In United States are celebrating. The National Park Service, National Park Service in English, turns 100. Many years have passed since the first visionaries of their time realised the need to preserve and care for the natural spaces for future generations.
They committed to protecting not only exceptional natural sites but also a vast number of monuments, historic battlefields, cemeteries and large recreation areas. Thanks to those efforts, today United States enjoy an excellent range of 390 National parks, covering 340,000 square kilometres.
One of the pioneer advocates of the nature and conservationist is embodied in the figure of John Muir. He devoted himself to protecting the wild places he loved, which can still be visited today. Muir’s writings and campaigning helped persuade the US government to protect outstanding places such as Yosemite, Sequoia, the Grand Canyon and Mount Rainier. On 25 August 1916, President Woodrow Wilson strengthened the park system by signing the law establishing the Organic Act.
It's been a hundred years, and now the national parkss are a major tourism asset. Around 305 million people visited in 2015. An army of rangers, wardens and US government staff manages the vast park system.
There are many who in a trip to the United States make the most of the opportunity and include several days in a park on their itinerary. Many do the reverse, travelling specifically to explore the best National Parks of the United States, and add a few cities to complement the journey.
If you would like to explore some of the USA’s natural areas, take a look at our routes. They lead to spectacular places such as Bryce Canyon, Zion and Arches National Parks, the Grand Canyon ( Colorado Canyon ) or Monument Valley.