an indigenous dance performance at Tonto, fife and drums at the 250th commemoration of the start of the Revolutionary War at Minute Man; or take a peek backstage at Wolf Trap.
Swing by a national historical landmark, national natural landmark, national heritage area, national trail or National Register of Historic Places listing for examples of National Park Service community-based programs. Carnegie Hall, Sun Studio, Rock City, Funks Grove, Mississippi Delta, Muscle Shoals, Port Royal Sound, Memory Lane, Marian Anderson House, and Woodstock Music Festival Site hit all the right notes.
Mapping out your park playlist? Kick off National Park Week with a free entrance day on April 19. Work in concert with NPS.gov or the NPS app to choose a park that fits your groove. There is step-by-step information about what to do and see in each park and how to recreate in harmony with these treasured places for a safe and pitch perfect excursion.
For more information, visit nps.gov.
